N.C. Conservative Leadership Conference Wrap-up
I was part of the "new media" press corps at the N.C. Conservative Leadership Conference the weekend of April 27-28, joining a number of other bloggers invited for the event. Here is a topical index for some of the live-blogging coverage I found for the weekend; the reader will excuse me putting
Five Points at the top of the list, of course.
Featured Speakers:Presidential Candidate Rudy Giuliani
Five Points: Just One Question, Mr. MayorRed Clay Citizen: Giuliani's Remarks About Democrats Ogre's Politics & Views: Rudy SpeaksReason & Revelation: Lunch with GiulianiThe Locker Room: Health Care and Plasma TVs
Gubernatorial Candidate Bob Orr
Five Points: The Need for Self-RestraintFive Points: A Moment of IlluminationThe Inner Banks Eagle: Day OneCongressman Patrick McHenryFive Points: Newtonian Ideas
The Inner Banks Eagle: Day OneFormer Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich
Five Points: "We've Got To Be Relentless"Five Points: Collecting Thoughts
The Inner Banks Eagle: Day OneCongressman Walter Jones
Five Points: Walter Jones on ElectionGubernatorial Candidate Fred SmithThe Inner Banks Eagle: Day TwoFormer N.C. Sen. Patrick BallantineThe Inner Banks Eagle: Day TwoCongressman Heath Shuler
Five Points: Heath ShulerThe Inner Banks Eagle: Day TwoS. C. Gov. Mark SanfordFive Points: S.C.'s Governor
Five Points: Agreed On HistoryThe Inner Banks Eagle: Day TwoFormer Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele
Five Points: Man of SteeleFive Points: The Theme
The Inner Banks Eagle: Day TwoOgre's Politics & Views: Lt. Governor Steele
Gubernatorial Candidate Phil GrahamFive Points: The Final DinnerThe Inner Banks Eagle: Day TwoSen. Elizabeth DoleFive Points: The Final DinnerThe Inner Banks Eagle: Day TwoOgre's Politics & Views: Dinner with DoleGeneral Sessions:The Reagan LegacyFive Points: Reagan's LegacyThe Inner Banks Eagle: Day OneOgre's Politics & Views: The Reagan LegacyThe Future of ConservatismOgre's Politics & Views: Future of ConservatismThe 2008 Presidential CampaignThe Inner Banks Eagle: Day TwoOgre's Politics & Views: The 2008 Presidential CampaignIssue Forums:Expanding the Conservative Base with Minority Voters
The Inner Banks Eagle: Day TwoConveying the Conservative MessageFive Points: More on the Relentless CommunicationFive Points: What About Imus? And Beyond?Five Points: Racial Politics and the Conservative MediaFive Points: The Unified Message and the Candidate to Carry ItOgre's Politics & Views: Conveying the Conservative MessageEducationFive Points: Performance, Preparation, and Violence in EducationFive Points: Questions for the Education PanelFive Points: "A Travesty"Five Points: Community SchoolsOgre's Politics & Views: EducationThe Locker Room: Stoops and LeeHealth CareRed Clay Citizen: Post Giuliani - CLC Panel on Health Care
Red Clay Citizen: Cannon: MedicaidParental School ChoiceThe Inner Banks Eagle: Day OneIllegal ImmigrationOgre's Politics & Views: Illegal ImmigrationNorth Carolina Budget & TaxesOgre's Politics & Views: NC Budget and TaxesOther Items:ProtestorsOgre's Politics & Views: Dole Protesters
School Choice at the Leadership Conference
When you move from academic to journalistic writing, you have to learn not only a new set of stylistic tools but a new process that gets you out of your own deep thoughts and into other peoples' ... as well as onto their schedules rather than your own.
Live blogging like this past weekend's is another thing again. For one thing, you have to learn how to pace yourself, just as a runner trains differently for a 6k race than a 100-yard sprint.
This is my long justification for not attending every session at the Conservative Leadership Conference. I was hoping to cover the educational angle as much as possible but I missed the School Choice panel, choosing to use the time elsewhere since I had heard several of those speakers many times and knew the best parts of the message already.
Dean Stephens at
The Inner Banks Eagle covered it, though, and since he was kind enough to link to my reporting on the Education panel with Dr. Stoops and Chairman Lee, I'll return the favor for
his report (and much better photography) on Educational Choice.
A Recess, Not An Adjournment
I have family to attend to and a district chairman to drive home so I'll sign off for now. However, I have a few more photos to add and some notes from a couple of other speakers that I hope to add later. Check back if you don't mind, and thanks for reading.
The Final Dinner
Gubernatorial candidate Phil Graham spoke during the salad phase of supper; I didn't catch the entire message, but he said that "education is not their issue alone ... and if they want to claim it I'll take them on any place, any time."
He noted that there are more employees in state government than in manufacturing. "That is simply an upside down economic model," he said. "It can't survive."
Graham finished up saying that Elizabeth Dole is "a political hero of mine ... a gem in American politics."
That wasn't the introduction, though. We had an intervening course of dinner, an odd combination of breaded chicken cutlet and sliced white meat, probably turkey but maybe it was pork.
Chicken, turkey, and pork -- what a political menu that is.
Senator Dole asked who watched the Democratic debate on Thursday night. She said she wasn't sure who won but there was no question who had the best hair. "John Edwards' hair looked mighty fine," she said, "as you'd expect from a guy with a $400 haircut."
She says the Democrats' budget "is like a giant vacuum cleaner sucking money out of folks' pockets and sending it to Washington."
The Senator is delivering straight on message, but the cadence says it's read right from the script. I've only heard her speak a couple of times and as I recall, she does not extemporize much.
She's speaking on the war now, criticizing Reid, Murtha, and Pelosi in turn. "The Constitution prescribes one Commander in Chief, not 535, and I might add only one Secretary of State." [Enthusiastic applause]
Sen. Dole reminds us she is on the Armed Services Committee and represents over 100,000 servicemen and -women from North Carolina. She calls for Iraqi forces and authorities to stand up to their responsibility.
