'76 Blog

(CCU Student) What is conservatism? Why are YOU conservative? These questions were asked of students attending the Young America’s Foundation National Conservative Student Conference this summer in D.C. (August 1-6, 2011). The conference was an opportunity to explore conservatism today and apply it to our own lives. The media today is overwhelmed by liberal talk shows, news anchors, and bias; so it’s a good idea to know what you believe and why. This rationale is exactly why I desired to attend NCSC this year. The political realm is an area that I have only recently dared tip my toes into, but I’ve always been a conservative, albeit a confused one at times. I grew up on Biblical principles, often the foundation of conservative thought. But I also attended a public high school, where I learned that Nixon was good and Reagan was bad. The liberal and conservative ideologies were never explained to me or my fellow students, and no policies were ever debated, so I never quite knew what was considered conservative or liberal. The speakers at NCSC spoke about the values of conservatism through the lens of current events. They helped me to understand the debt ceiling debate, foreign issues, and other current affairs from the conservative perspective. Also, the opportunity to discuss these issues after the sessions with other attendees provided arenas for debate on what the speakers spoke on and solutions for current affairs. Some of the speakers and topics covered: ·         KT McFarland, FOX News’ National Security Analyst– Flash points around the world ·         Senator Mike Lee, Republican U.S. Senator for Utah – The debt crisis and a Balanced Budget Amendment ·         Joseph Phillips, actor from “The Cosby Show” and syndicated columnist – Current affairs of race today and its implications ·         Dr. Robert George, Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University – Immigration and American Exceptionalism ·         Matt Richardson, Executive Director of the Young Briton’s Foundation – Healthcare in the UK Now, I have solidified in my own mind what conservatism is and what I believe in. My lack of knowledge has been replaced by a sense of awareness of my own beliefs. I stand with many other conservatives and believe that moral relativity is not an option, that national security and defense is one of the biggest priorities for our nation, and that a capitalist free market system is the best way to boost our economy and create jobs. As Bay Buchanan, former Treasurer of the United States under President Reagan, said in her session, “Do not ever feel inadequate because you do not know. You are inadequate when you are on the sidelines.” Before, I felt as if my lack of political knowledge meant that I could not be an active participant. But that participation is exactly how I learned more about what I believed. So even if you don’t feel like you know much, go out and get involved in politics, whether through campaigning for your favorite candidate or simply discussing current political issues with your friends. You’ll be glad you did!

(Centennial Graduate Intern) Working in the Pentagon this summer, I ran into several Obama appointees. One was a field director for Hillary’s Presidential campaign in Iowa. During the campaign, he spent his time meeting all the senior citizens in the community and reaching out to other community leaders. He went to the local high school once during the primary campaign. On the fateful caucus day, the entire senior class of the high school in Iowa showed up and a solid Hillary district was locked into Obama. Thus, began the 2008 primary that eventually culminated with the election of President Barack Obama. My generation, the millennials, are one of the first generations to go to school in a very diverse environment, making our generation extremely inclusive. However, within this inclusiveness is a sense of moral relativism that has permeated our mentality. Within such a context, an ideology predicated on principle is far more difficult to hold ground than a nebulous, rapidly evolving mentality. Our survey of several different youth leaders has shown that there are several trends within engaging the youth within the conservative movement as well as solidifying a far reaching movement inculcating the changes our nation embodies demographically. The lessons learned/trends are as follows: • Focus on jobs and economy  – Entry level jobs for recent college graduates – Loss of perpetuity of the wellbeing of our nation – Tuition and Fees  – Student loans(now federalized) • Grassroots organizations predicated on ideology rather than necessarily party • Youth Coordination accessible and prominent during campaigns • Avoiding alienation due to party positions • Inclusiveness of conservative movement; preservation of American values A brief anecdote from my college days captures the aforementioned trends. I had the blessing of working on a pro-life movement on Texas A&M’s campus on a grassroots level. Our focus was on countering the introduction of FOCA, which would lift almost all regulations on abortion. Our goal was to utilize the already mobilized pro-life movement around the legislation and increase the number of signatures of a petition being sent to preclude the legislation’s introduction.  Our campaign began with traditional groups such as Aggies for Life and the Young Conservatives of Texas; however, due to our ability to articulate the commonality of the sanctity of human life, we were able to garner support from several different faith groups typically not associated with the pro-life movement. It is the strength of semantics within a campaign as well as an appeal to universal human values that allowed us to build an inclusive, dynamic movement. It is this sort of mentality that we can bring to our larger conservative movement in order to engage the youth vote as well as build a lasting conservative movement for the 21st century. Above all, the American values that we have been blessed with give me confidence that even though my generation will face the greatest challenges our nation has witnessed since the post World War II era , we will also find our greatest triumphs.  

