Libertas 35.3 - Fall 2014

Vol. 35 • No. 3Fall 2014

“There is no better way to establish hope for the future than to enlighten young minds.” — President ronald reagan

November 28, 2014

Dear Friends,

P resident Reagan told us, “There is no better way to establish hope for the future than to enlighten young minds.” Today, more than ever, his words ring true. Our nation needs our young people to understand the

importance of preserving and advancing freedom. And it is up to us to ensure they do. Many want to reach blacks and Hispanics, arguing they have values in common with our principles. Some brainstorm how we can reach more women. But all of those groups, to varying degrees, have resisted joining us en masse. Of course, Young America’s Foundation continues our efforts to reach those audiences. However, the surest audience that we have the best chance to win over right now is young Americans. They are more persuadable and, once activated, can stay with us for decades. And they are already poised to join us because of failed government initiatives, a poor job market, and increasing realization that their generation faces record personal and governmental debt. History teaches us that no major movement has been able to sustain itself without an active, and usually well-funded, youth component. This was the backbone of the Civil Rights Movement, which was led by a 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. and a 23-year-old John Lewis. It was true of the Goldwater-Reagan Movement. That is why there are so many “Reaganites” still active in public policy debates. It was true of Saul Alinsky’s efforts and the McCarthy-McGovern forces. Congressman Ron Paul also built the modern day libertarian force this way. Even the “Environmental Movement” harnesses the energy and idealism of our young people to build its base. In contrast, the Dole, McCain, and even Romney efforts failed to give any priority to gaining a youth following. Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey overlooked students, and their style of politics collapsed. Even the neo-cons faded because they were disdainful of youth activism. Likewise, churches without active youth ministries decline or die off. We can change that. Young America’s Foundation, with your help, can activate and train reinforcements—and this is the very best time in an eight-year cycle to do just that. Now is the time to engage students in public policy debates. Barack Obama’s time in office is winding down, and many new, exciting voices are emerging. However, we know the Left will make its greatest efforts during this time. Whether or not one leader emerges from the conservative ranks, he or she will need a youth following and will need a base of support of young people to be successful. Our Movement needs young people to expand and grow. Young America’s Foundation is in the best position to make that happen.

Sincerely,

Ron Robinson President

Sincerely,

Ron Robinson

Young America’s Foundation Board Of Directors

Ron Robinson President of the Board

Ronald Pearson Vice President of the Board

Frank Donatelli Secretary and Treasurerof the Board

T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.Wynton C. HallPeter SchweizerJames B. TaylorThomas L. Phillips

Director Emeritus

Reagan Ranch Board Of Governors

Frank Donatelli ChairmanEdwin Meese Co-ChairmanRobert F. AgostinelliGovernor George AllenJohn BarlettaDr. Suzanne BeckerLisa M. BuestrinRobert CumminsBecky Norton DunlopRobert Giuffra, Jr.Timothy S. GoegleinAmbassador Patricia L. HerboldEric & Nicole HoplinMarty IrvingHarold KnapheideMark LarsonRebekah MercerAl MooreDoug & Pat PerryThomas L. PhillipsRear Admiral JJ QuinnFred & Ruth SacherRichard & Jane Schwartz Craig ShirleyOwen & Bernadette Casey SmithBarbara S. WaddellJay Webber

National Journalism Center Board Of Governors

T. Kenneth Cribb ChairmanKellyanne ConwayRich LowryAlex MarlowAlex MooneyKatie PavlichRon PearsonMatt RobinsonTom WinterThomas L. Phillips Chairman Emeritus

Libertas, the Latin word for liberty, is a publication of Young America’s Foundation which highlights the programs, events, students, staff, and supporters of the Foundation. You may contact Libertas and Young America’s Foundation by writing to: Young America’s Foundation, National Headquarters, 11480 Commerce Park Drive, Sixth Floor, Reston, Virginia 20191; calling 800-USA-1776; or visiting yaf.org.

Editor: Jessica Jensen; Publisher: Ron Robinson; Publication Design: Jonathan Briggs; Assistant Editors: Patrick Coyle, Caroline Corazza, Clare Hinshaw, Nicole Hoplin, Chris Miranda, Ashley Pratte, Brendan Pringle, Morgan Shields, Sawyer Smith, and Ashley Weaver; Washington, D.C. event photographer: Face to Face Photography and Meghan Espinoza; California event photographer: Jacqueline Pilar. This document and all herein contents, images, stories, graphics, and design, fall unto copyright © 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Young America’s Foundation, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Any use of Libertas’ content without the written permission of Young America’s Foundation is prohibited.

9 Salmon, West, Folsom, Reagan, and Goldwater Inspire High School Students in California and Washington, D.C. By Katie Taran, Director of Conferences

15 2014 Rawhide Circle Retreat Features Bolton, Fallin, Inhofe, and Lankford By Caroline Corazza, Development Officer

17 Special Insert: The Tragedy of Campus Illiberalism By Dr. Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University

25 Professors You Need to Know: An Interview with Dr. Robert George By Sawyer Smith, Program Officer

30 Senators Scott and Cruz, Gingrich, George, and Rose Headline 36th Annual National Conservative Student Conference By Katie Taran, Director of Conferences

37 Folsom, Agostinelli, Pavlich, and Ebenstein Share Free Market Principles During Road to Freedom Seminar By Patrick X. Coyle, Vice President

Also in This Issue:

4 Young America’s Foundation Moves to New Headquarters

5 C-SPAN Covers Katie Pavlich’s Reagan Ranch Roundtable Address

6 Hatch, Donatelli, and Dunlop Address Capitol Hill Interns

7 YAF Leaders Receive Hands-On Training

8 President’s Club Supporters Gather in Santa Barbara

On the Cover:At every Foundation program, students introduce themselves and share why they are attending that particular event.

L IBERTASFall 2014 • Volume 35 • Number 3

VOL. 35 • NO. 3

FALL 2014

“There is no better way to establish hope for the

future than to enlighten young minds.”

— President ronald reagan

4 Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2014

in late July, young america’s Foundation relocated our national headquarters a few miles down the road to Reston, Virginia. We had outgrown the Herndon, Virginia-based office that had served us well for more than 25 years, and Young America’s Foundation’s leadership decided it was time to find a location that could better meet our current needs. The new office occupies the entire sixth floor of a Class A office building, located just steps from the new Wiehle-Reston East station on the new Silver Line Metro system. The 20,000 square-foot space is newly renovated and includes a large training room with state-of-the-art audio visual equipment, a board room, several small meeting rooms, 35 individual staff offices, nine intern work stations, and ample storage and production space. The move to this office brings all of the Foundation’s headquarters staff, including the National Journalism Center team, under one roof. It also allows for our team to run student programs on-site and throughout the year. The location near the Silver Line Metro station will allow for interns, students, staff, and visitors to easily access our headquarters via the subway. Young America’s Foundation celebrated the opening of our new offices with an open house and reception in September. Attorney General Ed Meese, Ursula Meese, Governor George Allen, Susan Allen, Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli, Foundation Vice President Ron Pearson, Foundation President Ron Robinson, and Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute President Michelle Easton served as hosts for the event, which attracted more than 150 local students, supporters, and friends.

Young America’s Foundation Moves to New Headquarters

I N B r I e F

Ron Robinson, Susan Allen, Governor George Allen, and Frank Donatelli help host the open house celebrating Young America’s Foundation’s new national headquarters.

Attorney General Edwin Meese addresses the open house attendees.

The new office occupies the sixth floor of a Class A office building in Reston, Virginia.

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2014 5

I N B r I e F

Pavlich addresses Young America’s Foundation’s students and supporters at the Reagan Ranch Center—where she attended the Foundation’s programs as a student in 2008 and 2009.

young america’s Foundation welcomed New York Times bestselling author, Fox News contributor, and YAF alumna Katie Pavlich to the Reagan Ranch Center for a Wendy P. McCaw Reagan Ranch Roundtable. The event was held in conjunction with our Road to Freedom Seminar (see page 37). More than 200 students, supporters, and community members attended the event, which was recorded and later aired on C-SPAN’s Book TV. Pavlich discussed her new book, Assault and Flattery: The Truth About the Left and Their War on Women, and Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member and radio show host Mark Larson emceed the event. Pavlich opened by thanking Young America’s Foundation: “When they say I was inspired to do what I’m doing now as a result of attending a conference here in 2008, it’s absolutely true.” She continued, “YAF really does change the lives of students.” Pavlich then discussed some topics included in her new book, noting, “[It is] utterly absurd…that the Left is portrayed as the champion of women.” Pavlich argued that modern feminism is actually a front for socialism. She explained, since the 1960s, “women’s rights have simply acted as a veil to distract away from the true intentions of progressive activists.” Pavlich excoriated President Obama’s efforts to “make women more dependent on the government for everything that they have.” She argued that it is actually conservatives who protect women’s health, ensuring that women “know all of their

options” when considering abortion. “Women succeed through opportunity, free markets, and hard work,” she said, “Not through dependence on the government or through socialist policies.” Pavlich reaffirmed the importance of taking the fight for women’s success to college campuses and urged YAF “to continue that fight.”

