Dec 06, 2021

Happy Monday! The Heritage Foundation’s new president, Kevin Roberts, took the reins last week and immediately laid out his vision for the future of conservatism. Heritage also joined a coalition urging state lawmakers to end CRT in schools. Our legal experts comment on the Dobbs v. Jackson case. And a Heritage research fellow and former Facebook employee called out Big Tech before Congress. There’s more to explore in the Agenda this week.

‘The Golden Era of American Conservatism Will Soon Emerge’

A New Hope: Conservatives stand on the brink of a golden opportunity to bring the movement to new heights of strength and influence. We just have to take it, says Heritage’s new president, Kevin Roberts.

Choose wisely: “Conservatives today face not a moment for resignation or revolution, but a time for choosing,” Roberts writes in a new essay on the future of conservatism in National Review.

Learn more: Read more about Robert’s view on the path forward for conservatives here.

Dobbs v. Jackson: Here Are the Key Takeaways

A historic case begins: The U.S. Supreme Court last week took up Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which represents the first legitimate chance in decades to overturn Roe v. Wade.

No middle ground: Heritage senior legal fellow Thomas Jipping and legal fellow Sarah Parshall Perry followed the arguments and said that both liberals and conservatives on the bench "rejected as unworkable any ‘half measures,’” and that Roe “must either stay or go.”

Heritage take: The right move for the court is clear. “Roe v. Wade has poisoned our courts, our culture, and our laws. The Supreme Court now has an opportunity to correct its grave error,” said Heritage President Kevin Roberts.

Learn more: Read Heritage’s full statement on the case here. Learn more about the arguments and possible outcomes here.

Heritage Labels Big Tech an ‘Enemy of the People’

Called out: Heritage research fellow and former Facebook employee Kara Frederick called out Big Tech as “an enemy of the people” in her testimony before Congress, adding that “it is time all independently minded citizens recognize this.”

The facts: Frederick cited numerous examples of Big Tech censorship and said that Twitter and Facebook censor Republican lawmakers 53 times as often as Democrats. Twitter suspends conservatives 21 times as often as liberals.

The solution: Decisive and concrete reforms are needed, and not just at a federal level. States, civil society, and tech leaders must step up to the plate if we are to reduce censorship and protect individual liberty, she said.

Learn more: You can read more about Frederick’s testimony here or watch the video here.

Coalition Calls on States to End CRT, Expand Education Choice

What's news: Heritage joined a coalition of education policy experts urging states to take bolder actions against critical race theory and enact education choice policies.

Call to action: A coalition letter lays out policies state lawmakers should take up next year, including greater transparency about school curricula, bans on schools contracting with companies that promote CRT, and universal education savings accounts.

An opportunity: “I look across the country, not just in conservative counties but also in liberal counties, and I see parents standing up and saying, ‘We’ve had enough.’ Tens of millions of Americans are dissatisfied about what’s happening in our public schools,” said Heritage President Kevin Roberts.

Read on: The complete coalition letter can be found here.

DID YOU KNOW?

Nearly 800 young leaders are trained each year at Heritage through our Young Leaders Program, The Academy, congressional fellowships, and seminar and training programs. Learn more.

Heritage’s First Lawsuit: Last week, Heritage announced that it has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit challenging the Biden administration’s COVID vaccine mandate for employers. It’s the first time Heritage has sued as a plaintiff in its 48-year history. Learn more about our case.

James McGann, RIP: As longtime director of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at the University of Pennsylvania, “Jim McGann’s world-renowned think tank rankings were a way of creating friendly competition in the public policy world,” said Ed Feulner, Heritage founder and former president. Keep reading.

Interns Wanted: Widely regarded as Washington’s best internship, The Heritage Foundation’s Young Leaders Program is currently accepting applications for our spring semester. Apply today!

Heritage Hosts Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei. Monday, 10 a.m. Giammattei talks about strengthening relations with partners in the Western Hemisphere. Heritage President Kevin Roberts provides introductory remarks at this virtual event.

Register for this event.

Fighting Antisemitism by Protecting Religious Liberty. Monday, 1:30 p.m. Featured speakers include:

• Josh Blackman, professor of law at South Texas College of Law
• Emilie Kao, senior counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom

Register for this event.

U.S. Nuclear Declaratory Policy and the Future of Extended Deterrence. Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. Featured speakers include:

• Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho., ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
• Taro Kono, Japan House of Representatives and former minister of defense and minister of foreign affairs

Register for this event. 

Communism’s Dark Tyranny: The 30th Anniversary of the Collapse of the Soviet Union. Wednesday, 2 p.m. Featured speakers include:

• Katherine Cornell Gorka, director of Heritage’s Civil Society and the American Dialogue center
• Ken Pope, director of academic programs at Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

Register for this event.

The Journey to Self-Reliance at USAID: A Conversation with Ambassador Mark Green. Thursday, 11 a.m. Green is the former administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development and current CEO at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

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Policy Pulse: A Conversation with U.S. Special Envoy Julie D. Fisher About the Crisis in Belarus. Friday, 11:00 a.m. Featured speakers include:

• Julie D. Fisher, U.S. special envoy for Belarus
• Alexis Mrachek, research associate for Russia and Eurasia

Register for this event.

Heritage President Kevin Roberts joined "America First with Sebastian Gorka" to talk about the future of the conservative movement. Watch the interview.

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