(CCU Student) The nuclear crisis in Japan is a tragedy on top of a tragedy. It has not caused major damage, but the Japanese officials have finally decided to tell the truth as it is instead of trying to fluff it up in order to make the people feel better. This is actually how many wish to speak for the entire disaster in general. One reason may be the technological access that has recently caused rebellion in the Middle East. If anyone within the danger zone (or any family member in contact with them) has the ability to access world news they can get the full story from sources other than Japan to find out the truth.  With their new way of handling this disaster in hand they finally disclosed that reactor 2 unit 4 of the Fukushima plant has likely been damaged and is leaking harmful radiation. –Prime Minister Naoto Kan gave a brief address to the nation saying, "The level [of radiation] seems very high, and there is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out." (WSJ)— Now an eighteen mile radius has been evacuated in preparation for more damage, though it is unlikely that this will turn into another Chernobyl despite everything, and this would not be happening at all if they had had the ability to maintain normal safety measures to circumvent the dangers that are happening today. However, not many nations will go through a 9.0 earthquake that moves it, by a considerable margin, towards the United States, nor will they be struck by a 10 meter wave (about 30 feet) shortly afterwards. When dealing with this it is safe to say that the ability of the workers to react within normal parameters had been stolen from them. The fact that this reactor has not obliterated Fukushima like Chernobyl can be attributed to the efforts the Japanese plant workers. Are they out of danger? By no means no, but I do know that this will not be like Chernobyl at all. Chernobyl made it possible to have the safety measures in place at every plant world-wide that are precautions against similar accidents. Though, no matter the outcome, naysayers will take this disaster and run with the idea that nuclear power is never a good source of energy despite evidence to disprove them. It is safer, cleaner, and cheaper than many methods in use today which is why Japan uses it in the first place. Approximately 2/3 of the country relies on nuclear energy as their primary source of power.  What needs to be taken into consideration is it is not an everyday occurrence for two major natural disasters to hit the same area in the same day. Also, since Chernobyl, nuclear plants have not been taken lightly. They are handled as one would handle a wild beast: with a great measure of respect. Since 1986 there have been no major disasters because of the standards set in place. These standards are being used in Japan, and the only reason this malfunction is because of the two-for-one natural disaster. All the affected plants were near the epicenter of the earthquake in near the shoreline hit by the tsunami, and if they had not been prepared for either event in any capacity the plants would not be there and that entire region would be a nuclear wasteland by now. So instead of massive media induced hysteria, we should listen to those with more knowledge on the subject and discover ways that we can be of assistance (besides monetarily) of the Japanese community. We will not know what happens until after everything settles, but the need over there is great whether or not a nuclear disaster is added to the mix.