C-SPAN Covers Katie Pavlich’s Reagan Ranch Roundtable Address

New York Times bestselling author Katie Pavlich signs copies of her latest book, Assault and Flattery, at the Reagan Ranch Center.

“When they say I was inspired

to do what I’m doing now

as a result of attending a

conference here in 2008, it’s

absolutely true. YAF really does

change the lives of students.”


in early June, hundreds oF caPitol hill interns gathered to remember a man whose passing ten years ago was one of the saddest days in the Conservative Movement’s history. To honor President Reagan’s lasting accomplishments, Young America’s Foundation, with the help of Vice President Ron Pearson, hosted a panel on Capitol Hill. Speakers included Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli, and Heritage Foundation Vice President Becky Norton Dunlop. (Donatelli and Dunlop, members of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors, also served in the Reagan administration.) “In my experience, President Reagan’s great success stemmed from his principled but also prudent approach to government,” Senator Hatch told the standing-room-only audience. Hatch, who “fought as a foot soldier of the Reagan Revolution,” spoke about Reagan’s good character as well as the trials and victories that he faced while President. “Reagan did not get everything that he wanted—far from it. But he was successful in advancing several of his critical policy priorities,” Senator Hatch

explained. “And in doing so, he ushered in an unprecedented period of economic growth that helped bring about America’s triumph with the evil Soviet Union.” Following the program, attendees received copies of Young America’s Foundation’s popular poster of Ronald Reagan and left with a greater appreciation for President Reagan’s values and the revolution he led.

Hatch, Donatelli, and Dunlop Address Capitol Hill Interns

I N B r I e F

Senator Orrin Hatch speaks to Capitol Hill interns during Young America’s Foundation’s panel celebrating the life and lasting accomplishments of Ronald Reagan.

Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member and Heritage Foundation Vice President Becky Norton Dunlop shares insights from her years in the Reagan administration.

Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli moderates the event, which has been held annually since President Reagan’s passing in 2004.

Capitol Hill interns attend the Foundation’s standing-room-only event on the tenth anniversary of President Reagan’s passing.


Young Americans for Freedom Leaders Receive Hands-On Trainingin late sPring, young america’s Foundation hosted an activism training seminar for leaders of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapters at universities around the country. The training took place at the Foundation’s headquarters and included YAF chairmen and executive board members from Hillsdale College, Liberty University, Texas Christian University, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Nevada, and the University of Tennessee, among other schools. During the two-day seminar, students participated in focused discussions on core aspects of activism: recruiting, fundraising, event planning, media relations, and graphics and design. President Ron Robinson, Vice President Patrick Coyle, Program Officers Amy de Venoge and Raj Kannappan, and Spokeswoman Ashley Pratte conducted these sessions. Larissa Clark, a participant from Hillsdale College, described the training: “This seminar is truly a highlight of my summer. I now feel far more equipped to expand my YAF chapter and further spread conservative ideals on my campus.” Additionally, Kate Obenshain, Foundation alumna and author, energized students with a talk on courageous leadership, describing the challenges and hesitations she faced as a student activist at the University of Virginia. She told the young activists, “It’s not easy, but you don’t do it because it’s easy. You do it because you know in the bottom of your heart that it’s the right thing to do.”

I N B r I e F

Young Americans for Freedom activists spend an afternoon on Capitol Hill during a two-day training seminar at the Foundation’s headquarters.


this year, young america’s Foundation’s annual President’s club weekend in santa barbara coincided with the high school conFerence at the reagan ranch (see page 9). Throughout the weekend, the President’s Club members heard from conservative leaders, interacted with high school students from across the country, and toured President Reagan’s ranch. President’s Club attendees also observed the student sessions that took place at the start of the program. These sessions featured Michael Reagan, author and son of President Reagan; Dr. Burt Folsom, author and Hillsdale College professor; and Joseph Phillips, actor and conservative commentator. Participants attended a rooftop reception and dinner featuring Rachel Campos Duffy, spokeswoman for the LIBRE Initiative and television personality. The weekend also included a visit to President Reagan’s beloved Rancho del Cielo, where the participants enjoyed tours of the Ranch, including trail rides to see some of President Reagan’s favorite areas of the property. Following the tours, Barry Goldwater Jr., the son of Barry Goldwater who also served in the United States House of Representatives, addressed the students and supporters during a luncheon on the lawn. To close the wonderful weekend, President’s Club supporters returned to the Reagan Ranch Center for a dinner featuring Lt. Col. Allen West who discussed how we can reestablish President Reagan’s vision for America. President’s Club weekend is a wonderful opportunity for Young America’s Foundation to say thank you to our loyal supporters and share the impact they have because of their support.

President’s Club Supporters Enjoy a Weekend in Santa Barbara

I N B r I e F

President’s Club members (from left) Bob Paulger, Lisa Lundstrom, and Jane Paulger mingle with fellow Foundation supporters during a special reception on the Mr. & Mrs. Alwal Anheuser Beims Moore Rooftop Terrace at the Reagan Ranch Center.

Barry Goldwater Jr. addresses members of Young America’s Foundation’s President’s Club and high school students attending the weekend-long program at Rancho del Cielo.

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salmon, West, Folsom, reagan, and goldwater Inspire high school students in California and Washington, D.C.By Katie taran, Director of Conferences

Students from coast-to-coast traveled to Santa Barbara, California, for Young America’s Foundation’s summer High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch.

Young America’s Foundation’s 17th National High School Leadership Conference includes a special evening tour of Washington, D.C., and the national monuments.

this summer, Young america’s Foundation high school conferences,

held near Washington, D.C., and in santa Barbara, California, attracted more than 400 participants to learn from some of today’s leading authors, professors, public policy officials, and others. as ronald reagan said, “there is no better way to establish hope for the future, than to enlighten young minds,” and Young america’s Foundation aims to do just that through all of our programs. our high school conferences, in particular, ensure students hear many of the ideas which, sadly, are missing from their classrooms. these young participants receive an introduction to the Conservative Movement and the values upon which our nation was founded. Conference speakers address a variety of topics: from the importance of the Constitution to why free markets work to foreign policy and beyond. Most importantly, the high school students who participate in our programs gain confidence in their own understanding of key principles and learn how they can advance these ideas amongst their peers. Indeed, Young america’s Foundation’s high school programs give our youngest student activists the tools and knowledge they need to “establish hope” for their own futures and beyond.(Continued on page ten)

17th gratia houghton rinehart National high school Leadership Conference

Young participants from 23 states and 77 schools gathered at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center just outside Washington, D.C., for the 17th

Gratia Houghton Rinehart National High School Leadership Conference. The conference kicked off with an opening dinner banquet featuring Congressman Matt Salmon of Arizona who talked

about how conservatives must step up to protect our free enterprise system from leftist policies. The first full day began with a talk from Congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico. Congressman Pearce inspired the students with an interactive talk about conservative leadership and the importance of pursuing your dreams. Students then broke into small groups to discuss the tenets of conservatism. Foundation President Ron Robinson followed with a discussion on the meaning of conservatism using the feedback from the breakout sessions. Bay Buchanan, author and president of the American Cause, rounded out the morning with a fiery talk on taking a strong stand for conservative ideas. That afternoon, Kirby Wilbur,

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Dr. Burt Folsom, author and Hillsdale College professor, leads an interactive student group discussion at the Reagan Ranch Center.

Economist Mark Skousen teaches high school students about the “Big Three” in economics—Smith, Marx, and Keynes—and why a free market is necessary to grow our economy.

Antonia Adams from South Carolina participates in Foundation President Ron Robinson’s discussion on the tenets of conservatism.

Congressman Matt Salmon encourages the National High School Leadership Conference attendees to protect freedom and free enterprise.

executive director of the National Journalism Center; Dr. Burt Folsom, author and professor of history at Hillsdale College; and Joshua Duggar, executive director of FRC Action, spoke on American exceptionalism, the economic policies of the 1920s and 1930s, and traditional values, respectively. The afternoon wrapped up with a screening of the Foundation’s film, Still Point in a Turning World: Ronald Reagan and His Ranch.

Dr. Folsom concluded the day with an enlightening discussion on the topic of his latest book: Uncle Sam Can’t Count: A History of Failed Government Investments, from Beaver Pelts to Green Energy.