On border security, "the answer is not amnesty. I am opposed to amnesty." She is in favor of genuine temporary workers permits. Dole says she collaborated with Rep. Sue Myrick to get an immigration court in Charlotte.
She said one researcher said that low-skilled households typically receive $22,449 more in benefits than they contribute. Any policy change which increases the number of low-skilled households will have a tremendous fiscal impact.
"I strongly support giving this president or any president the authority to veto individual earmarks," she said, calling for continued support for the line-item veto.
She concluded with praise for the legacy of Ronald Reagan, as one who rejected the Iron Curtain and the status quo, "and his legacy is freedom ... unshackling millions and millions of people who had only known oppression."
"I believe our state and our country have many of their best days ahead. That's why I am inspired to continue to serve," she said.
That's What We're Here For
Eric Dailey of Cary conveying the conservative message
to the unidentified protestor at the Sheraton
A Word To The Sponsor
One of the women in the group (while I was there it seemed the women were doing most of the talking) might want to consider if it isn't a bit sexist and anti-feminist to refer to a woman elected official as a "dog", and a "lap dog" at that. Doesn't seem at all sensitive to me.
They're Everywhere
This is Andrew Silver and an unidentified co-protestor which made up the Fayetteville Street contingent. Silver is a member of the "Raleigh Impeachment Meetup" group, one of three he said were participating today. He said that if a representative of every organization showed up there'd be a pretty good turn out. I went to their website and found they have 43 members (many of them inactive) with a lot of overlap with the Durham Impeachment Meetup group.
Silver wouldn't give me the name of his co-protestor; he said he gives his own advisedly so she might not want to share hers. He said the FBI has a file on him "this thick" because he refused military service in 1966 and probably still has it. I suggested he might be able to get a copy under the Freedom of Information Act , which apparently hadn't occurred to him; he said it wasn't high on his agenda.
Ogre said one on the Salisbury Street side saw him taking pictures and asked, "You're not going to give those to the FBI, are you?" No, just post them on the World Wide Web; it's not like Carolina News 14 hadn't just been interviewing the group on camera for the TV news.
The Protestors Have Arrived
All six of them. I thought I'd put the photo on the left just for fun.
Here are four of them on the closed end of Salisbury Street, being interviewed by Carolina News 14 (reporter operating her own camera). The gentlemen on the right is Ogre. Way more signs than protestors.
Downtime
We're back now; we had about a two hour Internet outage here. "Ogre" was sitting behind me in the last education panel this afternoon with "No server found" in his Firefox window. Come to think of it, a little popup had appeared on the screen where the Powerpoint slides were playing, alerting us to little or no connectivity.
But we're back now ...
Community Schools
Continuing his comments, Luddy said the average standardized test score at Franklin Academy is 88%. They had 400 applicants for 30 openings in the kindergarten, and no room for new students in higher grades once sibling set-asides are met.
He also started an independent Catholic school, St. Thomas More Academy, in north Raleigh. This is one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the U.S.
He said the public school monopoly does not want the competition of charter schools, so he is working to establish new "Franklin Academy" schools as private schools, not waiting for the 100-school cap on charters and public funding that comes with them. He envisions that families which can afford it will pay about $5000 tuition, and those which can't would be supported by privately funded scholarships.
Very good, I say. To me, the weak point of the charter concept is exactly this -- it is still under the control of the public school system and those who have a stake in the success of charter schools' competitors. The concept Luddy is working on is for small-size, community-based schools, with private funding. Sounds like the old model, coming back.
He was told that only "misfits and malcontents" would attend Franklin Academy but when the charter finally came through, they had no problem filling the rolls. He said they have succeeded in creating a culture within the school that, among other things, respects community- and other people's property (lockers have no locks, for example, and drywall remains un-vandalized). He said older students already teach the younger or new students "We don't do that at our school."
"A travesty"
Charter school proponent Bob Luddy is talking about the state's testing program.
Comparing results from the North Carolina End of Grade test with the nationally-standardized Iowa Test of Basic Skills, in 1999 the EOG results in the mid-70's translated to ITBS score in the
mid-40's. I have pointed this out on several occasions, but private- and homeschool students in this state are required to take nationally standardized tests like the ITBS, but public school students sit for exams developed and normed right here.
"In any other terms, this test is pure fraud," said Luddy. "It is a great travesty."
Luddy counts the N.C. Association of Educators as a union-like organization "which lobbies full-time against the student." He said it is not just that our students are not learning, but we are destroying their character. One slide quotes Walt Whitman:
"Are not the processes of culture rapidly creating a class of supercilious infidels who belive in nothing?"Government schools are socialistic, insofar as the government controls the means of production. Luddy says "Charters are a good step forward ..." I'm waiting to see what the goal is.
Agreed on History
Gov. Sanford finished his remarks with the account of Col. Joshua Chamberlain's recovery of some 200 deserters for the Union army, culminating a few days later in their successful defense of Little Round Top on the Union left at Gettysburg. It's a great piece of history and I have used the incident for illustrations of several things in presentations I've done, too.
Sanford says that their success on the second day of Gettysburg set up the final victory on the third day, which changed the course of the war and certainly of the country.
What's more, he said, it changed world history too, because in his opinion a disunited America would not have been capable of fighting the two-front war against Fascist and Imperialist agression in the 1940's.
I have had the same thought in the "what if" mode. Could two Americas have been united enough to oppose Hitler and Tojo? Good question, and maybe doubtful. There is great security in believing in a God who does rule in the affairs of men, and therefore knowing that all events of history have passed through His hands and are fully integrated into His providential plan for the world.
Labels: CLC
S.C.'s Governor
South Carolina's governor is providing the keynote for lunch today.
He spoke on the spirit of the founding revolutionaries, who banded together make a positive change in their country, without waiting for instructions or leadership from the government. They believed and codified that the individual is the sole repository of power in our political system, and any portion of government has legitimacy only so far as the people have consented to it.