Why is it so appealing to be “progressive”? I think this question deserves further scrutiny. Our nation is manifested in a multi religious, multi racial, multi ethnic demographics, which will only be changing further as our nation progresses to its next centennial. In fact, within our next centennial, this country will become a majority minority nation, much like several states in the south have already become. The “progressive” movement has already embraced this reality. To elucidate, the progressives have captured the youth vote to the tune of 66% turning out for Obama in 2008.  The votes by race resulted in similar statistics with African Americans at 95%, Latinos at 67%, and Asians at 62%. In short, the conservative movement struggled with both youth and minority vote. It can be argued that McCain is not indicative of the conservative movement; however, even with the most visceral of assessments, these statistics serve as wakeup call for the future of the conservative movement. So the question remains: How do we create a dynamic conservative movement that is inclusive? Garrett Sweitzer, Bryce Bender and Heath Mayo are the newly selected leaders of Students for Mitt and are working to engage youth within the Romney 2012 campaign. When I posited the question (asked of other young conservatives twice before in this series), they responded: “The conservative movement needs to articulate a message that promotes inclusiveness. Increasing levels of immigration make it imperative the conservative movement maintain flexibility so not to alienate large population segments. "In particular, I would like to see the conservative movement, and its accompanying ideology, focus on the destructiveness of a large federal government that positions itself as the prevailing authority in every aspect of society. We need to constrain the growth of government so not to lose our fundamental freedoms. "I fear that some citizens fail to recognize that a dependency on the federal government slowly erodes free-will as a crucial determinant of one's life decisions. I believe that an ideology that stresses the importance of maintaining personal autonomy as independent of an overbearing central government will attract adherents for foreseeable future.” This concludes our three-part series on building a dynamic conservative movement on the 21st century. We will have one more summary and lessons-learned blog to capture the trends in our series. Garrett Sweitzer, Bryce Bender, and Heath Mayo are the student leaders of Students for Mitt and can be reached at garrett.s.sweitzer@vanderbilt.edu , Heath.Mayo@responsibleyouth.org , bbender@tamu.edu.  

(Centennial Staffer) How can we build a robust, inclusive, and dynamic conservative strategy and agenda, conducive to the 21st century?  This blog is the second in a three-part series exploring that challenge.  I invited some comments from a friend of mine, Jim Banks, who currently serves as Executive Director of the Responsible Youth PAC. The two questions I posited to him are: 1) How should conservatives appeal to our generation? and 2) How can conservatism be dynamic, so as to appeal to our generation when we come to maturation in 2050, with all the demographic change between now and then? Here is the reply from Jim Banks: 1) How should conservatives appeal to our generation? This question is simple when considering the status of our country right now. The debt our country is incurring will be a financial burden on our generation for not years, but decades to come. If you need any proof, just take one look at our debt on www.usdebtclock.org. When we're tens of trillions of dollars in debt, it's going to take a whole lot more than the 112th Congress to fix things. So our generation faces a decision. We can choose to support the ways of past congresses and maintain a dedication to spending, government handouts, and irresponsibility, or we can choose to actually tackle this debt head on. Our generation is still fairly young, but the sooner we realize what a financial storm is on the horizon should we not confront this debt, the likelier we are to be able to handle it. It is the responsibility of the conservative movement at large to inform our generation of what is on the way. There are many people our age who can't relate with what the debt means to our country and the sooner they learn the better. Conservative, Liberal, Moderate, Libertarian, apathetic, it doesn't matter who it is. We need to begin this conversation now so that we are prepared for what's to come when we come of age. Liberals and progressives are the ones who are perpetuating this spending and thus cannot be expected to be the ones who commit to resolving it. We need to send this message of fiscal responsibility far and wide and people will come. That is not to say that social conservatism or national defense based conservatism is less important. But I know people who have recently graduated and are about to graduate. While they may be passionate about pro-life causes or what's going on in the Middle East, their one commonality is that they are all looking for jobs. And in this tough economy jobs are hard to find. In a perfect world, we could convincingly market all the branches of conservatism to the youth and expand the movement as a whole. But with what is going on financially in the country we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good and we must prioritize promoting fiscal responsibility first to grow the conservative movement youth. 