Conservative Action Project

United States budget sequestration in 2013

The budget sequestration in 2013 refers to the automatic spending cuts to United States federal government spending in particular categories of outlays that were initially set to begin on January 1, 2013, as a fiscal policy as a result of Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA), and were postponed by two months by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 until March 1 when this law went into effect.

Some public interest groups concerned about the federal budget wanted to stop the sequester, but few offered detail plans (beyond a "balanced approach") for replacing the automatic cuts. These few included FreedomWorks, and the Conservative Action Project said that the sequester should be replaced by defunding Obamacare; that is, eliminating the refundable tax credits that form the basis of the federal health exchanges, the Medicare expansion matching funds and the increased funding for the Community Health Center Fund, and Prevention and Public Health Fund.

Let Freedom Ring, Inc.

Let Freedom Ring, Inc. was founded in 2004, using seed funding consisting of a $1-million donation from John Templeton Jr., President of the John Templeton Foundation. Let Freedom Ring is organized as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit entity, and in 2014 created a Super Political Action Committee (super PAC), as well.

During the United States 2012 election cycle, Let Freedom Ring worked with other groups to get signatures from all major contenders for the Republican nominee in support of a balanced budget amendment, along with a campaign promise to cut federal spending if elected. It signed the Mount Vernon statement with other conservative activist groups, while continuing to oppose the Obama administration during his second term, and also continued to support religious causes.

Let Freedom Ring worked with Marco Rubio (R-FL) on immigration reform during 2013. During 2013, it opposed the Karl Rove-backed American Crossroads within the context of the Republican party primaries and caucuses, as well as criticized the congressional leadership John Boehner and Steve Scalise over the firing of Republican Study Committee staffer Paul Teller, despite being initially tentatively supportive of Boehner as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

• [Politico.com, 2013-12-11] Conservatives: We're 'under attack.'

More than 50 high-profile conservatives signed onto a statement Wednesday responding to both House Speaker John Boehner's harsh words for conservative groups earlier in the day and to the firing of the Republican Study Committee's longtime executive director, Paul Teller. "It is clear that the conservative movement has come under attack on Capitol Hill today," the statement reads. ... RSC Chairman Steve Scalise dismissed Teller later in the day over accusations that Teller was leaking intel to the groups.

"We are saddened and outraged that an organization that purports to represent conservatives in Congress would dismiss a staff member for advancing conservatism and working with conservatives outside of Congress," the leaders' statement reads. "Paul Teller is one of the true heroes of the conservative movement. For over a decade, he has been the guiding light of conservatism on Capitol Hill. No one has done more to advance conservative principles and block the liberal agenda than Paul Teller. In the tradition of President Reagan, he is a true happy warrior who is both forceful and courageous."

The effort was put together by the Conservative Action Project, a weekly gathering (pdf) of more than 100 CEOs of organizations representing conservative movement, economic, national security and social groups. Co-signers include:

• Conservative Action Project founder Edwin Meese III, former attorney general under President Ronald Reagan;

• former Representative David Martin McIntosh(R-Ind.);

• Leo Brent Bozell III, chairman of For America and founder of Media Research Center;

• Michael A. Needham [no Wikipedia entry; see also], CEO of Heritage Action for America; and,

• Colin A. Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring.

Additional Reading

Members of the Conservative Action Project, a far right-wing network that supported former President Donald Trump's efforts to stay in office after his 2020 election defeat, are demanding that Congress reject legislation protecting the freedom to marry. So are the anti-equality Alliance Defending Freedom and leaders of dozens of other religious-right groups.

The Respect for Marriage Act passed by the United States House of Representatives on 2022-07-19 with the support of about one-quarter of House Republicans, reflecting the reality that more than 70 percent of Americans - including a majority of Republicans - support the freedom of same-sex couples to get married. More than 90 percent of Americans support marriage rights for interracial couples, who are also protected under the legislation.

But religious-right leaders hostile to legal equality for LGBTQ people were angry that the bill received bipartisan support. They have refused to recognize the Supreme Court of the United States's marriage equality ruling as legitimate, and they have been emboldened by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' call for the court to overturn rulings recognizing and protecting the rights of LGBTQ people and same-sex couples the way it overturned Roe v. Wade.

A group of anti-equality leaders signed a Conservative Action Project letter dated July 26, which claimed that the Respect For Marriage Act would "wrongly marginalize social conservatives" and further "a new era of oppression" that the letter claims was unleashed when the Supreme Court recognized the right of same-sex couples to get married.

In addition, dozens of religious-right leaders signed onto a similar letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, also dated July 26, that was organized by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious-right legal powerhouse that seeks to overturn marriage equality as one of the "generational wins" it is pursuing. ADF's letter charges that that Respect for Marriage Act is an "attack" on people who want their views that marriage should only be between a man and a woman "recognized in the law."

The Conservative Action Project letter justifies its fearmongering rhetoric with a reference to Bob Jones University v. United States, in which the Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that the IRS could deny tax-exempt status to schools with racially discriminatory policies, even if those policies were grounded in religious belief. White evangelical leaders' anger over IRS challenges to segregationist religious schools helped fuel the rise of the modern-day religious-right movement.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins signed both letters. When the Respect for Marriage Act passed the House, Perkins charged Republicans supporting marriage equality with "political cowardice." FRC was knee-deep in efforts to subvert the 2020 election.

Also urging lawmakers to reject marriage equality is Ralph Drollinger, whose Capitol Ministries uses Bible studies for members of Congress and other public officials to tell Christian lawmakers it is their duty to evangelize their colleagues and enact policies that align with Drollinger's very conservative interpretation of the Bible. Ralph Drollinger devotes this week's Bible study and a column in The Western Journal to his argument that scripture "crushes the same-sex marriage debate." Drollinger writes, "It is not the place of the state nor its populace to redefine what God has created" - and suggests that pro-LGBTQ Christian leaders are "Satan's pawns." During the Trump administration, Drollinger conducted Bible studies for members of the Cabinet and used Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to open doors for him to expand internationally.

The Conservative Action Project is affiliated with the Council for National Policy, a secretive and influential political network bringing together different strands of the right-wing movement. In December 2020, the Conservative Action Project distributed a letter falsely claiming, "There is no doubt President Donald J. Trump is the lawful winner of the presidential election. Joe Biden is not president-elect." That December 2020 letter urged legislators in six battleground states to ignore the will of the voters and appoint pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College.

Return to Persagen.com