The next day, students heard from author, columnist, and Foundation alumna Ying Ma on how her family worked

to achieve the American Dream. Television personality and commentator Rachel Campos Duffy talked on the importance of bringing conservatism to pop culture. Catherine Rodriguez, program director for the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, rounded out the morning with a lecture titled “Who Really Represents Women?” Devon Mulhollen, historian and daughter of economist Dr. Walter Williams, offered an insightful presentation on the history of free enterprise, and Foundation Vice President Patrick Coyle instructed the students on how they can advance their ideas at their schools. A student activism panel, moderated by YAF Chapter Services Program Officer Raj Kannappan, followed Coyle’s remarks. Panelists included Kaitlyn Anderson

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Rachel Campos Duffy, television personality and commentator, encourages the high school conference attendees to utilize popular culture to advance their ideas and values.

Stephan Tacub from California introduces himself during the High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch.

Congressman Steve Pearce engages the high school students in a lesson about strong leadership and following their dreams.

Author and 37th Treasurer of the United States Bay Buchanan motivates the young attendees to fully understand their beliefs and be bold in their activism.

of Canyon High School, Julia Paulus of Highland High School, and Joe Ballard of Bellarmine College Prep.

The conference concluded with a memorable twilight tour of the monuments in Washington, D.C.—where the students were inspired even further to do what is necessary to preserve freedom. The young leaders departed the conference ready to promote their values at their schools and in their communities.

“The conference not only taught me how vital it is to be an active conservative leader in today’s society but also what it means to me to be a conservative,” noted Abigail Capps. “I learned that it’s not enough to just be a conservative; you need to care and be active if we want to see the change that America needs.”

high school Conference at the reagan ranch

More than 250 attendees gathered at the Reagan Ranch Center for Young America’s Foundation’s summer High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch.

Participants included students from 16 states and 65 schools who came to learn more about conservative ideas and to walk in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan at his beloved Rancho del Cielo. The event began with a reception on the Mr. and Mrs. Alwal Anheuser Beims Moore Rooftop Terrace, immediately followed by an opening dinner banquet in the David Louis

Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute Program Director Catherine Rodriguez engages the young audience during her speech on feminism and “Who Really Represents Women?”

President Reagan’s son, Michael Reagan, teaches the high school students how they can best communicate their ideas to new audiences.

Cecelia Corbin and Jacob Russell from Missouri participate in a visit to Rancho del Cielo during the weekend-long program.

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Bartlett Outreach Center. Long-time Foundation faculty member Dr. Burt Folsom served as the opening speaker and warned the students of textbook bias and what their history teachers aren’t telling them. Every student received a copy of Dr. Folsom’s newest book, Uncle Sam Can’t Count, following the dinner banquet. The next day, students heard from renowned economist Dr. Mark Skousen on the “Big Three” in economics—Smith, Marx, and Keynes—and who’s winning the battle of ideas. As a part of Dr. Skousen’s presentation, students discussed related questions in small breakout sessions. Ron Robinson concluded the morning’s activities with a participatory discussion on the meaning of conservatism. Later, students heard from author and President Reagan’s son Michael

Reagan, Dr. Folsom, and actor and author Joseph Phillips on knowing your audience, wasteful government spending, and race in America, respectively. Following a reception on the rooftop terrace, students joined President’s Club members for a dinner banquet featuring Rachel Campos Duffy. Duffy emphasized the importance of bringing conservative ideas to pop culture. “Young people...are in the best position to really make an impact on culture,” Duffy explained. “If you have a passion for journalism, if you have a passion for broadcasting, for acting, for movie-making, producing—if you have a knack for social media—whatever it is, I can tell you that the Conservative Movement absolutely needs you.”

High school conference attendees join Young America’s Foundation supporters for a luncheon featuring Barry Goldwater Jr. at the Reagan Ranch.

Students attending the National High School Leadership Conference receive pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution.

Historian Devon Mulhollen discusses the history of free markets and why they prevail. W

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Foundation Vice President Patrick Coyle started the final day of the conference with a presentation on how students could use the Reagan Model of Activism to advance freedom at their schools.

Lieutenant Colonel Allen West then inspired the students with a speech on what conservatism must do to prevail. “It’s a very simple military principle,” Colonel West remarked. “You never win on defense. You win on offense.”

Later in the day, the students visited the Reagan Ranch, where they joined President’s Club members for a luncheon on the lawn of Rancho del Cielo. There, the students and supporters heard from Barry Goldwater Jr., a U.S. Congressman from 1975 to 1983, who discussed how his

father, the late Senator Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan changed the Conservative Movement 50 years ago. Following the luncheon, the students toured the historic property. They also enjoyed Cloud-Climber Jeep rides to the helipad and other scenic areas of Rancho del Cielo. By the end of the conference, the students left knowing more about conservative ideas and how to stand up for them, in addition to having made lifelong friends in the process. Attendee Richard Teachenor of Oak View, California, noted, “Thank you for presenting me with this golden opportunity to learn more about conservatism and how to rebut liberal teachers and professors in high school and college. I was inspired by the call to arms for activism.”

Lt. Col. Allen West (middle) meets with Young America’s Foundation’s Sarah T. Hermann Intern Scholars who helped organize the summer high school conference at the Reagan Ranch. Pictured from left: Caleb Heim from Patrick Henry College, Avery Douglas from the University of Texas, Lt. Col. Allen West, Sallie Taylor from Southern Methodist University, and Sean Ford from Biola University.

National High School Leadership Conference attendees gather following a full day of hearing from imspiring speakers.W

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Grace Gaddis from Ohio enjoys the High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch.

FRC Action Executive Director Joshua Duggar underscores the importance of advancing traditional values among young people.


Members of Young America’s Foundation’s Rawhide Circle gathered together in Oklahoma City for the 2014 Rawhide Circle retreat. Oklahoma has experienced

much growth and prosperity with conservative leaders at the helm, and the weekend featured many of those same leaders sharing how limited government and free market ideas are benefiting their state. The program began at the Devon Energy Tower overlooking beautiful Oklahoma City. Ambassador John Bolton gave a rousing talk about the failure of the Obama Administration’s foreign policy and the success of Ronald Reagan’s “peace through strength” philosophy. State Representative TW Shannon also offered brief remarks at the start of the dinner, and Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Mark Larson emceed the program. The next morning began with a special briefing

emceed by Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli. Speakers included Governor George Allen, U.S. Senator James Inhofe, Foundation Vice President and General Counsel Kimberly Martin Begg, and Foundation President Ron Robinson. Senator Inhofe shared his thoughts on the current state of affairs in Washington, D.C., and Begg discussed what Young America’s Foundation supporters can do to ensure their estate gifts reach the groups and causes for which the supporters intend. Robinson highlighted the Foundation’s year-long plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s “Time for Choosing” speech, and the morning concluded with a viewing of the Foundation’s new 18-minute film, A Time for Choosing: The Next Generation. A highlight of the weekend was a visit to the Oklahoma Governor’s mansion where Governor

Bolton, Fallin, Inhofe, and Lankford Headline 2014 Rawhide Circle Retreat in Oklahoma CityBy Caroline Corazza, Development officer

Governor Mary Fallin welcomes the Rawhide Circle retreat attendees to the Governor’s mansion in Oklahoma City.


Mary Fallin provided a tour of the historic home and hosted the group for lunch on the property. Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Nicole Hoplin emceed the luncheon, and Attorney General Edwin Meese introduced Governor Fallin. In her remarks, the governor highlighted how conservative policies are responsible for the economic growth in her state. She charged each guest to use the example of Oklahoma to promote freedom nationwide.

Following the luncheon, the group made a special visit to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum where Ronald Reagan was twice inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

The 2014 Rawhide Circle retreat concluded with a dinner at the historic Skirvin Hilton in downtown Oklahoma City. National Journalism Center Executive Director Kirby Wilbur emceed the final dinner, and Foundation Vice President Ron Pearson introduced the evening’s speaker: Congressman James Lankford. The two-term congressman and former youth camp director spoke about the importance of principled leadership, family, and a return to the ideas upon which America was built. Overall, the weekend was a great success, an enlightening experience in a thriving state, and a wonderful opportunity for Young America’s Foundation to thank the supporters who make our work possible.

During the Rawhide Circle retreat’s opening dinner, Ambassador John Bolton discusses the dangerous flaws in the Obama administration’s foreign policy.

Congressman James Lankford speaks at the Rawhide Circle retreat’s closing banquet.

State Representative TW Shannon offers remarks on current events.

Governor Fallin (left) meets with Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Barbara Waddell (middle) and Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute President Michelle Easton (right).

Senator James Inhofe discusses the challenges facing our nation.

Colleges and

universities

have three basic

purposes: the

pursuit of knowledge, the

preservation of knowledge,

and the transmission of

knowledge.

Of course, there are other

desirable, important ends

that colleges and universities

legitimately seek while also

pursuing those fundamental

purposes, but these three

are fundamental. They are

constitutive, defining purposes

of academic institutions.

