Heritage Foundation Event Draws Powerful Presidential Hopefuls

On September 18 the lobbying arm of the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation held its Heritage Action Presidential Forum at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, drawing the majority of the top Republican presidential contenders for 2016.

The Heritage Action for America super-PAC said it was hosting 10 of the 16 major candidates at the forum: Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, Rand Paul, Rick Santorum, and Bobby Jindal.  Donald Trump's campaign, however, canceled his appearance there due to what they say was a "business transaction."

The forum also featured South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint (who heads the Heritage Foundation), and Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham.

The big story coming out of the event was that Carly Fiorina received a positive reception.  Some reported that Ted Cruz AND Carly Fiorina "ruled" the event.

The New York Times describes Heritage Action as the "political arm of Heritage Foundation, founded in 1973 and transformed in recent years from a staid policy incubator to an organizing engine fueled by the Tea Party movement."

Here is a recent Think Tank Watch post on Carly Fiorina's favorite think tanks.

Carly Fiorina's Quiet Adventures in Think Tank Land

Carly Fiorina, the 2016 Republican presidential candidate who got rave reviews at yesterday's presidential debate, has had an under-the-radar relationship with a handful of think tanks.

For example, the former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard has been a Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Among other things, she was tapped to be a member of CSIS's Executive Council on Development.  Earlier this year she gave a speech at CSIS for the "Smart Women, Smart Power" initiative.  In 2013 she gave a speech at the think tank at a forum on innovation for government effectiveness.

Of course, CSIS is not the only think tank that Carly Fiorina has a connection to.  Earlier this year, Fiorina gave a keynote address at the annual dinner of the conservative think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI).

Ms. Fiorina was also the Chair of the Board of Directors of Technology Policy Institute (TPI), a Washington, DC-based think tank focusing on the economics of innovation and technological change.

Following are a few things that other think tanks have put said about Fiorina:

• Here is what the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has put together on the foreign policy positions of Carly Fiorina.

• Marc Thiessen of American Enterprise Institute (AEI) writes how Carly Fiorina is on the rise.

• The Heritage Foundation said earlier this year that no other potential 2016 GOP candidate was tougher on Hillary Clinton than Carly Fiorina at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

• Brookings Institution scholar John Hudak has said that Fiorina probably has more potential as a vice presidential candidate, and could possibly be tapped as Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Think Tank Watch prediction: After yesterday's performance, don't be surprised if Fiorina starts making her way around the think tank circuit more regularly.