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I recently joined former Attorney General Ed Meese and a number of leaders of conservative think tanks and other groups in signing the Mount Vernon Statement. When I watched the press coverage that evening, I saw the event through the media's prism: a bunch of white guys reaffirming what some dead white guys said. Never mind that all types of people were in the room. Never mind that thousands had signed the conservative declaration online, overnight. Never mind that the Mount Vernon Statement was a reaffirmation, not just of constitutional values, but also of a tendency in the very air...

Former Attorney General and Heritage Foundation Distinguished Fellow Ed Meese joined Mark Levin this evening to discuss The Mount Vernon Statement (signature page link and full text below) and more: The Mount Vernon Statement Constitutional Conservatism: A Statement for the 21st CenturyWe recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding.Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government. These principles define us as a country and inspire us...

A group made up of some of the biggest names in contemporary conservatism got together a few days ago and crafted what they are calling the “Mount Vernon Statement,” a manifesto of sorts meant to give direction to today’s conservative movement. Put succinctly, it fails to fill the bill. Taken as a whole this statement is fine as a short history lesson. It explains pretty clearly what the founders had wrought when their basic work was done with the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. But as a statement of principles that might guide today’s discussion I do not think the...

Ronald Reagan the actor once famously screamed on screen "Where's the rest of me?!" after waking in a hospital to discover that a sadistic surgeon had amputated both of his legs. My guess is that Ronald Reagan the national leader would express similar horror at what is happening to his beloved conservative movement as some in its ranks seek to sever from its agenda the priority "the Gipper" consistently gave to the national security. One need look no further than the various functions held in the Washington area last week to see why Mr. Reagan would be so alarmed. On...

Dave recently posted the Mount Vernon Statement on here. I said I had some objections to it. DFV said he could find not anything ojectionable in the document. I am so glad he formed his reply this way. I had said there was no reason to change the Sharon Statement. This post is in rebuttal. Do you know who crafted the Sharon Statement? Do you know where and why? That information will provide a needed perspective if one is not familiar with it. I am surprised at the Scribe, especially in light of his stand on religion and God that...

Our first and greatest president. (CNSNews.com) – America must return to “constitutional conservatism” and her founding principles, which have been “under sustained attack,” reads a statement to be signed on Wednesday by 80 leaders of the conservative movement. “We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding,” reads the document, entitled The Mt. Vernon Statement. “Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government.” The full text of...

What is there to say about this statement, which is being called a new conservative “manifesto”? Someone might object that Russell Kirk said that conservatives do not have manifestoes, but that would be entirely too quaint and old-fashioned. What is one to make of the organizers’ selection of the site of George Washington’s home for a statement that refers to a foreign policy of “advancing freedom and opposing tyranny in the world”? I would say that it is in extremely poor taste, but then this statement is not directed at people like me. My admiration for Washington comes partly from...

Today is the opening of the Conservative Political Action conference (CPAC) — the storied annual gathering of the Right. As I noted the other day, it’s also the season for a bumper crop of conservative manifestos, action plans, and ideological contracts. The Mount Vernon Statement, which lays out broad principles for “constitutional conservatism,” has garnered the most buzz. An elegant tribute to limited government and the Founding Fathers, the document carries the signatures of movement leaders, Beltway heavyweights, and veteran activists. Two of the most prominent backers: the American Conservative Union’s David Keene and Americans for Tax Reform’s Grover Norquist....

With polls and recent elections suggesting a possible comeback for Republicans, a group of prominent conservatives unveiled a statement of principles Wednesday called Constitutional Conservatism that they hope will guide a new era of governing. "A year ago, some pundits claimed that conservatism was effectively dead. But today, as revelations about Washington's futility in addressing America's problems continue to mount, the movement is alive and poised for a resurgence of Constitutional Conservative leadership," former Attorney General Edwin Meese said. Meese, who served under President Ronald Reagan , was one of several dozen conservatives who drafted and signed the statement, dubbed...

Politics: The faster history moves, the more rapidly time-tested principles assert themselves. A year ago America seemed headed toward democratic socialism. Now George Washington's spirit rises to cry "Halt!" On Wednesday, on the bank of the wide Potomac, on a parcel that once was part of the indispensable Founder's estate, a group of conservative thinkers and activists unveiled a concise summation of principles: "The Mount Vernon Statement." http://www.themountvernonstatement.com/) Some of these conservatives — former Atty. Gen. Ed Meese and Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner among them — for months had been cobbling the document out of the public eye. Through...

WASHINGTON -- What does it mean to be a conservative in the era of Obama? Get ready to hear from the movement’s grassroots leaders. More than 80 of the most influential and respected conservative grassroots leaders in the country plan to recommit themselves Wednesday to constitutional conservatism in an attempt to reunite and reground the movement, following a period when many thought conservatism was adrift. They have named the document they will each sign “The Mount Vernon Statement.”

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (BP)--A coalition of leading conservatives has unveiled a document promoting a "constitutional conservatism" and affirming the three legs of the movement: social, economic and national security conservatives. The Mount Vernon Statement, released at a news conference Wednesday (Feb. 17) at the Collingwood Library and Museum in Alexandria, Va. -- on land once owned by George Washington -- was modeled after the 1960 Sharon Statement, which was released 40 years ago and spearheaded by the late conservative leader William F. Buckley.

As much as the surprise retirement of Sen. Evan Bayh (D.-Ind.) and the bright prospects of a conservative Republican pickup of his seat dominated political talk among Washington-area conservatives on Presidents' Day (February 15th), there was another development that may prove to be equally important. The just-unveiled Mount Vernon Statement, a document crafted and signed by 80 national conservative leaders that spells out the traditional belief in the principles of the Founding Fathers and in the concept of  liberty that is spelled out in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.A gamut of conservative leaders helped...

Looks like FREEDOM is catching FIRE again! The Mount Vernon Statement is set to be signed today by 80 leading conservatives on the eve of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) event in Washington this week. Some call it a manifesto, some a resurgence of the Contract with America. May I remind readers of the true conservative manifesto? Michelle Malkin just hit on this topic and I thought it was worthwhile to write some commentary. The United States Constitution is a fantastic document written by great leaders who ensured the document would work well centuries into the future. They provided...