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Center of American Experiment is conservative but nonpartisan The center--as we have tried very hard over the last decade to make clear--is indeed a conservative, free-market institution. Not only don't we make any bones about this, there wouldn't be much reason for us to exist in the first place if we didn't advocate a distinctive set of ideas; ideas, frankly, that have not always been articulated well, or given a fair hearing, in Minnesota. As an organization with a principled point of view, it stands to reason, for example, that when we recruit directors, we look for leaders who share our convictions. Men and women who not only are conservative but willing to announce their allegiance on our letterhead --and who are also eager, by the way, to help us raise money. Quick: How many Minnesota DFLers do you know who fit that bill? That's not to say we haven't had Democrats serve effectively on our board of directors, as we have. And it's not to say we don't collaborate with Democrats as frequently as we can, because we do. For instance, now serving on our board of advisers are terrific and open-minded people like John Brandl, dean of the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs; Bill Galston of the University of Maryland, who is a key player in Al Gore's presidential campaign; and Will Marshall of the Washington-based Progressive Policy Institute, the think tank arm of Bill Clinton and Joe Lieberman's band of New Democrats. Levine made no mention of any of this. Also missing from Levine's piece was any recitation of the non-Republicans (and nonconservatives, for that matter) who have written for us in the last few years, who have spoken at our events, or who have served on one of our study panels: Current and former legislators like Mindy Greiling, John Hottinger, Ember Reichgott Junge, Randy Kelly, Gene Merriam, Don Moe and Tim Penny. Ted Mondale of the Metropolitan Council. Peter Hutchinson and Tom Triplett of Rudy Perpich's several administrations. Al Hunt of the Wall Street Journal. Joe Selvaggio, late of Project for Pride in Living. And, of course, Mikhail Gorbachev, late of the Kremlin. Having said this, Levine did get two things right. He correctly noted that the center mistakenly contributed a small amount of money in 1990 in order for me to attend two Republican events. I acknowledged this mistake immediately after it was pointed out at the time (by a Star Tribune reporter, if I recall correctly). My sole intent, though, in attending the two Republican programs was to do a little fundraising for the center among some of the more generous guests congregated there. It was not to support anyone's candidacy. I also had every intention of attending similar DFL events. Suffice it to say, I have not repeated that error, and it's important that both ideological friends and foes know that American Experiment plays it perfectly straight: We live up to every single IRS obligation as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. We would be suicidal fools not to. Just about the only other thing that Levine got right in his long piece was noting that the roster of speakers at center events reads like a Who's Who of America's conservative movement. Thanks, Rob, for spotlighting this success. My colleagues and I are more than a little proud of it. -- Mitchell B. Pearlstein, Minneapolis. President, Center of the American Experiment |