QuoteHeritage is a permanent policy research institution fighting for conservative ideas, as Ed Feulner often reminds us. We remain committed, as ever, to the principles that have made America great: free enterprise; limited government; individual freedom; traditional American values; and a strong national defense. This will continue under the leadership of Ed and his successor.

Feulner led Heritage for more than three decades and returns to our organization after serving on President Trump's transition team. There is no one better to guide the ship while we seek our new leader and continue to push for conservative ideas and policies in Washington and around the nation.

Quote from: quiller on May 04, 2017, 08:20:19 PM
Here's the statement from the chairman of the Heritage board of trustees on DeMint's departure. Ed Fuelner taking over (again) to provide interim leadership while the replacement-search continues.

http://www.heritage.org/article/statement-the-chairman-heritages-board-trustees

QuoteDeMint's zeal and influence was what originally attracted donors and board members of the Heritage Foundation — and his success in the conservative movement translated well.

By gaining the support of the right movers and shakers in Congress, and a strong dose of sweat equity, he increased the think tank's success during his years as president, from 2013 to today. Before his leadership in 2012, the conservative think tank was rated No. 18 in UPenn's "Global Go To Think Tanks Index Report." In 2016, Heritage jumped to No. 12 in the same report.

In fact, under DeMint's leadership, Heritage is well positioned to conservatively influence the Trump administration, while retaining its independence and principles.

Removing DeMint will weaken Heritage as an institution and will be to the detriment of the conservative movement and our nation. It calls into question the overall judgment and prudence of the Heritage Foundation board.

Perhaps this is the swing back against DeMint's one-two punch from the ladder climbers who make up Washington's insider class. The symbolism in his ousting is clear: Even after the election of an anti-establishment presidential candidate, much work remains in changing Washington's status quo.

Jim DeMint's role in shaping the conservative movement and restoring our nation isn't done; his time at Heritage will be defined by the new life he gave the movement in Washington and across the country. He succeeded in changing the battlefield of ideas by actively turning principled conservatism into action and results.

But again we're reminded: The siren calls of power and cocktail parties of the swamp are often too loud for some to resist.

Quote from: quiller on May 06, 2017, 03:47:40 AM
Now comes the defense for DeMint from Conservative Review executive editor Gaston Mooney (a former DeMint aide).

https://www.conservativereview.com/articles/how-jim-demint-inspired-a-comeback-for-conservatism

Quote from: Solar on May 06, 2017, 06:28:28 AM
Which is actually impressive on a global scale, right behind the Cato Institute.

QuoteResearch at Heritage has always had a partisan dimension. The think tank did criticize George W. Bush when he pushed for a prescription drug add-on to Medicare. It fired a foreign-policy scholar, however, when he dared to come out against the Republican president's wars.

Feulner's proudest achievement, and the thing about which Heritage boasts the most, is the role its Mandate for Leadership played in influencing the Reagan administration's agenda. It's meant to justify the think tank's existence — to show that policy ideas have consequences. But the Reagan era ended nearly three decades ago.

Heritage continues to publish Mandate for Leadership updates, yet how much responsibility does it want to claim for George W. Bush's agenda? Or for whatever Donald Trump's will be in a few years' time?

That's a question DeMint's successor won't be able to answer, because the truth is that neither Heritage nor the wider conservative movement is ever going to recapture its youth. The Reagan years were full of hope because conservative ideas were fresh — they hadn't been tried by Jimmy Carter or Lyndon Johnson, but they also hadn't really been tried by Richard Nixon or Gerald Ford.

Reagan was a beginning, and Heritage helped write the first chapter in conservatism's policy book. But like many aspiring authors, the conservative movement's leaders lost the plot after the first few pages. Since the 1980s, conservative groups have been adept at raising funds for themselves. They have not been adept at advancing conservatism beyond Reagan. It's as if the conservative movement went straight from adolescence to senility. 

Quote from: quiller on May 09, 2017, 04:19:04 AM
The Reagan years were full of hope because conservative ideas were fresh — they hadn't been tried by Jimmy Carter or Lyndon Johnson, but they also hadn't really been tried by Richard Nixon or Gerald Ford.