2) How can conservatism be dynamic, so as to appeal to our generation when we come to maturation in 2050, with all the demographic change between now and then?This is an interesting question. One thing I think must be realized before I address this question is the fact that I honestly cannot tell you what this country will look like in 39 years. And anyone who tries to tell you that they do is either lying, has an agenda, or is honestly a genius well ahead of their time. I don't say this out of spite, but because our world is ever changing. Nobody during the space race of the late 60's and early 70's could have predicted that in 40 years we wouldn't have been back to the Moon since. If you watch a movie from the 90's you'll see the old mobile phones which look like a massive block of plastic and electronics. Now you have touch screen phones with internet access which exceeds the capabilities of some of the computers of the time.What conservatism brings to our country's culture and heritage is an appreciation of our nation's roots. The conservative movement is based on a respect and reverence for our Constitution and the beliefs of the Founding Fathers. This gives us a perspective on the issues of the modern day which is grounded in what made our country what it is today. These traditional beliefs and values are universal and convey the message of freedom, limited government, personal responsibility, and a pride in our unique system of government. This is a message which can appeal to anyone of any age, of any demographic. There is a reason people immigrate to the US to start a new life. You don't tend to see citizens leaving the US for opportunities in other countries and there's a good reason for that.Conservatism is dynamic in its nature in that it is solely based off of a universal philosophy which does not put one demographic above another. Everyone has an opportunity to succeed, and it is up to them to choose how they want to use that chance. We need to do outreach to people of all backgrounds not because we need those people to make us a legitimate movement, but because there are many people who are conservative, but have been taught otherwise. Our ideals transcend demographics and we must make people realize that. Not only would it give us new opportunities to expand our movement, but it would give new life to the discourse about what makes us conservative and the issues of today. And this is just as true for 2050 as it is for today. Note: Jim Banks currently serves as Executive Director of the Responsible Youth PAC and is a sophomore at American University. He can be reached at jim.banks@responsibleyouth.org and (973) 600-5457. More information on the Responsible Youth PAC can be found at www.responsibleyouth.org.  Eric Garza of Texas contributed the first blog in this three-part series.  Read it here. The culmination of the series will be commentary from the Students for Mitt campaign.

How can we build a robust, inclusive, and dynamic conservative strategy and agenda, conducive to the 21st century?  This blog is the first in a three-part series exploring that challenge.  I invited some comments from a friend of mine, Eric Garza, who currently serves in a dual capacity as vice chairman of the Latino National Republican Coalition of Texas and executive director of a group called CONSERVO (Council on Service, Education, Representation of Values, and Opportunity).  The two questions I posited to him are: 1) How should conservatives appeal to our generation? and 2) How can conservatism be dynamic, so as to appeal to our generation when we come to maturation in 2050, with all the demographic change between now and then? Eric Garza responded: Being a conservative in American has never been as popular within the last decade. Since the time of President Reagan, America has seen its share of both a liberal and conservative agendas. Yet never before, has the United States seen so much unprecedented growth of the federal government and such an increase in our federal debt. Our generation, from the 1980s - early 1990's, and though still young, finds itself right in the middle of the economic turmoil caused by the current liberal agenda in Washington. Many in our group lack employment or have endured long periods without sustaining income. This generation of Americans is full of incredible potential and a true hope for our nation's future. As the future leaders of the both the public and private sectors, conservatives have their work cut out in appealing to this unique group with policies that cultivate economic growth and sustainability. Fiscal responsibility, a high point of conservatism, needs to be practiced in order for our generation to live by example and adapt. After all, an economically sound country opens room to deal with other domestic policies such as education and health care that directly affect this generation. Conservatism that is far-right leaning regarding social and economic policies and that does not take into account a wider range of ideas, will merely grow the distance between our generation and conservatism.  