All the other things those

institutions do are founded upon

them, and anything they do that

undermines those three fundamental purposes, they should

not be doing.

So, for example, though I support enthusiastically college

athletics, I support them only insofar as they do not damage

the academic program, that is, the transmission of knowledge.

When, or to the extent that, they do harm the academic

program, they need to be reformed, or if they can’t be

reformed, if that’s not feasible, abolished.

Now there are certainly colleges and universities today,

as in the past, that emphasize sports to the detriment of

the academic program.

But athletics are not the

great threat, certainly not

the greatest threat to the

integrity of our colleges

and universities today. A far

greater and graver threat is

posed by the politicization of

these institutions.

The problem is most vividly

manifest in the phenomenon

of campus illiberalism. By that

I mean the unwillingness of

so many members of college

and university communities,

faculty and students alike,

to entertain or even to listen

to arguments that challenge

the opinions they happen to

hold, whether those opinions

have to do with climate science, affirmative action, racial or

ethnic preferences, abortion and the sanctity of human life,

welfare policy, marriage and sexual morality, U.S. foreign and

defense policy, the economic order, or the origins of human

consciousness.

Speaking invitations to dissenters from those campus

orthodoxies from the outside are usually simply not issued,

or if they are issued, dissenting speakers are disinvited under

pressure from opponents of their views. You’ll remember just

a few months ago at commencement time, in case after case,

———————————————— a ————————————————

“The Tragedy of Campus Illiberalism”Speech to Young America’s Foundation’s

36th Annual National Conservative Student Conference Participants

By Dr. Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University


Dr. Robert George addresses Young America’s Foundation’s 2013 National Conservative Student Conference.

commencement speakers who deviated from the campus

orthodoxy, even if they weren’t that conservative, were

disinvited, or if they were not disinvited, they were pressured

to withdraw under the threat of disruptive forms of protest.

Or, if they did not withdraw, they were interrupted by abusive

protestors and even shouted down.

It’s not just visitors to college campuses. Faculty and

student dissenters within campus communities are sometimes

subjected to abuse and intimidation. Every effort is made to

ensure that they are denied opportunities to speak their minds,

or they are intimidated into silence.

I don’t want to paint with too broad a brush, here. The

situation is better or worse at different institutions. As it

happens, the situation’s not at all bad at my own institution. I

am entering my thirtieth happy year at Princeton University,

where I’ve never been subjected to intimidation or abuse,

though threats from off campus have been made against me,

one of which landed the perpetrator in a federal prison, and

threats have been made against Princeton for having me on

its faculty. But you all know the cases that I have in mind at

colleges and universities around the country.

The core of the problem is this: many institutions are

letting the side down, letting down the academic mission,

compromising it, undermining it, when it comes to the

transmission of knowledge, and they’re doing that by failing to

ensure that their students, at every level, are confronted with,

and have the opportunity to consider, the very best that’s to

be said on competing sides of questions that are in dispute

among reasonable people of good will.

I don’t care whether it’s climate science, or affirmative

action, or abortion, or marriage, or the origins of human

consciousness: These institutions are permitting prevailing

opinions to harden on campuses into dogmas, into

orthodoxies—dogmas that go largely unchallenged—leaving

students with the false belief that there are in fact no disputes

on these matters, at least among reasonable people of good

will.

At the core of our problem, then, is the toxic thing that

provides an environment in which illiberalism flourishes and

can be expected to manifest itself in the ways it manifests itself

today, and that toxic thing is the phenomenon we know of as

groupthink.

“The Tragedy of Campus IllIberalIsm”–––––––––––––––——————————–––––––––––––––– By Dr. Robert George –––––––––––––––——————————––––––––––––––––


Dr. George, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, is a regular speaker at Young America’s Foundation’s programs.

Now we fail to understand the depth of the problem, or

appreciate the danger it poses to intellectual life, if we take a

static view of knowledge, thinking of it as simply information

that’s passed into the mind of the recipient who records it,

passively, and then draws on it as needed. This is worse than

an oversimplification. The transmission of knowledge very

often goes beyond the acquisition of information or skills,

and requires the engagement of the

knowledge seeker with competing

perspectives and points of view. That’s

as true, by the way, in the sciences as it is

in the humanities and social sciences.

It also requires certain virtues

including open-mindedness—respect

for what John Stuart Mill called the

liberty of thought and discussion.

Intellectual humility, in other words.

Humility of the sort one can possess

only insofar as one appreciates, and not

merely notionally, one’s own fallibility.

Love of truth above all is the virtue that

is needed in our situation, and always,

when it comes to knowledge-seeking.

It’s the task of colleges and

universities, precisely as institutions of

higher learning, to expose students to

competing points of view and to foster

in them those virtues: openmindedness,

intellectual humility, the love of truth. Now, that’s necessary,

not because there are no truths to be obtained, but rather,

because the pursuit of truth and the deeper appropriation of

truth by the inquiring subject, you or me or any other student

or scholar, and their meaning and significance, require those

attitudes and virtues.

You see, then, that whatever is to be said about the claims

that the predominance of certain views and their proponents

on campuses and the exclusion of others is a problem of

unfairness to conservatives like us, the issue I’m calling

attention to here with you today is less about that unfairness

than it is about the need to avoid, and where it has set in to

overcome, groupthink in order to fulfill a constitutive purpose

of academic institutions. Even if no one was worried about

the fairness question, something more fundamental, even

more fundamental, would be at risk and at stake, and that is

the failure of these institutions to prosecute their constituting,

justifying mission of truth-seeking, knowledge-seeking, the

transmission of knowledge, the preservation of knowledge.

We owe our students that, and

we owe our students that, whether

they like it or not. They might be very

comfortable in a groupthink situation,

surrounded by people who share the

same dogmas. The purpose of the

university or the college is not to make

students comfortable. In fact, it’s to

make them rather uncomfortable

by making them confront ideas and

arguments that will make them think,

will make them wiser, that will awaken

them from their dogmatic slumbers.

It’s a scandal when students are

graduated from liberal arts colleges

and university programs with no

understanding, or worse yet, with

grotesque misunderstandings of the

arguments advanced by serious scholars

and thinkers who dissent from campus

dogmas on issues such as those I’ve

mentioned. Even if the opinions that the students happen

to have acquired in the environment of political correctness

happen to be true, even then, the ignorance of the arguments

of dissenters will prevent them from understanding the

truth as deeply as they should, and actually appropriating it,

that is to say, understanding why it is so and why competing

views have nevertheless attracted the attention and even the

allegiance of serious thinkers.

I believe it was the great early 20th century jurist Learned

Hand who said that, and I quote him, “The spirit of liberty is

the spirit of being not too sure one is right.” In making that

point, Hand was not endorsing radical skepticism or moral


“It’s the task of colleges

and universities,

precisely as institutions

of higher learning,

to expose students to

competing points of

view and to foster in

them those virtues:

openmindedness,

intellectual humility, the

love of truth.”



relativism or anything of the sort. Rather, he was pointing to

the need for the virtue of intellectual humility in light of the

inescapable reality of human fallibility. The judge’s focus was

on the need for that recognition and the corresponding virtue

in the project of establishing and maintaining republican

government, free institutions, and respect for freedom of the

human person.

But what Judge Hand said about the

spirit of liberty is also true of the spirit

of truth-seeking, that thing that colleges

and universities exist for the sake of:

namely, a sense of one’s own fallibility,

a sense that one could be wrong, an

openness to argument, an openness to

being challenged, even in one’s most

basic premises and fundamental beliefs,

a willingness to entertain criticism

and engage critics. All of these things

are essential, not just nice, not just ‘it

would be good that,’ but essential to

the truthseeking project. That means

they must be cultivated in institutions

whose mission includes the pursuit and

transmission of knowledge.

Now, none of this is to say that we

should be simply buried away in the

library, that we should not be advocates

of our points-of-view, or that we should

not be engaged in public policy. I would be a gross hypocrite

at best if I were to suggest any such thing, because I myself am

highly engaged, always, from my academic colleagues’ point of

view, on the wrong side. But engaged scholars, like all scholars,

need to be highly cognizant of their own fallibility, even on

matters about which they care deeply, and even when it comes

to causes in which they are profoundly, emotionally invested.

Even as advocates, we must cultivate intellectual humility

and a willingness to entertain the other guy’s arguments in a

serious way.

One must never imagine that one cannot possibly be

wrong about this or that cherished conviction, or that

one’s adversaries and intellectual critics cannot possibly

conceivably be right about anything. To adopt that attitude

is simply fatal to the enterprise of truth-seeking. Openness

to argument, openness to having one’s premises and

most fundamental beliefs and values challenged, is vitally

important to the knowledge-seeking mission that defines

liberal arts institutions. A spirit of openness to argument

and to challenge, where it flourishes

in an academic culture, is precisely

what immunizes institutions against

groupthink and chases the groupthink

away when it comes knocking at the

door.