The response to Hurricane Katrina illustrates how far we have consented. Where do people turn when we feel threatened? "Too often, it's the government."
He references Thomas Friedman's
The World is Flat and says that for the first time in recorded history, a kid here in Raleigh is directly competing with a kid in Shanghai, Dublin, or another foreign location. We aren't tied to geography like we always were. This is a world completely unimaginable to our grandfathers or even our fathers. David McCollough, the author of
1776, said the most pivotal time in America's history was not 1776 but 2000-2005.
Sanford says that education is the great frontier of the conservative movement. I didn't catch the rest in my notes -- it was a passing comment -- but I think he's right, and not just in the institutional sense of what do we do with the schools. Conservatives have to educate the electorate on why this principles are so important. There is a lot of education pouring through the screens of the main stream media, and we need to get the canoe moving against the current.
"Wherever you are and how you'd like to make a difference, please don't forget the small things," Sanford said. "The name of the game is trying to make a difference by keeping the promises you made to get in there."
Warfare has casualties, he said, and conservatives are in a battle. We need to be ready to lose if necessary to get the message out and stand on principles.
"Be of courage and be willing to take risks," he said. "Winston Churchill said, 'Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm'."
"Look for ways to be happy warriors," the governor said.
The Biblical parable of the talents, he reminded, is "not about what we do best, but what we do with what we have."
"
Remember it's a movement, not a transaction," he said.
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UPDATE: Added more notes to the original posting.Labels: CLC
The Theme
While listening to Lt. Gov. Steele, it struck me that the overriding theme of this conference would have to be "Get over it and get to work". Those weren't his words, but that is the underlying or the overt message of many of the speakers I've heard this weekend.
Coming from the party which lost over two thousand officeholders in the last election, that's good advice.
Labels: CLC
Man of Steele
Former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele is delivering a top-notch lunch address. He's asking, "Why do we let others define who we are in that way [as a conspiracy]?"
I heard Steele at a national conference for leaders of state homeschooling organizations. When legislation touching homeschooling was in consideration several years ago, Steele took the time over the course of a month to spend significant time with homeschooling families, really seeking to understand what they were doing and how it worked. He was convinced (I've often thought that those who actually know homeschoolers are almost always believers in the concept, even if they can't make that step for themselves).
That's not the topic this afternoon, but the story shows something of the thoughtfulness of the man as public servant.
Steele said his mother worked two minimum wage jobs for 45 years to make a home for her kids without government assistance, so she could raise her kids, "not the government."
Steele said that one week before the 2006 election, his governor Bob Ehrlich had a 60% approval rating, but on election day, only 48% voted for him. "There is a disconnect," he said, saying that the basic problem is that "We have left the principles of 1994," the "Gingrich Revolution" as Congressman Walter Jones called it a few minutes before.
He looks forward to a time "when each man and each woman is treated as an individual, and not as a member of a hypenated class."
He said we have to be able to communicate the difference "between giving hope and turning hope to action.
"Hope by itself is not a strategy," he said. "Every American has the opportunity to turn their hopes into action ... [and] we have to communicate the concept of ownership -- ownership of their business, ownership of their homes, ownership of their communities."
"Our challenge will not lie in defeating Democrats or liberals; our challenge will lie in
not defeating ourselves.
"You and I should focus our energies on this consensus," he says. "I'm asking you to join in this cause and movement to create this mandate, that only opportunity can defeat dependence, and that it is better to elevate those in need rather than consigning them to dependence on that government.
"When that happens, we
will 'glory in conflict, that we may exalt in victory,'" he closed, echoing a quotation by Frederick Douglass.*
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*He said earlier, "Believe me, as an African-American Roman Catholic conservative Republican from Maryland, I know what conflict is about."
The Unified Message and the Candidate to Carry It
Laurie Byrd (Whizbang!), in the audience behind me, said that the independence of people like Bill LuMaye and Fox News, neither of which lockstep with talking points, is what makes them successful.
Jeff Katz calls the "unified message" idea "a recipe for disaster"; conservative media is already portrayed as Republican shills. "A good talk show host knows his audience and what they want to talk about. A great talk show host is not afraid to occasionally tell his audience, 'I don't agree with you.'" Rush Limbaugh was always most popular when there was an opposition candidate in office, and he has suffered from the perception that he has been carrying water for the Republicans. "You believe what you believe, advance that, and do it without reservation, with hesitation, and without apology ... without saying 'This is what the Republican party should be doing', 'This is what the Democrats should be doing'."
Nathan Tabor said he doesn't mean talking points, but linking together to help one another out.
Someone said conservatives don't have a George Soros funding our own Moveon.org, but Tabor asks, "Are all conservatives broke? ..." but re-emphasized that we need to be working together wherever we can. Mittan said recently a legislator (Susan Fisher) clearly presented different positions on LuMaye's program in Raleigh than she had said on Mittan's in Asheville; a mutual listener tipped them and the two programs shared that information. However, it was the listeners, not the hosts, that made that happen.
Curtis Wright said, in response to a question why conservative candidates have difficulty getting on the radio, that the liberal network better understands sales, and that conservative candidates don't do the job about returning calls and emails. Jeff Katz said that supporters and staff need to be working on the candidates to make them interesting guests, too. "If you want your guests on the air, you have to remember this is an entertainment medium." He continued, "We had better decide what conservative means --" such as whether Rudy Giuliani is really a conservative, to be speaking at this conference, for example. "Fundamentally, your guy has to be interesting ... it's about grabbing as many human beings as possible and force them to listen as long as possible." And Bill LuMaye says the problem he sees is that no candidate has emerged with enough conservatism to attract the energy and excitement which he believes is latent in the community.
Nathan Tabor asked how many bloggers were in the audience. I saw at least eight hands; just in my corner of the room, literally within arm's reach, are
myself, Scott Elliott, and
Laurie Byrd. Tabor said there are local commentators blogging in every county about local issues and events, and activists need to get their candidates in touch with these people, too.