Conservatives need to realize the rapidly changing population in the American electorate and in our own generation. Hispanics are the largest increasing demographic and while conservative at heart, they often vote for liberal agendas and candidates because of the lack of appeal from the conservative arena. Far-right rhetoric that refuses to come center on issues such as immigration alienates this important sector of the population and in large part our whole generation of young Americans. Apart from Hispanics, our generation has seen growth in young professionals who have already begun to cultivate their own belief systems. The most crucial aspect in appealing to this generation is to put a walk to our talk. No longer is conservative rhetoric enough to entice our generation but a conviction to act on our behalf and implement initiatives we can live with and that in the long turn, benefit us. Conservatism is a good thing when used appropriately to draw in voters of all ages, more specifically of our generation. We often times mistake conservatism for a far-right agenda. Yes, at times it can mean that, but more importantly it means a way of life that many can adapt to and ensure this ideology remains alive and well for generations to come. Limited government, fiscal responsibility, and strong national defense, are all significant facets of being a conservative. Lets embrace a dynamic shift in these ideas like never before, live by them, and then, only then, will we watch our generation (comprised, in large part, of Hispanics) come into the fold and remain well past 2050 and beyond. Eric Garza can be reached at ericgarza09@gmail.com or (956) 465-8499. The Latino National Republican Coalition of Texas’ website is www.lnrctexas.org.  My next blog in this three-part series will explore the same questions with young leaders in Students for Mitt Romney.

(Centennial Student Intern) The past few days, with CCU sophomore Drew Goorabian, I have had the distinct pleasure of making a brief pre-Christmas stop in the frozen swamp that is Washington D.C. in the winter. AIPAC or the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee has been both our motivation and gracious host for this trip bringing Drew and me to D.C. to attend the biannual Saban Leadership Seminar. It is quite noteworthy to understand the prevalence of AIPAC as one of America’s most influential political lobbies. AIPAC is better known as “America’s Pro-Israel Lobby” and one of the top five most powerful lobbies in the country ranking alongside the AARP and NRA in lobbing effectiveness, all quite a feat in consideration of their smaller size and lesser funding. It is events like the Saban Leadership Seminar that have boosted AIPAC into their top 5 position. The impact is twofold: first, Saban reaches out to educate and empower over 400 of the top students from a mass of colleges across the country, and second, those same students then go out and educate and impact the rest of the country. Over the past three days, we’ve sat through a myriad of sessions with subjects ranging from international affairs briefings to the etiquette and best practices of lobbying one’s representative. The point being to educate and motivate the next generation of Americans on how to be proactive citizens geared towards making a positive impact on the world.  Below: Lenell, right, and Goorabian paid a call at the White House on Sunday, but Obama refused to see them

This weekend I am fortunate enough, along with my schoolmate, Drew Goorabian, to represent Colorado Christian University at The Young America’s Foundation’s West Coast Leadership Conference at the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara.  Throughout this weekend we hope to bring the ‘76 Blog audience along through short stories, photos and anecdotes from our trip. Our first day in Santa Barbara – I am truly amazed.  Three months ago I was in Doylestown Pennsylvania and had not yet traveled beyond the western boarder of my state.  Today I am writing this posting 2,800 miles away from my small-town beginnings.  Colorado, the center of our great nation, is now my home.  