Steve Forbes on the Fight for Liberty
February 19, 2007 By Steve Forbes
Dear Friends,
Each year yields new beginnings, and I am excited to share one of mine with you.
I want to tell you all more about my decision to join what I believe is the most effective grassroots organization fighting for lower taxes and less government in the nation: FreedomWorks.
As you know, FreedomWorks is the result of a merger between Citizens for a Sound Economy and Empower America, combining more than thirty years of success promoting limited government and educating hundreds of thousands of volunteer grassroots members.
What you may not know is that this organization holds a special place in my heart: I served as the chairman of Empower America from 1993 until 1996, when I left to run for president.
Why come back now?
As a patriotic American, I am sure you share my concerns over the complete collapse of fiscal discipline in Washington and our state capitals. Too many politicians—
Democrat and Republican alike—lack a commitment to the priorities of the American people. The Republican Party and its leaders have strayed from Ronald Reagan’s vision of limited government and individual responsibility. Democrats, now in control of both the House and Senate, never got the Reagan vision, and remain committed to the old, failed policies of big government liberalism.
This brings me to FreedomWorks, a serious grassroots organization with an impressive list of tangible accomplishments in the fight for lower taxes, less government, and more freedom. FreedomWorks relies on the action of its members, and I want to ask you for your continued support in the imminent battles ahead in 2007 with our fight against the Democrat-controlled Congress.
More than 850,000 volunteer members share our values and have a hard-earned reputation for showing up to fight for our beliefs. They do not answer to special interests and are not worried about keeping politicians in office. They fight for ideas, not politicians. I know that with FreedomWorks we can get America back to the fundamentals of limited government and economic freedom, what my friend Dick Armey refers to as “pocketbook conservatism.”
My belief that we need to build a new majority committed to promoting positive, big ideas that get power and money out of the hands of politicians and bureaucrats and back into the hands of individuals led me to FreedomWorks. It has become a grassroots powerhouse that puts principle before partisan politics It is an organization that even the Washington Post has begrudgingly acknowledged as “one of Washington’s most prominent conservative organizations.”
I do not hide the fact that I expect great things from the staff and our members of FreedomWorks as we re-energize the American conservative movement and help define the 2008 presidential campaign.
When I ran for president in 1996 and 2000, I knew that America must return to the basic tenets of less government and more freedom. Whenever the American people have the power to control their own lives, America moves ahead. My campaign proposals had a common thread: Individual Americans deserve more opportunity, more responsibility, more control, and more power in their lives. We have done this before, and by reviving these American touchstones, we will move forward again.
I accepted the offer to become a member of the board of directors of this prestigious institution after a conversation with FreedomWorks’ Chairman Dick Armey, one of the few political leaders of our generation who succeeded in making good policy good politics. I have had the opportunity to witness the former Majority Leader bringing the same work ethic and commitment to principle that defined his earlier career in Congress to FreedomWorks. I am honored and excited to be working with Dick, as well as the people, like you, who have generously put their hard-earned money into the growth of this organization. Together, we are investing in freedom and in the future of America.
I expect results. We are committed to a mission of lower taxes, less government, and more freedom. But with Republican failures and a new energized Democratic majority, we acknowledge the long battle ahead.
I trust that you too will expect equally great things from this organization. And, I hope that you all will continue to play a role in our success. Without the support of our membership, we would be without a voice in this crucial debate of ideas.
Dick Armey and I have, in our lifetime, seen the conservative movement really shine on three occasions. Barry Goldwater inspired a generation to fight for liberty in America. Ronald Reagan embraced the Goldwater vision of individual liberty and enacted a strong, positive, pro-growth vision for America. In 1994, Republicans embraced the Reagan vision and swept into power with the Contract with America.
We cannot wait for another Reagan. The next political revolution in America will come from the American people, from the grassroots up to Washington, D.C. I believe it will be based on the commonsense, pocketbook conservatism of Goldwater and Reagan. This is our time; this is our critical moment, to take back the high ground based on the positive principles of growth, opportunity, and freedom.
Thank you again for your time and support. Important battles have already emerged in the congressional agenda of 2007, but rest assured that we are on the right side of this fight because we stand on the side of freedom. I am pleased that I can further share such positive and exciting news, and I look forward to working with you all in the year ahead.
By Clicking HERE, You Can Make a Contribution
to Help Further FreedomWorks’ Fight for Individual Liberty