Ric Martinez said we have to remember that dealing with ideas and facts is not enough; we have to remember that emotions are legitimate too. Limbaugh is successful because he not only communicates the ideas, but engages you with humor and emotion too. Wright also points out that we have to work hard and share information to make this happen.
Donna Martinez said the liberal message is, "We care and we want to help you." Conservatives have to communicate that too.
Elizabeth Torres is a young woman in the front row, and she told me before the session she intended to be part of the Q&A. She just asked how we should get the message to the young people. Mittan said that the largest bloc is people who don't listen to the radio; he is reaching out to people who don't tune in to Limbaugh and listen to Mittan on their way to Hannity by speaking at college campuses. Elizabeth told me that her older sister is the one who was talking with Howard Lee in yesterday's education panel.
Penultimate question is coming from a young man who is vice-chairman of the UNC-Greensboro College Republicans. His comment is that liberals are targeting young conservatives on campus, and the only air they've been able to get is Wright's station in Wilmington and Mike Adams on Townhall.com. Wright said the reason Greensboro got on the air in Wilmington is there was a connection with UNC-Wilmington and the
Star-News wouldn't cover it; it was newsworthy so his station carried it all day. The key is finding news and then packaging it.
Coming from my own experience leading a nonprofit advocacy group, I can say "Amen" to that. Ric Martinez told him, no offense, but, "Too bad. You don't decide what's news. You have to be persistent." And that, I think, is quite true.
Session over, on to lunch ...
Labels: CLC
Racial Politics and Conservative Media
An African-American man in the audience said there is not enough coming from the GOP to discredit the leadership of Sharpton and Jackson; he said the black community doesn't see them as leaders but idiots, but the Republicans are not reaching out on that subject.
Curtis Wright challenged his fellow hosts to open their shows on a daily basis to Democratically-registered black leaders, as he [apparently] has done. Bill LuMaye said that he has done some outreach of some sorts but recognizes (and has experienced) the danger that their shows and sponsors become targets. "Isn't it powerful radio, though?" Wright asked. Comments from the panel and the audience say that the problem is conservatives are always on the defensive here and should not be.
Ric Martinez said that the Hispanic community tends to be conservative by nature, and immigrants do not naturally go to Social Services because that option doesn't exist where they're from. He said he is regularly asked, "Why do Mexicans work so hard?" He said it's nothing magic, it's just that there's no other option back where they're from.
Martinez continued to emphasize the issue is not so much what the community believes but what the media presents, and we who have connections with the media need to be standing forth for conservative principles.
Labels: CLC
What About Imus? And Beyond?
Why would you take down a liberal talk show host? Jeff Katz asked about the Imus controversy recently. "This is a brilliant tactical move," he said, because they can hold up the carcass of a liberal host and show they were committed to silencing
any broadcaster who says something objectionable. "This is a great way for them to start" re-establishing the Fairness Doctrine he said.
Matt Mittan however disagreed, saying that the free market, not the government, decided to remove Imus. Rosie O'Donnell is off as well. [I wasn't aware of that ...] Advertisers responded to consumers' rejection and pulled their dollars. Katz said it wasn't the market that took O'Donnell off, it was ABC. Bill LuMaye said it wasn't the market in Imus' case either, but extortion by the same "poverty pimps" who are seeking to "bar code" everybody and pit groups against each other. "Although the free marketplace should determine things, I don't think that happened here."
Curtis Wright asked why aren't we speaking out more? Why did last November happen? "What I'm worried about is we're going to continue to do it," he said. "I'm more concerned that the product is going to stay the same, rather than asking what we should be doing. Whatever we're doing may be bringing in some dollars, but it's not working. With only 31% of the people in North Carolina voting, we're not inspiring them."
Nathan Tabor's question is whether the organization of the liberal left isn't overrunning the conservative viewpoint. There is consistent, closed-ranks "swarm" behavior from the Moveon.org, Al Sharpton side of the spectrum. What have we done in the last two years to change the failure of education in North Carolina? There is no unified voice in North Carolina to truly make a difference. "When an issue like this comes up we need to be working on a unified voice" to respond. "The conservative message gets lost in the woods because we're all standing around by our own campfires."
Mittan said the message has been getting out, but problem for the Republicans has been failure to deliver for conservative, Constitutional ideas.
Ric Martinez saw the Imus issue as a victory of racial politics, and said that conservatives cannot win at racial politics because we are not "diverse". He said there was only one black conservative who had enough intellectual gumption to answer Sharpton et al, and no one knows about Niger Ennis but Sean Hannity. Wright said that conservative media is not pointing out the line-by-line problems in the credibility of some of the "poverty pimps" as LuMaye called them. He said if it were someone on the right side, the liberal media would press the point every day.
More on the Relentless Communication
I'm in the session on "Conveying the Conservative Message" with several talk show hosts and columnists, and as it happens, doing some conveyance of my own right now. The room is packed and more coming in. I'm trying to write real time so I apologize if I drop an article or word here or there. (Updates are welcome)
Donna Martinez of State Government Radio opened the panel with the question, asked by an audience member yesterday, whether talk radio is simply preaching to the converted, and not reaching out to communicate this message.
Nathan Tabor of TCV Media said that he admittedly does only occasional radio spots, but he believes that our answers to the oppositional callers will have a long-term effect of getting the message out. [Think Sean Hanity's "Hanitization" riff]
Curtis Wright of WNTB in Wilmington quoted Edward R. Murrow, "'It is our job to educate and illuminate.' I believe that if we ed and ill people on conservative priniciples, that if everything we do comes back to that, then the message will come back. Talking to the choir needs to stop."