And thanks to one more facet of the blessing CCU’s political science department has been to me, I now bear witness to the great expanse of the country I love so deeply.  The opening speaker of the conference, held at the Ronald Reagan Ranch Welcoming Center, was none other than the Gipper’s son, Michael Reagan.  Michael’s speech gave incredible insight to the man that Reagan was on and off “duty”.  He went on to describe how conservative values infiltrated every area of life in the Reagan household.  Michael gave one example of this that took place while riding in his father’s jeep on their ranch.  He recalled asking his father for a raise in allowance at the age of eight.  Ronald Reagan responded by describing all the responsibilities he had as father, head of the household and operator of the ranch.  He, without complaining, laid out, for his son, the responsibilities of an adult and drew parallels of the federal government’s tax policy.  After hearing this, Michael promptly offered to take a “pay-cut” after realizing how gracious his father was already being.  Ronald Reagan denied his son’s offering but instead proposed a deal – if a president would cut his tax rate, Reagan would allow that benefit to trickle down to his son and give him the raise he had requested.         Years later while Michael was in high school John F. Kennedy introduced a tax cut for Americans.  Without needing to be reminded, Ronald Reagan promptly raised his son’s allowance.  Ronald Reagan’s heart pumped conservatism, hard work and reason through his veins.  What made him so impactful was his ability to apply conservatism to any issue.  He was not an elitist pretentiously ordering the masses to do what he thought was in their best interest.  He was a man who could simplify the issues and present them calmly, in a way that even an eight year old could understand.   Today, my second day in California started quite early.  We had breakfast with Senator-elect Michael Lee (Utah) who spoke of his battle to become senator and the help he received from the Tea Party movement.   Next, there was a seminar on government spending, healthcare and its effects on business by Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE restaurants and Dr. David Newton.  Following this, seasoned Congressman Tom McClintock (California 4th) spoke of what congress must do moving forward through 2011 with a majority.  I am truly amazed by the wealth of knowledge that is present here at the Young America’s Foundation’s West Coast Leadership Conference.   Within one hour I was able to hear from and ask questions of members from both sides of the Legislative branch of government in addition to seeing the detailed perspective of economists and successful businessmen. And now for what I had truly been waiting for- a visit to the Reagan Ranch.  After hearing Congressman McClintock speak, we boarded a bus and headed into the mountains for Rancho De Ciello.  I have to comment, leading up to this point I had been nearly bursting with anticipation, but sitting on the bus heading up to Reagan’s Ranch, I reflected on what a treat this whole event had already been.  I looked around, noticing that every conversation on this bus was about conservatism or Reagan or lauding the recent election.   Still, I could not wait to see the place the greatest president loved so much, but I made sure to consciously enjoy the special environment on this trip. I just hope that in time this type of collection of minds is not so rare in everyday life. I really did not know what to expect.  Zigzagging up the steep hillside, our bus felt as if it might not make it to the top.  The view of the pacific kept me occupied however.  We crested the hill and there it was… A proud yet humble proclamation spanned two erected telephone post, “Rancho De Ciello”- beyond that lay a quaint little ranch in a small valley.  I could feel what made Reagan long for this place above all others.  <!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->  <!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--> After exiting the bus, we were led down the driveway past fences built by Ronald Reagan using discarded telephone poles.   I had heard of his homes modest stature, but was amazed to hear that it was no larger than 1600 square feet and had no central air or heating.  This was all fitting though.  Reagan was a man who always had the right priorities.  He built his home in such a way that you could not help but take in the full majesty of God’s surrounding works.  The interior arrangement of his home was in the same priority; there were no fancy appliances, elaborate furniture pieces, just bedrooms, a kitchen, two fireplaces and hundreds of books. I’ll leave you with an interesting anecdote told by the tour guide.  When Gorbachev came to visit the Reagan Ranch he was insulted by the modest stature of Reagan’s home.  It is quite Ironic that the leader of a Communist country would criticize the leader of the free world’s modest home.      