Part of the problem, of course, is

that once groupthink has taken hold,

folks who are caught up in it don’t

recognize the problem. When is the

last time you heard somebody say,

“Yeah, you know what? My problem

is that I’m caught up in groupthink. I

tend to think just like everybody else

around me thinks.” You don’t hear

people say that, do you? (I actually did

hear someone say it once. A Princeton

colleague said it to me. She didn’t put

it quite that starkly, but that was her

thought, and I thought, gosh, that

was an amazing expression of self-

awareness and self-criticism. She was halfway out the door of

groupthink because she realized that she was in it.)

But generally, the trouble is that when you’re in

groupthink, you don’t know you’re in it. You may realize

that not everyone shares your views, but you will suppose

that those who dissent from them are irrational or ill-

motivated. You’ll imagine that anyone who disagrees with

you is a rube or a bigot or a tool of nefarious interests, a

fool, or a fraud. I see this throughout the academic world

today, where groupthink has set in big time. When someone

is in groupthink, that person could pass a lie detector test,

claiming that he’s not in groupthink. But that doesn’t mean


“A spirit of openness

to argument and

to challenge, where

it flourishes in an

academic culture,

is precisely what

immunizes institutions

against groupthink, and

chases the groupthink

away when it comes

knocking at the door.”

he’s actually not in groupthink. Wherever ideological

orthodoxies settle into place and are not subjected to

serious questions and challenges, you have to worry about

groupthink setting in. That’s true whether or not campus

illiberalism manifests itself in the more visible ways we are

now seeing so frequently with dissenting speakers being

excluded from campus or being shouted down or whatever.

It seems to me that viewpoint diversity, or what we might

call in an academic setting intellectual diversity, has its value

as a kind of vaccine against groupthink. And it’s a kind of

antidote to groupthink when it sets in. Diversity of views,

approaches, arguments, and the like, is the cure for campus

illiberalism. People who have the spirit of being not too sure

they are right, people who want to be challenged because

they know that challenging and being challenged are integral

and indispensable to the process of knowledge-seeking, such

people, whatever their personal views, will want intellectual

diversity on campus in order for the institution to accomplish

its mission.

When I entered the academic life in 1985, I was very

fortunate because I entered at a time when there were still

large numbers of what I call old-fashioned, honorable

liberals. They completely disagreed with me about just

about everything, but they thought it was important to have

dissenting voices around, voices dissenting from their own

opinions. I promise you that without such people, I couldn’t

have been hired, or given tenure, or installed in my endowed

chair or anything else, because there simply weren’t enough

conservatives around to make those things possible. My

academic career has been supported by honorable liberals

who want dissenting voices to be heard, or at least want a

dissenting voice to be heard.

Of course we all know that it’s pretty difficult to get

this intellectual diversity, and I think there are a number

of reasons for that. While in my own experience it’s

true, and some of my more liberal colleagues tell me in

their experience it’s true, that there is sometimes blatant,

conscious, obviously deliberate discrimination in hiring

and promoting against people who dissent from campus

orthodoxies, I happen to think that blatant, conscious,

deliberate discrimination, though it does occur, is not the

heart of our problem.

Let me tell you what I think the heart of our problem is. In

this vale of tears, we human beings, fallen and frail creatures

that we are, have a lot of trouble appreciating meritorious

work, and even good arguments, when they run contrary

to our own opinions, especially when we are strongly,

emotionally attached to those opinions. As I see it, this isn’t

a liberal or progressive, or left-wing problem, not, at least,

in principle. At the moment, it tends to be that way because

people on the left dominate the institutions we’re talking

about. But in principle, it’s not an ideological problem; it’s a

human nature problem. It’s an original sin problem.

Any time an intellectual or political orthodoxy has

hardened into place—it doesn’t matter whether it’s left-wing

or right-wing—it’s going to be very difficult for a lot of people

to draw a distinction between “work I disagree with, despite

its being really quite good and challenging and interesting and

important” and “work that goes contrary to what I just know

to be true on issues that are important and critical to me and

bound up with my sense of who I am as a fill-in-the-blank:

progressive, feminist, atheist, whatever.” People will experience

challenges to the dominant opinions as outrageous attacks on

truth; indecent assaults on essential values; threats to what is

good and true and right and just; intolerable violations of the

norms of our community.

I don’t know if any of you have seen the tweeting going

back and forth between Josh Barro and Ryan Anderson today.

Has anybody seen it? There are a couple of people who have.

You’ve got this New York Times writer, Josh Barro, attacking

Ryan Anderson, who is a marvelously gifted, brilliant,

articulate defender of marriage as the conjugal union of

husband and wife. Well, the New York Times guy, Barro, says,

“I don’t need to be civil to you. In fact, I shouldn’t be civil to

you. You deserve incivility. Why? Because you’re wrong.”

That’s toxic, toxic! Barro will never in his life learn

anything as long as he insists on adopting that attitude. To

his credit, of course, Anderson is exemplifying precisely the

opposite attitude, a willingness to engage in argument, to be

challenged, to try to learn something from his interlocutor.




My very dear friend, Alan Kors at the University of

Pennsylvania —wonderful historian, with whom I am

usually in 100% agreement on issues of academic culture

and reform—is someone who disagrees with my claim that

the problem is a human nature problem, not a problem

with a particular ideology that happens to be dominant in

contemporary academic culture. Professor Kors thinks the

problem is, in some essential way, at the level of principle

and not just as it happens today, contingently, a left-liberal

problem, a problem with progressive ideology itself, not a

problem rooted in what in other circumstances we might call

original sin.

Now, I’m skeptical about that. I think that what we have

here really is a human nature problem, a problem that can be

counted on to arise and threaten the integrity of intellectual

life anytime there is an absence of dissenting opinions

against an ideological orthodoxy, especially when it afflicts

most academic institutions, and most especially when it

prevails at the wealthiest, most prestigious, and therefore

most influential ones.

So, what should we do? Now, of course, as a dissenter

myself, and a member of a tiny minority, Ivy League

conservatives, I’m not in a position of having much power to

do anything about it. But I would say to my friends who are

on the more liberal side of the street, and who perceive the

problem as I do, to those old-fashioned honorable liberals,

I would say, well, number one, of course, we need to strike

against any conscious discrimination based on viewpoint.

It does happen, and it’s silly and dishonest to deny that it

happens.

Number two, by both precept and example, we need to

strike at the other, and what I’ve argued more fundamental

problem is: subconscious discrimination. We need to

strongly encourage faculty, administrators, board members,

people with influence in our colleges and universities—as

well as students themselves—to be rigorously self-critical,

to understand the importance of challenging and being

challenged.

We need to encourage people to be self-critical in ways

that would enable them honestly to say, as I might say about

the work of, for example, the philosopher Jeffrey McMahon,

“Well, you know, I’m really scandalized by his defense of

the moral permissibility of late-term abortion and even

infanticide. But there’s an argument he makes that’s got to be

met, and the burden is on me to make the argument that our

dignity as human beings comes in virtue of our humanity, or

by our status as rational creatures, beings possessing, at least

in root form, even at the earliest stages of development, the

capacities for the types of characteristically human activities

that give human beings a special kind of dignity and

inviolability.” The burden is on me, in other words, to meet

his challenge.

I want my colleagues on the other side to take the same

position about work by conservative scholars, especially in

these hot-button areas. But I acknowledge that it’s a hard thing

to do, and it’s especially hard when orthodoxies have hardened

into place and one isn’t even hearing arguments against one’s

position. And when one is not hearing them, and everyone

one knows, and everyone in one’s circle, tends to be thinking

the same thing about an issue or set of issues, no matter how

much diversity there is out there on other stuff, we are headed,

like a shot, into groupthink.

When one is hearing the same thing from everyone whom

one respects, when one is being reinforced in one’s opinions

by all one’s friends and colleagues, whether it’s a student or

faculty member, the motivation to think more critically tends

to be very hard to work up. Working it up is so much easier

when one is regularly, in the normal course of things, being

challenged by thoughtful people who do not always see things

just as one does oneself. Now I have the advantage of being

in that condition every moment of every day at Princeton

University.

I think it’s best, and I tell my liberal colleagues it’s best for

them and for the institutions they serve not to get ourselves

into this fix in the first place by permitting ideological

orthodoxies to form on college and university campuses. But

if they have formed, then our challenge is to help people to

appreciate work—and to be willing to say they appreciate

work—that is meritorious, even when they do not agree with

the arguments and positions being advanced.


I want to give a couple of examples of the value of

viewpoint or intellectual diversity from my own personal

experience in the academy. One is the James Madison

Program at Princeton, which I’ve had the honor to direct

for 14 years since its founding. The impact of the Madison

Program on the culture of Princeton University, precisely

by bringing viewpoint diversity into our community in a

serious way, has been tremendous and salutary. It gives me

enormous satisfaction that this opinion of mine about the

importance of the Madison Program is shared by many of

my liberal colleagues who share none of my other opinions.

