Check out the Conservatives that we are PROUD of this week. Make sure to come out tonight at 5pm to the JC Gold Room (by Dewberry Hall) to hear Star Parker speak on how Progressive Policies are Enslaving Black Americans.
Star Parker founder and president of the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education, a think tank in Washington, DC, committed to developing market solutions to problems that plague inner cities. Star spent her teen and early adult years as an unemployed mother on welfare; she was arrested in her teens for shoplifting and has had four abortions. Star eventually turned to Christ and upon doing so realized self-reliance and personal responsibilities were the only ways to pull oneself out of poverty and has been an advocate for these conservative values ever since.
William F. Buckley Jr. has often been referred to as the Father of Modern Conservatism for his championing of Americans to reject liberal policies that restrict society and instead look toward a new form of conservatism based on the national interest and a higher morality. He authored more than fifty books and founded the Conservative news magazine, National Review.
Ronald Reagan exemplified conservative values in all aspects of his political career. He supported small government and low taxes. He showed strong will in protecting American freedom and liberty against other nations. Most importantly he believed in personal responsibility and the government is not the place to turn for help in all cases.
Walter Williams is an economist, nationally syndicated columnist, and professor of economics here at George Mason. Though Dr. Williams is primarily a libertarian, he works side by side with conservatives and conservative groups to promote the shared values of free enterprise and personal responsibility. Dr. Williams’ is widely respected for his ability to take complex economic principles and articulate them in a way the average person can understand. His weekly columns can be read at www.townhall.com.
Mark Sanford is in his sixth year as Governor of South Carolina. His actions as governor represent the small government and low government spending views of conservatives. He has used bailout money to pay down debt or simply refused the money at all. He is showing in actions not just words that the government is not the solution to problems and occasional hard times.
Tammy Bruce became a conservative after serving as President of the National Organization for Women. She now has a radio show after becoming “the first openly gay women in the country to host a show on mainstream talk radio.” She believes in individual liberty.
Edwin Meese became served as the 75th Attorney General of the United States under President Reagan. He is currently chairman of the Governing Board at George Mason University, the Ronald Reagan Chair of Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation, a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the University of London’s Institute of United States Studies.
Calvin Coolidge was America’s 30th president, serving from 1923-1929, and is an important part of conservative history who is often overlooked and underrated. President Coolidge was not only an advocate for limited government, but lived it out in his presidency. Coolidge understood that the government could be dangerous to its citizens if allowed to overstep its constitutional limitations. In 1924 he boldly stated that “the authority to impose a tax upon the people must be carefully guarded. It condemns the citizen to servitude.”
Clarence Thomas is the second African American to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. Thomas was raised by his Grandfather to believe in hard work and self-reliance in the segregated South. He was appointed by President George H. W. Bush in 1991. Thomas is a strict constructionist when it comes to interpreting the Constitution. He has recently stated that “the message today seems more like ask not what you can do for yourselves or your country, but what your country must do for you.”
Rush Limbaugh is an American conservative talk show host who is known for speaking out against liberal hypocrisy. He consistently has fought for an American society that supports individual liberty, limited government, school choice, welfare reform, lower taxes, and a capitalist economic system. Although often viewed as outspoken and controversial, he has been common figure in conservative households with his widely popular syndicated radio show.
Barry Goldwater is the father of the modern conservative political movement. Goldwater was a conservative Senator, at a time when the Republican party was controlled by eastern liberals, and the republican party did not offer an alternative to the Democrats. A group of conservative men got together and convinced Goldwater to run for the presidential nomination. Much to Goldwater’s surprise, he won the nomination. Although he didn’t win the election for presidency, the idea was more about take over the eastern liberal republican party and replacing it with the southern western conservative party. Goldwater lost the election but changed the party forever. Goldwater institution supported the Reagan campaign and, in a way, without Goldwater, we wouldn’t have a Reagan.
Newt Gingrich is most famously known as the architect of the “Contract of America.” With a House of Representatives controlled by liberals, Gingrich sought to bring back a Republican majority that hadn’t been seen in the House of Representatives since the 1950s. Gingrich was the first man to start a national campaign to take over congress, this was successful and, in 1994, the Republican party controlled the House once more and Newt Gingrich became the first republican speaker of the House.
Last updated: Feb. 21st