But Jeff Katz of WBT in Charlotte disagreed strongly, saying their job as radio hosts was indeed to keep listeners engaged for a given quarter-hour. "You are hired to attract and hold as many people as possible for your radio station. They will hear if you are true to what you believe, and they may or may not react. It is an entertainment medium; the difference is that [talk as a format] has the opportunity to give a perspective at the same time as do my job - to entertain a larger audience." He said his time in Boston and San Francisco felt pretty lonely,
Matt Mittan answered Donna's question if talk radio is bombastic. He said, "Hell, yes, it's bombastic. We're in a battle." He said his market, Asheville, has been called "The Freak Capital of the East", and that the readership of a very liberal local alternative newspaper,
The Mountain Express, has voted his program "Take A Stand" their favorite radio program for two years running. He listed his very conservative positions, but said, "I reject the label of 'conservative', because I would rather win on issues rather than labels."
Ric Martinez does both radio and op-ed columns, and he said that since he and Donna began working at State Government Radio, he has been amazed at the lack of conservative voices in the mainstream media. "I wonder if we have ceded that," he said. Ric says that liberals they have interviewed have been surprised that they weren't "torn up" by these conservative journalists. He recommends that conservative journalism students seek places with the MSM like the Raleigh
News & Observer rather than
Townhall.com, because they can do more good there.
Process Check
I've got some notes from the other speakers at breakfast, including Senator Smith, but I'm going to be catching up on them as I have opportunity during the day.
I've had some interesting conversations this morning with Patrick Ballantine, Dr. Erik Root of the N.C. Family Policy Council, Bart Ely of Clear Glass Productions, Matt Mittan of WWNC in Asheville, and columnist Ric Martinez. I'll see if I can work some of this in during the day.
Labels: CLC
Heath Shuler
This is my first exposure to Heath Shuler; I was disappointed that his election was one of the Republican seats that turned over in 2006, though admittedly I wasn't a great fan of Charles Taylor. However, it was interesting to hear from a freshman Democrat who apparently is taking a conservative stand in the House of Representatives.
Shuler's theme this morning was about the importance of standing on principle. He quoted Scripture and Biblical concepts a number of times and seemed sincere about it; certainly I've heard enough politicians whose newly public faith was as convincing as Hillary Clinton's southern drawl. Shuler "smells right", so I'm encouraged to hear it.
He spoke about having to choose your associations carefully. While in the NFL, he was at a restaurant in New Orleans to close a multi-million dollar deal with a cellular provider. He said as the drinks flowed and the language grew more profane, he noticed some young children at a nearby table watching them closely. He decided that he was going to be an example one way or the other, so when the appetizers arrived, Shuler asked the executives if he could return thanks for the meal ("
in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths", he quoted). Shuler said the alcohol stopped at that point, the conversation became more polite, and after the children came over for his autograph, he turned down the offer, telling the executives the money wasn't an issue but the company was.
From there he spoke about his association with the "Blue Dog" Democrats, forty-four and counting, who are a conservative caucus within the House (by comparison, there are only twenty-two members of the Progressive Caucus). This is a large enough group that without their support, the Democrats may very well fail to pull the majority they need to pass legislation. He said they are regularly consulted to try and be sure they stay in the "D" column and that this does make a difference.
In conclusion, he says that his parents taught him life is not hard if you do what is right and what you know in your heart to be true -- that the difficulty comes when you waffle or when you are not honest with yourself, as well as others. And he said it is important to have the courage to cross the aisle and work with both parties.
Of course, my question is always if you're conservative, why are you still in the Democratic Party? But everyone has to choose his associations, as Shuler said. Hmm.
Breakfast on the Right
The first session this morning is breakfast and a rapid succession of speakers -- Senator Fred Smith, former Sen. Patrick Ballantine, U.S. Army journalist Bill Kiever, and just introduced, Congressman Heath Shuler.
Ballantine, by the way, said he rode the elevator with Shuler this morning, when one of the passengers said, "I can't believe we have to go hear a Democrat today." Ballantine told them, "I've got something even worse. Somebody asked me this morning, 'Aren't you Heath Shuler?'"
Vernon Robinson (usually called something like, "The controversial ..." ) came in late and shared the table with us but we didn't have time to speak.
Shuler's up now.
A parting observation
Here in the midst of the Conservative Leadership Conference, there is one room reserved for the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Commission meeting still in progress. Interesting juxtaposition.
Labels: CLC
Collecting thoughts
Former Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich listens to introductory remarks
from Civitas vicepresident Tom Stith on Friday.
Labels: CLC
"We've got to be relentless"
Former Maryland governor Bob Ehrlich made a $6 billion turnaround in state budgets, from a $4 billion deficit, while in office. He made department heads start with 88% of the previous year's budget and justify every dollar more to him personally. And he said, "We governors like to say we created so many jobs, but really, I just got out of the way of 100,000 new jobs that were created in our state."
But he said we have to face the facts of the 2006 elections. "We need to think about what a wipeout election this was, as a constant reminder when we regain power, that we can not mess up."
It was an "edgy" talk, as he warned, but good to consider. His overall point: "If these numbers are to turn around, we have to be hyperactive to get this message out to the community." We can view last November as a loss, or as a defeat, but it's up to us to rebuild our credibility now, while it's low for the conservative movement.
Labels: CLC
Newtonian ideas
Congressman Pat McHenry said the time has come for Republicans to embrace Reaganesque ideas, concepts so big and all-embracing he calls them "Newtonian".
We know how to make the phone calls, we know how to knock on the doors, but if we can't explain to the people what we want to do with that power if they give it to us ...
What are these big ideas? McHenry says a free market reform of healthcare and education, making both of them tax free. "If it's really a priority, then show it," he said. Tax reform should be a primary goal, and should begin by abolishing the tax code effective December 31, 2010, when the Bush tax cuts revert back to Clinton-era levels. He called for the Secretary of Education to cut fifty checks a year, block grants to the states, then go home, work completed. (This is closer to a Constitutional role of the federal government in education, anyway.) Judiciary reform should take the form of term limits for federal judges and redistricting after every census, just like the legislature. Finally, he called for "a 21st Century Manhattan Project" to eliminate the dependence on foreign energy -- again, as a free market, incentive-driven endeavor. He suggested a $1 billion prize for energy innovation.