They’ve praised the Madison Program for turning what might

have been campus monologues into dialogues, benefiting

everybody in the process.

The presence on campuses of initiatives like the Madison

Program ensures that there are people around who think

different things, even about fundamental issues that

everybody cares about, and which many people assume

all academics, being left-wingers, are on one side of.

That’s great, because it means that in general discussions

across the University, and

not just in the Madison

Program’s own events,

people cannot simply

suppose that everybody in

the room shares the same

assumptions or holds the

same positions. People

know that they will have

to defend their premises,

because those premises will

be challenged. That makes

for a different—I assure you,

a very different and much

better and more serious—

kind of engagement, a

kind of engagement that

profoundly enriches the

intellectual life of the entire

community.

The second example, again from my own experience, is

the experience I’ve had teaching with my beloved friend and

colleague Professor Cornel West. Now, Professor West and

I, well, let’s just say we don’t agree about everything, but we

teach together, and even though he recently left Princeton

for Union Theological Seminary, he’s coming back again this

coming spring so that we can teach together again.

It’s a beautiful thing, our teaching together, because we

are able to collaborate across the lines of ideological and

political difference in the common project of truth-seeking,

knowledge-seeking, wisdom-seeking, engaging with each

other and with our students in serious, respectful, and

civil dialogue, striving to understand each other and learn

from each other, treating each other not as enemies, but as

partners—even as we challenge each other—as partners

in the dialectical enterprise of seeking truth, knowledge,

wisdom.

In a given semester, one of our seminars might begin with

Sophocles’ Antigone and conclude with Martin Luther King’s

Letter from the Birmingham Jail. In the weeks in between, we



Dr. George meets with students attending Young America’s Foundation’s 35th annual National Conservative Student Conference.


might be reading St. Augustine’s Confessions, Machiavelli’s

Prince, Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto, Hayek’s Road

to Serfdom, John Henry Newman’s Idea of a University, John

Dewey’s A Common Faith, W.E.B. DuBois’ Souls of Black

Folk, C.S. Lewis’ Abolition of Man, Antonio Gramsci’s Prison

Notebooks, Leo Strauss’ Natural Right and History. No onesided

deal. Lots of different perspectives, from

Marx to Hayek represented—with a

couple of professors in front whose

sympathies run in opposite directions,

but engaging each other in a serious

way, inviting the students into that

conversation.

We can’t wait for Wednesdays to

come each week, so we can be back in

the classroom together. We have a blast,

which is nice, and we learn from each

other. Our approach is the very opposite

of antiquarian. We look for the timeless

meaning and contemporary significance

of the texts we assign. We consider

existential, moral, religious, and political

questions that are important to us and

our students in the context of those

writings I mentioned.

Here’s the thing that really matters:

the students learn, and they learn

how to learn. They’re not there being

indoctrinated. They’re not in catechism

class. They’re not in a context of

groupthink. They learn to approach intellectual and political

matters dialectically, critically engaging the most compelling

points to be adduced in favor of competing ideas and claims.

They learn the value and importance of mutual respect and

civility. They learn from two guys with some pretty strong

opinions, neither of whom is shy about stating his opinions

publicly, that the spirit of truth-seeking, like the spirit of

liberty, is a spirit open to the possibility that one might be

wrong about this or that or the other thing, including, maybe,

some things that are pretty important.

Someone might ask, my colleagues sometimes do ask,

when I make these arguments to them: Am I advocating

affirmative action for conservatives? Well, no. I’m advocating

attitudes and practices that will cure campus illiberalism

without the need to, “recruit conservatives,” or give

conservative scholars preferences in hiring and promotion. I

want everybody to be held to the same

standards. But that’s the point: hold

everybody to the same standards. Don’t

judge people on the basis of whether

they happen to be conservative or

happen to be liberal.

If conscious and unconscious

prejudice against people who dissent

from prevailing dogmas were defeated,

if intellectual diversity were truly valued

for the vital contribution it makes to the

cause of learning, the hiring problems

would take care of themselves and no

affirmative action for conservatives

would be needed. A historian such

as the great Allen Guelzo, who’s at

Gettysburg College, a fine institution

to be sure, would be at Yale or Stanford,

which is where a scholar of that degree

of brilliance and eminence deserves to

be. He would be hired by the vote of a

group of people, few or none of whom

happen to share his conservative politics

or his evangelical Christian faith.

An outstanding legal scholar such as Michael Paulsen,

who is at the University of St. Thomas, another fine

institution, would be at Harvard or the University of

Chicago. We would not have departments of sociology

or political science or history with 43 liberals and one

conservative—more likely, one libertarian—nor would we

have the embarrassments, and more importantly, the tragedy

of campus illiberalism.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to

share these thoughts with you. I appreciate it very, very much.


“We need to strongly

encourage faculty,

administrators, board

members, people with

influence in our colleges

and universities—

as well as students

themselves—to

be rigorously self-

critical, to understand

the importance of

challenging and being

challenged.”


An Interview with Dr. Robert GeorgeBy sawyer smith, Program officer

Professors You Need to Know today’s young people are rarely introduced to conservative ideas in their classrooms and on their campuses. Most go their entire academic careers without meeting or hearing from a conservative professor. While the outlook seems grim on most campuses, there is a glimmer of hope among the faculty at several schools. over the next few issues of Libertas, Young america’s Foundation will highlight some of the country’s top conservative professors. these are individuals directly reaching today’s young people with the importance of free enterprise, individual freedom, and limited government. their teachings extend beyond their classrooms: through their own writings, their involvement with Young america’s Foundation, media appearances, and nationwide lectures. they are steadfast in their beliefs and dedicated to ensuring today’s young people receive the education they deserve. this issue features Dr. robert george, Princeton University’s McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and founding director of the James Madison Program in american Ideals and Institutions. Dr. george regularly addresses Young america’s Foundation’s programs, including our annual National Conservative student Conference in Washington, D.C. Dr. george has received numerous awards, including the Bradley Prize for Intellectual achievement, and is the author of several books, including In Defense of Natural Law and Making Men Moral.

Libertas: You’ve had a long history of speaking at Young america’s Foundation’s programs. What do you most enjoy about your involvement?—————————————————————————————————————————

RG: It’s great fun and so encouraging to interact with such smart, dedicated, and courageous young men and women. It pleases me enormously that so many conservative students are truly interested in ideas and arguments. They are people of principle, but not ideologues. They want to hear thoughtful analysis, not demagogy.

Princeton University professor Dr. Robert George delivers an informative address at Young America’s Foundation’s 2010 National Conservative Student Conference.

S P e C I A L S e R I e S : P R O F e S S O R S Y O u N e e D T O K N O w – D r . r o B e r t g e o r g e


Libertas: aside from ronald reagan, which american President do you believe most effectively communicated conservative ideas and beliefs during the 20th century?————————————————————————————————

RG: Calvin Coolidge. He’s the most underrated president of the 20th century and the most underappreciated conservative.

Libertas: this nation currently faces many challenges. Which do you think are most pertinent and impending for today’s students? how should students address these issues on their campuses?————————————————————————————————

RG: The collapse of the marriage culture, especially among poorer and working class Americans, is having and will continue to have profound negative consequences. And yet the hegemony of expressive individualism and me-generation liberalism in elite sectors of the culture makes it difficult for people to see that this collapse is at the root of some of the least edifying features of contemporary American society. Defending marriage and the family, and taking a stand against promiscuity, non-marital sexual cohabitation, the divorce culture, and sexual permissiveness are not easy things to do on college campuses. Indeed, many conservative students have absorbed so deeply some of the premises of left-liberal ideology that they fall into


Students from around the country line up to ask Dr. George a question following his speech at the 2013 National Conservative Student Conference.

supporting ideas like “same-sex marriage” and even defending them on “conservative” grounds. So students need to think deeply about these issues—they need to get past the clichés—and educate themselves so that they can be powerful witnesses to important principles in hostile environments.

Libertas: Liberal bias today, inside the classrooms of most universities and institutions of higher education, is widespread. how should students handle a situation in which their grades may suffer should they choose to object to what their professors are teaching and/or saying?————————————————————————————————

RG: They should make the best possible arguments for their positions and, in effect, defy the professor to cheat them. If the professor does cheat them, they should appeal the grade—first to the professor himself, then to university administrators. If the problem is a serious one on your campus, students need to organize to do something about it. Make it an issue. Find a conservative professor—there is usually at least one around—to be your advocate and help you to publicize the issue. Do not compromise your own integrity by pulling your punches on papers or exams, but do not take professorial bias lying down. Just think of what people on the Left would do if it were happening to them. Then do it.


