Free Republic

The power struggle at the Heritage Foundation could upend Republican politics and put millions of dollars at DC's most influential think tank on the line. By Mollie Hemingway There are two narratives being spun about the current turmoil at the Heritage Foundation. Last week, Politico reported that the non-profit conservative foundation’s board planned to permanently oust former Sen. Jim DeMint, who was appointed president of the organization in 2013.The narrative Politico offers, supported by quotes from a single anonymous board member, is that Heritage is in disarray as a result of DeMint’s decisions since taking over several years ago. DeMint...

If you’re like most Americans, you haven’t been questioning the welcome drop in gasoline prices. You just fill ’er up and feel grateful that you’re spending less.But why has this remarkable drop come about? And what can we do to help keep prices lower?Some of it, unfortunately, is beyond our control. Worldwide demand for oil is down now. That always causes the cost of gasoline to drop.But the other side of the equation -- the part that is under our control -- has gone largely unheralded in many media accounts: the boom in U.S. energy production. Simply put, we’re producing...

Conservatives and liberals clash frequently on a wide array of issues, from taxes to trade, from deficits to defense. But their greatest conflict may lie in their contrasting attitudes toward civil society. Conservatives regard the institutions of civil society -- families, churches and communities -- as sources of hope and renewal. Self-styled "progressives" see these institutions as seedbeds of prejudice and ignorance. Conservatives believe that poverty stems largely from a lack of spiritual resources, resources that are typically transmitted through private, voluntary groups. Progressives view poverty as a simple lack of resources. Conservatives believe that social justice is best pursued...

President Obama this morning cited The Heritage Foundation’s research in an attempt to sell his health care package as a “middle of the road, centrist approach.” We take great exception to this misuse of our work and abuse of our name. This is but the latest act in a campaign to sell this big-government program as a moderate law that incorporates conservative ideas. Americans should not be fooled. Let’s be very clear: We oppose this new law because it is a radical new intrusion into the daily lives of all Americans and a massive takeover of one-sixth of the...

Are we succeeding in Iraq? Look no further than the front page of your daily newspaper. What had been a steady barrage of bad news has now slowed to a trickle. Our military’s success on the ground is changing public expectations as well. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that most Americans (53 percent) now think “the U.S. will ultimately succeed in achieving its goals” in Iraq. That’s up from 42 percent in the fall of 2007. Why the improvement? We can thank the “surge.” A little more than a year...

In the long run, the battle to make America safer is part of a larger cause—the battle to make the free world safer and, indeed, to make the whole world freer. Victory will come only if representative government prevails, because freedom is the one force strong enough to stop tyranny and terror. In our modern day and age, America appears to have forgotten the guiding principles that have led her thus far. Getting America Right offers not a revolutionary, novel solution, but an answer that is as old as America herself—a conservative one...

The End of the ACT By Ed Feulner CNSNews.com Commentary September 30, 2005 Every once in a while, a big Hollywood star or athlete will declare bankruptcy. News reports will note that the person earned, and somehow managed to spend, tens of millions of dollars. Most of us wonder, "How'd he do that?" In the same vein, Americans Coming Together has come apart. The pressure group was formed in 2003 with the goal of electing liberal congressional candidates and a liberal president in 2004. Financiers George Soros and Peter Lewis kicked in more than $38 million to get ACT, along...

Before starting a long journey, it’s important to check a road map and make sure you know the best way to get where you’re going. A good map does more than highlight a path -- it warns of pitfalls ahead and helps you avoid them. Sixty years ago, master mapmaker Friedrich Hayek gave us his seminal work “The Road to Serfdom.” It was swiftly condensed by Reader’s Digest, and became an international best seller. Hayek’s insight would eventually earn him the 1974 Nobel Prize for economics (he’s probably the only Nobel-winning economist who’s also penned a bestseller), and because of...

Ronald Reagan said it best: "The most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.'" Residents in many rural areas are relearning Reagan's lesson. It's one of the unintended consequences of the "No Child Left Behind" law. You see, the federal government now insists that every teacher must have a degree in every subject he teaches, or must pass an exam to prove he's "highly qualified" in that subject. That may make sense in Chicago or Los Angeles, where a teacher is likely to handle only one subject. For example, he'll...