Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Heritage Foundation Issues Major New Policy Book, Changes Tone

The conservative think tank Heritage Foundation has just released a major new policy book titled "Opportunity for All, Favoritism for None."

The nearly 200-page book has 12 chapters on: jobs, energy, k-12 education, college/university, healthcare, economy, bailouts, welfare reform, spending, taxes, society, and national security.

Town Hall notes that the book calls for Republicans to embrace "conservative populism" rather than "donorism."

The book was released during the Heritage Action Conservative Policy Conference taking place from January 12-13.  The agenda of that conference, which includes speeches from more than 20 lawmakers, can be found here.  And Heritage's legislative preview for the summit can be found here.

Attendees at the conference reportedly were not too excited about Mitt Romney running for president in 2016.

National Journal says that the Heritage Foundation isn't moderating its principles but is focusing more on reform over opposition in 2015.  Here is more:
Heritage Action for America spent the past two years as an obstructionist force within the Republican Party, hoping to pull the party to the right through a string of confrontations. But now, with Republicans running Congress, the group is changing its strategy toward a policy push, advocating an economic agenda aimed at appealing to middle-class voters. The rationale behind the shift comes from an understanding that constructive policy ideas sell better than instinctive opposition—even if Heritage Action's favored prescriptions are more conservative than what many party officials support.

The article questions whether the shift in tone for the think tank is more about rebranding its image, or a substantive shift.

In related Heritage Foundation news, Think Tank Watch recently reported that the think tank has received a major new gift.