Libertas: What challenges, if you don’t mind sharing, have you faced being an outspoken conservative academic at an Ivy League institution? ————————————————————————————————

RG: None. I’ve been truly blessed. I find that when you speak your mind and challenge the prevailing orthodoxies you win people’s respect, however much they may be offended by your views. Conservative intellectuals should never let themselves be pushed into a defensive crouch on campus. They should be playing offense—all the time.

Libertas: What leaders do you look to for personal and professional motivation?————————————————————————————————

RG: My heroes were and are academics and other intellectuals who bravely stood and stand for truth, heedless of the personal and professional risks: my mentors, James Kurth of Swarthmore and John Finnis of Oxford, for starters. Then people like Mary Ann Glendon, Hadley Arkes, Leon Kass, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese and her husband, Eugene Genovese, Daniel Robinson, Gilbert Meilaender, Rabbi David Novak, Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Harvey Mansfield, Elizabeth Anscombe, Michael Novak, and Jean Bethke Elshtain.

Libertas: as a person of strong faith, how much have you allowed your religious views to influence your professional work in education? ————————————————

RG: It’s not really a question of “allowing.” I think what I think, and I say what I think. I give my reasons, whatever they are, and challenge others to give theirs in the normal give and take of debate. I view my role as a scholar as part of my vocation—and that is a religious idea. I pray for guidance to understand my vocation and to carry it out faithfully and well, and I pray for my students. It’s true that I’m interested in a particular subject matter—natural law—that prescinds from revelation or religious (or other) authority. But I’m also interested in moral theology (though it’s not what I do professionally), which takes into account the data of revelation. Of course, natural-law theory is not hostile to religion, so there is no conflict. I think it is important for professors who are believers not to hide their faith, so I don’t hide mine. And I’m always

happy to defend it and to counterattack against secularist ideology. When people say, as they occasionally do, “Well, you only believe thus and so because you’re a Catholic,” I respond by saying “that’s not an argument.” And I challenge them to produce an argument to meet the one I offered them—if they can. Usually in those circumstances it turns out that they can’t. That’s why they responded with what amounts to an ad hominem, a grunt.

Libertas: You teach “Constitutional Interpretation” at Princeton University—a popular course that has been around for more than a century. What are some concepts you hope your students take away from this class? ————————————————————————————————

RG: One key concept is the idea of the national government as a government of delegated and enumerated (and thus limited) powers, and states as governments of general jurisdiction exercising plenary authority (the “police powers” to protect public health, safety, and morals and advance the general welfare). Another, closely related to the first, is the idea of dual sovereignty. Yet another is the separation of powers among

the branches of government. A central concern of the course is the scope and limits of judicial review. I find that most students are surprised by the notion that there actually are limits to that power. It’s fun to confront them with Jefferson’s attack on the practice of judicial review and Lincoln’s rejection of judicial supremacy in constitutional interpretation.

Libertas: What are the biggest challenges you face when teaching this course to a new class?————————————————

RG: A challenge I face year in and year out in teaching the class is that students typically come in with a profoundly mistaken understanding of how the Constitution was designed to protect liberty and prevent tyranny. They are all but certain that the American founders sought to accomplish those goals by including in the Constitution a Bill of Rights which was to be enforced by a judiciary whose independence empowered the judges to act in a non-political manner to protect the rights of individuals and minorities. It takes a while to get that rather spectacular misunderstanding out of their heads.


“It’s easy to be discouraged

by the overwhelming

majority of left-wing faculty

and administrators. But

we’ve shown that a few

hearty and dedicated men

and women can make a

huge difference.”


Libertas: John adams warned, “our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Is this true, and if so, what can be done to convince extreme libertarians to appreciate adam’s insight?————————————————————————————————

RG: Of course it’s true. Adams was no fool. He was the opposite of a fool. True, he was the least winsome and charming of the founders, but he was also the ablest political philosopher of the lot—and that’s saying something. Adams knew that a constitution of liberty would work only in a society in which some significant measure of virtue could be sustained among the people. And he was under no illusions that such a society could be created on purely secularist principles. It would behoove those of our contemporaries who entertain such illusions to cast them off. There was nothing odd or idiosyncratic about Adams’ remark. It was echoed, in essence, by Washington in his “Farewell Address.” Indeed, it

was the common sense of the founding generation. As for today’s extreme libertarians (there were none, by the way, among the founders), they have turned a sound idea about the importance of individual liberty and limited government into the central dogma of a fundamentalist sect. It’s hard to talk fundamentalists of any kind out of their religion. But we must try.

Libertas: You have successfully founded and run the James Madison Program in american Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University—a program dedicated to “exploring enduring questions of american constitutional law and Western political thought.” You have also worked to promote similar programs at other institutions. have any of these other programs

become as successful as you had hoped they would be? ————————————————————————————————

RG: Good things are happening at colleges and universities around the country. The Madison Program model is being replicated successfully. Our little movement is still in its early stages, so we’re scarcely in a position to declare victory, but I like what I’m seeing.

Libertas: What more do you think can be done to create successful programs similar to what you have done at Princeton?————————————————————————————————

RG: Donors need to avoid despair about the possibility of making good things happen on college and university campuses. They need to empower faculty who are ready, willing, and able to take up the challenge with the financial resources they need to succeed. It’s easy to be discouraged by the overwhelming majority of left-wing faculty and administrators. But we’ve shown that a few hearty and dedicated men and women can make a huge difference.


Palm Beach Atlantic University alumnus Sawyer Smith—now a program officer at Young America’s Foundation—meets Dr. George following his speech.

14 Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Summer 2014

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www.yaf.orgNational Headquarters, 11480 Commerce Park Drive, Sixth Floor, Reston, Virginia 20191, 800-USA-1776Reagan Ranch Center, 217 State Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101, 888-USA-1776 © Copyright 2014 Young America’s Foundation

Get your copy today! Available through Amazon.com or by calling 800-USA-1776

Dr. Burt Folsom is a popular speaker at Young America’s Foundation’s programs nationwide. He is available to speak at your event or on your campus as part of our Free Enterprise Lecture Series. Please call Patrick Coyle at 800-USA-1776 or visit www.yaf.org for more information.

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Pro-life activist Lila Rose underscores the importance of speaking up and fighting for the rights of the unborn.

Speaker Newt Gingrich offers advice on how we can address the current issues facing our country.

Senator Ted Cruz teaches the young audience about the significance of Ronald Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” speech.

Senators Scott and Cruz, Gingrich, George, and Rose Headline 36th Annual National Conservative Student ConferenceBy Katie taran, Director of Conferences

More than 400 participants from three countries, 41 states, and the District of Columbia converged on our nation’s capital for Young America’s Foundation’s 36th annual National

Conservative Student Conference. The Foundation’s oldest and longest-running program, this conference brings together conservative leaders and students from across the country for a week of intriguing lectures, exciting meet-and-greets, and an abundance of networking—and this year was no exception. Senator Tim Scott headlined the conference’s Ronald Reagan Banquet, discussing how he was brought up on the virtues of hard work and personal responsibility. Senator Scott also underscored the importance of marketing conservatism. Speaking to a capacity crowd that included students attending the conference, Conservative Movement interns, and Young America’s Foundation alumni and supporters, Scott implored, “Be the marketers of conservatism every place, all the time, and without fail, because it works.” Students also heard from Senator Ted Cruz, whose inspirational speech compared what conservatives heard 50 years ago in Ronald Reagan’s iconic “A Time for Choosing” speech to the choices they have to make with the even bigger government they face today. In addition to Senators Cruz and

(Continued on page 32)


Senator Tim Scott addresses more than 400 attendees at the annual Reagan Banquet during the 36th National Conservative Student Conference.

Katherine Nickels from Clemson University enjoys a question and answer session with a speaker at the National Conservative Student Conference.

Students from 41 states travel to Washington, D.C., to hear from some of today’s leading conservatives.


Author and journalist Colleen Carroll Campbell encourages the students to stand up for religious freedom in their classrooms.

Economist Dr. Art Laffer offers advice on how the young leaders can promote and advance free enterprise.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher shares inspiring stories about his time as a young conservative activist.

Scott, the students also heard from other leading members of Congress, including Congressmen Jim Bridenstine and Dana Rohrabacher.

Speaker Newt Gingrich returned to this conference to address the students as he has done many years in the past. His speech covered a broad range of topics from illegal immigration to leftist tactics. Following his remarks, he took photographs

with students who each received a copy of his most recent book, Breakout: Pioneers of the Future, Prison Guards of the Past, and the Epic Battle that Will Decide America’s Fate. Herman Cain, radio host and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO, also fired up the students with his talk on the responsibilities of citizenship and what is necessary to achieve the American Dream.

Students from around the country gather in Washington, D.C., for Young America’s Foundation’s longest-running student program.