“The youth of our country is our greatest strength. The fact is that we are still young; the country is only a few centuries old. However, it is full of youthful idealism that will return us to greatness. "These words, spoken by Senator elect Mike Lee (R-UT), shored up a stirring and inspiring weekend at the Ronald Reagan Center in Santa Barbara, CA. Along with fellow CCU sophomore Bela Franklin, I had the extraordinary opportunity to attend the West Coast Leadership Conference put on by Young America’s Foundation. According to YAF, the purpose of conferences such as these is to teach young people about individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values. Their mission was sustained exceedingly this past weekend, as over 100 students from universities nationwide gathered in Santa Barbara to hear from many of the most prominent speakers inside the conservative movement. Keynote speakers for the weekend consisted of: ·      Michael Reagan, son of President Ronald Reagan .      Wayne Thorburn, author of From Goldwater to Reagan ·      Ron Nehring, GOP Chairman of California ·      Marc Theissen, best selling author and speechwriter for President George W. Bush ·      Mike Lee, Senator-Elect of Utah ·      Dr. David Newton, economist and professor of entrepreneurial finance at Westmont College ·      Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE restaurants (Carl’s Jr.) ·      Cong. Tom McClintock, California 4th District ·      Ben Stein, acclaimed author and actor The overarching theme of the weekend, as displayed on each attendees t-shirt, was “Reject Socialism.” The melancholy association with socialism was certainly rejected, as conversations between students, speakers, and staff reflected individuals willing to place their life work towards the advocating of conservative ideology to the young generation. With countless keynote addresses prompting collegiate conservative leaders to become active on their campuses, the powerful message of sustaining freedom and liberty resonated in a highly impactful way throughout the conference. From Michael Reagan’s lecture on The New Reagan Revolution, to Ben Stein discuss ‘Freedom being God’s plan for man’ Live from Rancho Del Cielo, the inclusive experience of the museum and ranch alike is a captivating and inspirational adventure. As stated by Ron Johnson, President of Young America’s Foundation, “(YAF) is preserving and protecting the Reagan Ranch and using this historic presidential property to pass on to our children and grandchildren the ideas and lasting accomplishments of this great leader.” Students were taken to on many of the same trails that President Reagan would take his daily horse-riding session upon, and visited areas of the ranch that had sentimental and endearing value to Mr. and Mrs. Reagan. In addition, students took a first-hand look inside the home in which the Reagan’s presided; a house that was built in the early 1800’s and was scarcely altered from its original composition. Illustrating this experience into words is merely insurmountable, in that the charm, breathtaking outlooks, and rich history of Rancho Del Cielo define the character of the man who inhabited this incredible domain. President Reagan was a man with a message: the message of individual freedom, limited government, and free enterprise. This is a leader who led by example, through his vast knowledge of historical events and sanguine approach in leadership. The ranch was a portrayal of these his inner core, which depicted a place in which history, fascination, and excitement bestowed upon each individual who stepped foot on its premises. And as Reagan once stated: “No place before or since has ever given Nancy and me the joy and serenity it does.” This opportunity maintained itself as the premier venue for conservatives nationwide on the beautiful California coast. Reagan must have been looking down from Heaven this weekend smiling, in that the prospect of hundreds of college students fighting for the explicit constitutional principles that he had spent his life work striving to accomplish was his vision for the youth of America. As leaders on our campuses, it is imperative that we proceed to address and convey the pressing issues facing college students in the current political climate. Because, as Senator Mike Lee stated, the youth are the greatest strength and asset that conservatives possess; they are the key towards uniting and inspiring the upcoming generation towards ideology that reflects constitutional limited government, traditional values, and individual freedom.

As the Centennial Institute / Heritage Foundation seminar on "Seek the Welfare of the City" approached its climax on Nov. 11 with a talk by Robert Woodson of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, CCU senior Cha'Rel Wright brought down the house with an a capella performance of her own spiritual solo, "In Dire Need to End Poverty."  Here are the lyrics: In Dire Need to End Poverty Written by Cha’Rel Wright Who will lead us? Who will go? Stand up for us. Do you know we need the help of your hands? Please say you do understand. We’re in dire need, to end poverty. It’s a big task, but all things are possible through Jesus Christ; that’s one reason He gave His life. No matter what the others say, we will win if we start today. We’re in dire need, to end poverty. Children are dying because there isn’t much to eat. Mothers are crying as they’re on their way to sleep. And it’s not because of you, and it’s not because of me. But understand there is no “I” when we spell “WE”. We will lead them! We will go! Stand up for them! Yes we know they need the help of our hands.  We can’t say we don’t understand. We can’t say we don’t understand. We’re in dire need, to end poverty. Copyright (c) 2010 - Cha'Rel Wright