Labels: CLC
A need for self-restraint
Justice Bob Orr, gubernatorial candidate, gave an excellent speech on the need for citizens and businessmen, as well as their representatives, to "avoid the temptation" to seek incentives, concessions, and other financial benefits from the government.
If we do not exercise self-restraint, we will suffer, business with suffer, and the government is going to continue to encroach in your life.
This past week Orr argued at the Court of Appeals on the case of the Dell incentives, $300 million worth from the state and Winston-Salem, and spoke of the importance of the "'public purpose' provision" in the state constitution -- that tax funds cannot be taken for any reason but a definite public purpose.
He included an excellent quote from Edmund Burke which I will try and update later on.
Humor: Justice Orr apologized for leaving early, but he has a political event in the western part of the state tomorrow morning and an event back here Sunday. He said he is the only candidate who does not have his own airplane, but he has christened his pickup truck "Orr Force One" and plans to sell T-shirts, hats, and mugs to people who have ridden with him.
Labels: CLC
Reagan's Legacy
The love and reverance we see for Ronald Reagan is more than simply team spirit. Reagan was a genuine conservative whose convictions didn't change and "evolve" as he mounted the political ladder.
A couple of years ago I reviewed Lee Edwards' short biography
The Essential Ronald Reagan. One incident stays in my memory. Edwards had an opportunity to visit the Reagans in their apartment shortly after Reagan entered the political scene. In a quiet moment, left alone in their den, Edwards browsed their bookshelves. Not only did the Reagans have copies of classic economics books by the likes of Hayek and Bastiat, they were well-worn, dog-eared, and thoroughly annotated by the owner.
Another book,
Reagan In His Own Hand, is a collection of the essays he wrote for his radio broadcasts in the 1970's. They are brilliant, like gems of concise viewpoint from an unerringly conservative position, and cover a wide range of topics and issues. They are great examples of the art of writing, apart from their philosophical content.
The panel this evening is fleshing out the history with some of their personal recollections of Ronald Reagan. Former Lt. Gov. Jim Gardner shared his time spent with Reagan as a young Congressman in the 1960's and as political campaigner at other times. His wife observed that a campaign trip to Asheville, when then Governor Reagan stepped aside to allow her to exit the plane first, was "the first time I wasn't run down by politicians fighting their way to the microphone." He was a real gentleman as well as a real conservative.
Frank Gaffney served in Reagan's State Department and most recently got headlines when his documentary film,
Islam v. Islamists: Voices from the Muslim Center, has been supressed by the PBS which commissioned it. He says our current fight against Islamofascism is exactly parallel to the fight against Soviet Communism in the 1980s. Gaffney says that we need to take the same steps that Reagan did, including defining political statements like his "Tear down this wall!" speech, and serious efforts to dry up the funding which keeps terrorism going.
Congressman Pat McHenry observes that Ronald Reagan made a point of befriending House Speaker Tip O'Neill to expedite the political battles he had to face. This is not standard practice now in Congress. On the other hand, Gaffney pointed out, Reagan had to contend with a Democratic Congress that wanted to impeach him over Iran-Contra, wanted to derail the Strategic Defense Initiative, and went absolutely bananas over his "destructive" statements confronting Communism.
The impact Reagan had on conservatism and this country as a whole can't even start to be appreciated in a single session, but it's always good to hear from those who knew him first hand and had experience in "the revolution". It's probably time for another.
Labels: CLC
A moment of illumination
Does Justice Bob Orr receive direct revelation from the Supreme Judge?
Or does the photographer have a problem with stray light?
Labels: CLC, Humor
What's conservatism without Boy Scouts?
My neighbors at lunch were Will and Dewey, twin brothers and Scouts who were invited to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the opening session. In the course of the conversation Dewey allowed as how his patrol became bored with the traditional names and mascots, and under the influence of way too much caffeine one evening, hit on the "Rabid Chicken" as their mascot. The badge company must have been bored as well, since they created the image for them.
Seems like I was in "Wolf Patrol" when I was a Scout.
A further times-are-changing moment when I asked if their weekend canoe trip was in state. "I hope so," he said. "My Ipod isn't charged up."
Uh oh. The Scout motto is "Be prepared!" Hopefully that's survived the digital revolution.
Labels: CLC, Humor
Questions for the education panel
After the presentations from the four panelists, the audience took part in a lively Q&A session. Frankly, Chairman Lee got hammered pretty hard by the group, and he handled their questions very well. I have to hand it to him for coming to a venue which might be expected to be pretty skeptical about the public school system he helps oversee.
Student interestsIn answer to a high school student's question [unfortunately I didn't catch it], Lee said he wants to promote online self-study and more relevant course material even at very young ages. He is also in favor of more peer collaboration and peer tutoring. "One of the things we miss is what really we should be doing to hold and enhance the attention of students," he said, and asked the student for her ideas. She said "maybe not as much books" -- Lee says "Yes!" -- "and shorter classes, since the ADD students are mixed in with the regular students." She said her sister goes to the John Locke Foundation's lunchtime
Shaftesbury Society lectures and they are much more interesting than the books the schools use.
An older gentleman disagreed with this sort of concern, saying "Our heads are in the sand and the tail is wagging the dog, worrying about keeping the students happy. We need to be focused on giving them what they need to learn. She needs to be made to do the work she needs to achieve and be successful, and not asked 'What do you want to do today, dear?'
"The highest percentage of kids on grade level [in the counties I researched] was Cumberland County 57%, Robeson 27%. How in God's name do you expect kids to do anything if you socially promote them and you can't hire them to do anything? I was a business owner and I hired high school graduates who couldn't fill out the application forms. I believe you are trying to do your job, Mr. Lee, but I'm just telling you like it is."
Dropout statisticsA man on the front row seconded Stoops' call for better statistics, saying that DPI reported 95% graduation rates until last February, when it suddenly dropped to 68%. "What bothers
me," said Lee, "is whether that dropout rate is real either. If that kid leaves the school and enrolls in the community college, he's counted as a dropout but I don't think so."