(From left) Daquawn Bruce from Prairie State College and Rio Schmidt from Colby College enjoy the week-long program in our nation’s capital.

Students attending the National Conservative Student Conference hear from more conservative speakers in one week than they will in all four years of college.

Cain’s lecture was one of six at this conference that were featured as part of the Foundation’s “Free Enterprise 101” online course. Other “Free Enterprise 101” speakers included Steve Moore, chief economist for the Heritage Foundation; Dr. Burt Folsom, author and professor of history at Hillsdale College; and Dr. Walter Williams, distinguished professor of economics at George Mason University. Dr. Art Laffer,

renowned economist and Reagan administration economic adviser, headlined the first formal dinner banquet—an event made possible with the generosity of Young America’s Foundation supporters, Frank & Till Tranzow. Later in the week, students were inspired by the wisdom and conviction of Lila Rose, founder and president of Live

(Continued on page 35)


Mattie VanderBleek partakes in a dinner banquet during the National Conservative Student Conference.

Young America’s Foundation alumna Katie Kieffer signs copies of her new book, Let Me Be Clear: Barack Obama’s War on Millennials and One Woman’s Case For Hope, following her speech.

Young Americans for Freedom activists from Hillsdale College are among dozens of YAF leaders attending the conference.


Action and Young America’s Foundation alumna. Addressing a Young America’s Foundation audience for the first time, in a speech sponsored by Art and Barbara Najera, Rose spoke on the importance of defending the right to life. “The greatest destroyer of peace comes because we have rejected the protection of the fundamental human right for the weakest members of our society: our unborn brothers and sisters,” remarked Rose. Another highlight of the conference was a luncheon in honor of Dr. Larry Schweikart, bestselling author and professor of history at the University of Dayton. This fall marks the tenth anniversary of the release of Dr. Schweikart’s and Dr. Michael Allen’s book, A Patriot’s History of the United States, which each of the attendees received. Following his remarks on the roots of American exceptionalism, Young America’s Foundation presented Dr. Schweikart with a lifetime achievement award to recognize and thank him for all he has done to promote historical accuracy. Additional leaders addressing the 2014 National Conservative Student Conference included author, journalist, and former Presidential speechwriter Colleen Carroll Campbell; author and YAF alumna Katie Kieffer; True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht; bestselling author, Fox News contributor, and YAF alumna Katie Pavlich; National Journalism Center Executive Director Kirby Wilbur; 46th Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli; YAF alumnus and Breitbart.com Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow; author and activist Bay Buchanan; author and Princeton University professor Dr. Robert George; Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute Program Director Catherine Rodriguez; author and Grove City College professor Dr. Paul Kengor; author, commentator, and Fox News contributor Kate Obenshain; and Foundation Vice President Patrick Coyle. The conference concluded with a rousing address from the president of the Heritage Foundation, Senator Jim DeMint, who reminded the students of their noble calling to preserve freedom. “You have taken it upon yourselves,” he said, “to be ambassadors for a set of principles that made America the greatest nation on the face of the earth and created the highest quality of life ever achieved by mankind.” After a week of hearing more conservative ideas than they will in four years of college, students left the conference fully-charged and ready to take the fight for freedom to their campuses. “Attending the National Conservative Student Conference has given me more insight and motivation to continue the good fight,” said Nicole Poole from Valdosta State University. “At this conference, I have confirmed my convictions, and I will continue the fight in the Conservative Movement.” Samantha Connor of Marquette University echoed Nicole’s sentiments: “I cannot wait to get back to campus and…to share my values so the generations to come know the true meaning of freedom. As Herman Cain told us, ‘stay informed, stay involved, and stay inspired…because the American dream is alive and well.’”

Author and Grove City College professor Dr. Paul Kengor inspires the young leaders attending the annual conference in Washington, D.C.

Senator Jim DeMint encourages the young leaders to be bold in their efforts to advance freedom.

Foundation Vice President Patrick Coyle (left) and Hillsdale College professor Dr. Burt Folsom (right) present Dr. Larry Schweikart (middle) with a plaque celebrating the tenth anniversary of his book, A Patriot’s History of the United States.

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where leaders are forged

Young AmericansFreedomfor

The Reagan Ranch217 State Street

Santa Barbara, California 931011-888-USA-1776

National HeadquartersF.M. Kirby Freedom Center

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Folsom, agostinelli, and ebenstein share Free Market Principles During road to Freedom seminarBy Patrick X. Coyle, Vice President

students from across the country traveled to Young America’s Foundation’s Reagan Ranch Center

for the Road to Freedom Seminar: How the Free Market Picks Winners and Government Programs Are Always Losers. Attendees spent several days learning about the ideas espoused by prominent free market economists Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, and others who influenced Ronald Reagan and, ultimately, our nation. This seminar, sponsored in part by the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation, is part of the Foundation’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Free Enterprise which seeks to popularize free market ideas to young people across the country. Indeed, the students who experienced the seminar were energized by the speakers, including author and Hillsdale College professor Dr. Burt Folsom, Rhone Group Chairman Robert Agostinelli, Trident University International CFO George Harbison, professor Dave Newton, author and professor Lanny Ebenstein, and teacher Bruce Rottman.

Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member and talk radio host Mark Larson interviews New York Times bestselling author Katie Pavlich prior to her remarks at the Road to Freedom Seminar.

Seminar attendees participate in a question and answer session with one of the seminar speakers.

Dr. Burt Folsom, a long-time faculty member at Foundation programs, discusses the disastrous consequences of government intervention in the free market.








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A Project of

Dr. Folsom hammered home the seminar’s themes by speaking on the failures of government subsidies. “If we look at government, historically, it does well when it sticks to areas such as national defense and foreign policy—areas with constitutional limitations. When [government] gets into economic development, the politics, incompetence, and misdirected incentives come in to play, and we have seen it just doesn’t work very well.”

Dr. Folsom also revealed how, historically, low taxes have helped spur economic growth. He told the young audience, “Your generation is faced with these choices: Are you going to enjoy the freedom that…students got to enjoy in the 1980s, or are we going to go down the path of permanent slogging economy and have less freedom than your parents had?”

Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Robert Agostinelli discussed his personal story and offered his advice on how to achieve success. He also introduced Felix Rodriguez who shared his story on the capture of Che Guevara.

George Harbison revealed the myth of the Buffett Rule, and Dr. Dave Newton warned students of the massive government debt they will be responsible for if run-away spending is not stopped in Washington.

High school teacher Bruce Rottman explained why student attendees should use words other than “capitalism” to promote free markets, since the term capitalism was developed by Karl Marx. Lanny Ebenstein walked students through the philosophical roots of Ronald Reagan, including how President Reagan was personally influenced by Milton Friedman, in particular.

During the seminar, the attendees also enjoyed a visit to the Reagan Ranch, where they learned even more about our nation’s 40th President and his lasting accomplishments. The program was held in conjunction with the Reagan Ranch Roundtable, where the attendees and Foundation supporters heard from YAF alumna and bestselling author Katie Pavlich (see page 5).


Students from around the country participate in Young America’s Foundation’s Road to Freedom seminar in Santa Barbara, California.

Rachel Horner from The Master’s College and Christy Allen from Hillsdale College enjoy an afternoon at the Reagan Ranch during the weekend-long program.

Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member and Rhone Group Chairman Robert Agostinelli offers the students advice on how to achieve personal success.

The Left controls our schools, but the future belongs to young people. Young America’s Foundation is the largest, most effective youth outreach organization in the Conservative Movement. We recruit and inspire America’s most promising young leaders to spread a love for freedom on their campuses. By reaching increasing numbers of impressionable young people, we will eliminate the Left’s advantage at our schools.

You can make a gift through your estate that will change lives, control what young people learn about America and freedom, and define your legacy on your terms.

Please contact Kimberly Begg, Esq., vice president and general counsel, at 800-USA-1776 or [email protected] to request a free, no-obligation copy of Young America’s Foundation’s popular Investing in the Future estate planning guide and workbook. Supplies are limited and will be sent on a first-come, first-served basis.

www.yaf.org800-USA-1776

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© Copyright 2014 Young America’s Foundation

If sitting back while the Left indoctrinates our young people is not an option for you...

...then you are ready to join the most patriotic, freedom-loving Americans who include Young America’s Foundation in their estate plans.

Campus lectures, activism initiatives, Young Americans for Freedom chapters

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I n v e s t i n g i n t h e F u t u r e

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Young America’s Foundation | Libertas magazine | www.yaf.org

Fall 2014Volume 35 • Number 3

Young America’s Foundation’s new national headquarters, occupying the entire top floor at 11480 Commerce Park Drive in Reston, Virginia, includes a state-of-the art training room for student

programs, meeting rooms, staff offices, intern stations, and ample storage and production space.

Documents

Libertas 35.3 - Fall 2014