Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis described the states as “laboratories for democracy.” Policies enacted at the state level can offer insight into their likely efficacy on the federal level. Kirk Adams, the former Republican speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, has authored legislation that pulled the state’s budget from billions in shortfalls into the black. He led the way in reforming the pension system for state employees — beginning with himself: he voluntarily opted out of the system in a symbolic gesture for reform. Adams was also instrumental in …
We at Heritage were saddened to learn of the death of Christian leader, cultural commentator and former White House counselor Charles W. “Chuck” Colson. America is the land of second chances — and few men have made more of theirs than Chuck Colson did. For in addition to loving and serving his country, the former Marine captain and “President’s hatchetman” came to love and serve a God of second chances. As an author, speaker and laborer in the vineyard, Chuck spent the past four decades encouraging others to escape poverty, …
Talk-radio host Neal Boortz is no fan of the nation’s capital. “The place gives me the creeps,” he said on this week’s Scribecast. Boortz, a self-described libertarian who first visited Washington, D.C., in the 1950s, said federal bureaucrats have given the city a bad reputation. “I came to know Washington as a symbol of freedom, of liberty, of all that made this country great,” Boortz said. “And now when I come to this city, I see these people walking on the sidewalk and I just think, yeah, what cubicle are …
In 1971, America was introduced to President Richard Nixon’s “Enemies List.” The President had instructed staff to keep a list of political opponents, and as then-White House Counsel John Dean described it, they would “use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies.” On the list were notable figures such as Paul Newman (actor), Charles Dyson (businessman), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), NPR newsman Daniel Schorr, Morton Halperin, a foreign policy expert and father to political journalist Mark Halperin, and others. This secret list was the subject of justifiable scorn …
Now entering its fourth month on the road, our nationwide tour Your Money, Your Values, Your Vote continues into its 16th state this week: California. A joint project of The Heritage Foundation and the Family Research Council, the tour has thus far hosted events in 50 cities across the nation with a direct audience of over 28,000 people—not counting the buzz on social networks, media coverage, or the fact that the bus itself is a rolling billboard! The Values Bus most recently rolled through Pennsylvania and Ohio for week-long statewide …
John Stossel’s skepticism of government and his storytelling approach about free-market economics have made him a rock star in conservative and libertarian circles. He spoke at The Heritage Foundation on Wednesday about his new book, “No, They Can’t: Why Government Fails—But Individuals Succeed.” It is Stossel’s latest attempt to debunk the myths that government can solve America’s problems. He tackles everything from crony capitalism and federal regulations to teachers’ unions and gun control. “Our instinct is to believe in the central planners,” Stossel said in the interview. “It was nuts in the …
Can safeguards against voter fraud sway an election? In Vernon, California, it looks like they just did. In response to allegations by the area’s Chamber of Commerce that at least 30 percent of votes in a tight city council race were fraudulent, the city discarded six ballots on Tuesday – just enough to tilt the race in favor of the challenger, who won by five votes. Vernon is a tiny industrial town that, while it has a 40,000-strong workforce, only has 112 official residents. The town survived a state effort …
Edwin J. Feulner, who has led The Heritage Foundation to its current international prominence among think tanks, is among four winners of the 2012 Bradley Prize for outstanding achievement, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation announced today. “Ed Feulner has elevated the influence of conservative research institutions,” Michael W. Grebe, the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation’s president and chief executive officer, said in the announcement. “Under his guidance, The Heritage Foundation has become a bastion of ideas that are an integral part of the national conversation and have shaped public policy.” In …
A new undercover video by conservative filmmaker James O’Keefe shows a man being offered Attorney General Eric Holder’s District of Columbia ballot. The poll worker caught on film tells the cameraman that he doesn’t need to see identification. The video, released Monday, contrasts clips from the “sting” with quotes from Holder saying that voter fraud is generally “a problem that does not exist.” Holder’s Justice Department has blocked voter ID laws in South Carolina and Texas on grounds that include the supposed superfluity of those laws. O’Keefe’s Project Veritas has …
After last week’s Republican primary elections in Wisconsin, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., the 2012 presidential primary season is reaching an inflection point, and eyes are turning toward America’s final decision on Election Day in November. While pundits and pollsters speculate on the horse race and who will capture the hearts and minds of the American people, one segment of the electorate is garnering increased attention — Hispanic Americans. It is, to be sure, a population that continues to grow in size, voice, and importance. In the 2008 election, Hispanics turned …