A recent relocation to the state said he is substitute teaching in the local schools and said in his view, "Chaos in the schools starts at the top." Lee expressed concern that the problem is with local boards which are not performing. Stoops immediately disagreed, referencing the
Teacher Working Conditions Survey, saying that the governor, SBE, and DPI, focus on pay and benefits rather than the teachers' stated concern about incompetent administration and leadership. Lee had already stated that until we can make teaching more attractive, safe, decently paid, people are going to make another choice and teacher turnover would remain high.
"At the same time, you're completely wrong saying we don't prioritize this," said Lee. "We cannot ignore the fact that teacher pay is an important part of what we do. Keep in mind this is an initiative for Governor Easley and he said it will be a priority for the state board."
Lee challenged the questioner why he was substituting instead of full time; the listener said he tried but was told there was not a high need for history teachers, like he was in West Virginia. Lee said, "You contact my office; you've been given bad information."
Support for charters but not those charters"When the charter school movement started in North Carolina, the state board threw out charters like apples coming off a tree, because they were under pressure from the legislature," said Lee. "What I want to do is have a methodical approach, not a blue ribbon commission ..." He said again that he didn't care how many charter schools there are if they are done the way he envisions. He was asked then why not support removing the cap on charters now? He said the commission is a six month project only but left the question somewhat open.
Item: Howard Lee said he purchases a lottery ticket every week. Lee said the legislature's current education budget is "ugly!" and the board is looking to help them "pretty it up".
Labels: CLC, Education
Performance, preparation, and violence in education
Friday's education panel included
Howard Lee, chairman of the State Board of Education, and
Dr. Terry Stoops, education analyst for the John Locke Foundation, as well as
Senator Harry Brown and
Representative Dale Folwell of the General Assembly.
Howard Lee says he is working to gain more authority for the SBE to take over school systems from local boards which are taken up by internal strife. He asserts that "Public schools
are working". He praised the "
Learn and Earn" program and agreed with the call for more "themed high schools".
"If there's one thing I hope we in NC can get away from, it's the mega-high-schools where kids can get lost," he said.
Alternatives to traditional schools
"I am a very strong advocate for charter schools," said Chairman Lee. "I am not an advocate for some of the charter schools we have now.
"I don't think we can build enough buildings to accommodate the growth we have and expect every child in a classroom. That's why I support virtual schools where a gifted and talented student can accelerate themselves through the system. We can no longer require students to put in seat time; the thing that concerns me is the kids that are dropping out is not just slow learning kids, some are very smart kids who are bored to tears."
The new testing review commission will have its first meeting in two weeks, "determine where we are, how many of these tests are useless, and create a system where teachers can get immediate feedback rather than waiting for the end of the year."
In the next 30 days he will have a charter school review commission. "I want the charter schools who are not performing off the books. The idea of the charter school was freedom from the red tape, not that they should not meet standards. If they do that, we don't need to care about the number. I don't care if we have a thousand, if they are performing ... " he said.
"Think with me for a minute," Lee continued. "When we went to school, the community felt ownership of the schools ... we have lost that. Parents are not engaged, the community is not engaged, in some case the schools
encourage the community not to be engaged."
He cited constant turnover of teachers and weak community support as continuing problems. "Our goal has to be to prepare students to function in the world, not just in North Carolina or their community," he said. "Guess what, the car that is now number one in the world is Toyota; if we're going to be engaged in that business, we better be able to speak a little Japanese and understand the Japanese culture ..."
School violence is not adequately documentedDr. Terry Stoops of the Locke Foundation mused that "we are so willing to close down charter schools but not regular schools." Lee interjected "That was the part I left out of my remarks."
Stoops said he'd like to use his time for a rebuttal, but he chose to focus on school violence issues. He said there is a rising awareness that school crime statistics have been "grossly inaccurate".
According to him, in 2005, a Colorado school claimed no crime the same year a student was stabbed to death in the cafeteria. The largest school district in NC reported one sex crime in the 2004-2005 school year, but actually apologized for the administrative oversight when it was published there were several serious and literally hundreds of minor sexual offenses. In some cases, crimes were never reported because the school could not identify the offender.
Why is this happening? "It is an era of accountability. A school not doing well in testing but wishing to show improvement in some area can fudge on crime statistics to claim they are creating a safer school environment," Stoops said. There are also questions of definitions of certain crimes and violence.
We need better data and information, and make sure DPI is accurately reporting this stuff, he said. "We have programs like Positive Behavior Management that we don't have rigorous analysis to tell us whether these programs are working or not."
Stoops mentioned the media did not report that charter schools had a 30% decrease in suspensions while district schools reported increases. District schools reported 3.1 suspensions per 10 male students, while charter schools only experienced 1 per 10.
Every Child Ready to Learn"If we have one goal in public schools, it should be not to humiliate a child," said Rep. Folwell of Winston-Salem. He has introduced
an eight-word bill to change the cutoff date for kindergarten from October 16 to August 31. He said that North Carolina's public school classrooms have the largest age span of nearly any in the nation and it is a difficult prospect for a 4-year-old to be sharing a classroom with a 6-year-old.
He also called for a unique student identifier which would allow the Employment Security Commission to link a person's work history with his school record, all the way back to kindergarten. He said this is already in place in some states. This gives me some concern but I can't comment right now.
Labels: CLC, Education
Just one question, Mr. Mayor ...
Rudy Giuliani was our lunchtime speaker and was genial, well-spoken, connected with the crowd, and all the other things that are said about the mayor. He delivered several applause lines on his strongest issues, which of course are security and governmental reform. One of them, though, left a question hanging, and though I tried to get in on the brief Q&A session at the close, we got cut off at three questions only.
Giuliani spoke of his experience and frustration attempting to reform the New York City public school system, and said he was "starry eyed" to think that he could expect the same success he'd scored with emergency services, social welfare programs, and other big governmental projects. No such luck with the school systems.
He said the turning point in his thinking was when the Children's Scholarship Fund offered 2500 grants to allow parents to enroll their children in private or parochial schools. When the public school authorities refused to allow the CSF information to be distributed in the public school systems, Giuliani said he couldn't override them -- he only controlled two votes on the seven-member board.
Even with very little promotion, though, the CSF program received 168 thousand applications. What does that say?
He argues that since we are already going to spend the money, from $6000 to over $20 thousand (for special needs children), why not increase the alternatives and options available to families, beyond the public schools in their district of residence?
There was much applause because many of us here support the idea of educational reform, expanded alternatives such as public school choice, charter schools, and even tax credits or vouchers to help families direct the funding where they believe their children will be best served. However, Giuliani is not running for mayor or governor, he's a candidate for president, so my unasked (and therefore unanswered) question is:
What is the role of the federal government in an endeavor which is historically and Constitutionally a state and local issue?See Amendment 10.
UPDATE: Joseph Coletti and I have some back-and-forth on Giuliani and schools in
The Locker Room here,
here,
here, and
here.
Links:Reason & Revelation: Lunch with GiulianiLabels: CLC, Education
First we eat
The opening session is lunch, with an unapologetic blessing in Jesus' name, courtesy Judge Ann Calabria. Jon Sanders at the Locke Foundation saved me a great seat near the front, though I think my pictures will show Rudy Giuliani emerging from a broadleaf palm like ... well, never mind.
Good national anthem and dinner music from the Wake-Rolesville chorus. Senator Fred Smith has a seat nearby but he's out working the crowd. Justice Bob Orr came in a few minutes ago but it looks like he's going to do lunch first. I'm with the judge on this one.
Labels: CLC
Where's the protest?
I saw at least two left-leaning (charitable description) websites had targeted the conference for protests ("IMPEACH!"). However, as I observed to another exhibitor, it looks like God has prepared a welcome for them -- the rain is coming down in sheets outside.
Of course, one of the groups is focused on April 28, so if the Ides of March are come, they are not yet gone. So to speak, anyway.
Labels: CLC
Testing, Testing
I'm getting logged in and settled here at the North Carolina Conservative Leadership Conference, convening at the Raleigh Sheraton Hotel on beautiful newly-paved Fayetteville Street.
At the moment I'm sitting in the exhibitors' area at the table for North Carolinians for Home Education, the nonprofit group I've worked with for ten years. I expect one of our board member couples to be in later today but in the meantime, I can camp here as well as anywhere.
So far so good on the connection. I was a little worried at first but I see my signal meter has updated and looks very happy.
Labels: CLC
On A Roll
Five Points is now on the roll at the Civitas Institute's
Red Clay Citizen blog.
Thanks to Max Borders for counting us in.
No King
The Religion News Service has released a report on the nation's Christian leaders who are most influential in political (or at least, Republican) circles. These have been characterized as "kingmakers" for the GOP, a label that may be accurate in one sense, though it isnot one that I am very comfortable with.
According to
Doug Huntington's story in
The Christian Post, these included:
- Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family
- Rev. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
- Rev. Rod Parsley, pastor of World Harvest Church in Ohio
- Michael Farris of Homeschool Legal Defense Association (Farris also a pastor as well as chancellor of Patrick Henry College)
- Pam Olsen, president of the Florida Prayer Network
- Rev. Don Wildmon of the American Family Association (AFA)
- Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (FRC)
- Steve Scheffler of the Iowa Christian Alliance
- Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice
- Tamara Scott, leader of the Iowa chapter of Concerned Women for America
There is a pattern in this list which underlines one of my concerns about the "kingmaker" aspect. Though there are several men whom I know are entitled to be called "Reverend" -- and note that title is never mentioned in the
Christian Post article -- only one, Parsley, is predominantly known for his role as a pastor.
I am totally in favor of outspoken Christians working in the political process, because I am convinced that the teachings of Christ and His apostles is relevant to every aspect of our lives. Politics is simply part of living within a diverse community, as we do, and Christianity has much to say about that relationship. For that matter, so do other religions and philosophies, and I don't mind the debate seeking a ground of commonality when it comes to social questions. This is not to say that all beliefs are equally true or valid, but there is significant overlap on many of the earthly questions; we can all agree that the innocent should be protected, that honesty should be a hallmark of our interactions, that murder, theft, and rape are criminal acts.
The ethic of politics and citizenship need to be preached from the pulpit, though, as well as broadcast in the programs and publications of the organizations that are represented. I am similarly convinced that ministries like Promise Keepers, Focus on the Family, the Institute for Basic Life Principles, and others that are occasionally decried as "parachurch" groups would not exist and thrive if the conventional church got around to addressing some of these particular needs within the church and society. As it stands, they can coexist and minister together, but we need more pastors speaking out about current issues, and challenging our response to them beyond comfortable, and predictable, platitudes and applause lines.
Make that, "Amen" lines.
As a second point, I am uncomfortable with the apparent ease of this report assigning the role of political broker in the name of Christ to these men and women. I'm glad they're involved, and I expect most of the "Top 10" don't see themselves this way, but the label carries
way more of politics than of piety. For the Christian in America, there is no king but Jesus, and no kingmakers are even possible. As for the political class,
all of them are simply ministers, but since we get a hand choosing them, we need to elect wisely. And if there are Christian leaders who have godly counsel to share, let them.
N.C. Conservative Leadership Conference
Later this week I'll be live blogging from the second
North Carolina Conservative Leadership Conference, sponsored by the
J.W. Pope Civitas Institute and the
John Locke Foundation. This will be my third round of reportorial blogging since last year's CLC --
a brief round at the
North Carolinians for Home Education conference in Winston-Salem last May, somewhat hampered the fact I was president of the organization and a speaker at the conference, then
a very intense session at the
National Center for Family Integrated Churches in St. Louis last fall.
This was an excellent event last year and promises to be even better in 2007. A number of bloggers will be reporting, so I'm hoping to cover an angle not seen in the other blogs; we'll see how that goes.
At last notice, there was still space for late registration, so if you see me at the Raleigh Sheraton this Friday and Saturday, be sure to say hello.
