Council for National Policy
Abbreviation | CNP |
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Formation | 1981 |
Type | Public policy think tank |
Website | cfnp |
This article is part of a series on |
Conservatism in the United States |
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The Council for National Policy (CNP) is an umbrella organization and networking group for
The CNP has been described by The New York Times as "a little-known club of a few hundred of the most powerful conservatives in the country", who meet three times yearly behind closed doors at undisclosed locations for a confidential conference.[5] The Nation has called it a secretive organization that "networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy".[6] The organization has been described by Anne Nelson as a "pluto-theocracy" (plutocracy/theocracy).[7]
Meetings and membership
About the CNP, Marc Ambinder of ABC News said: "The group wants to be the conservative version of the Council on Foreign Relations." The CNP was founded in 1981. Among its founding members were: Tim LaHaye, then the head of the Moral Majority, Nelson Bunker Hunt, T. Cullen Davis, William Cies, Howard Phillips,[8] and Paul Weyrich.[9]
Members of the CNP have included General
Membership is by invitation only. The organization's membership list is considered "strictly confidential". Guests may attend "only with the unanimous approval of the executive committee." Members are instructed not to refer to the organization by name to protect against leaks.[5] The New York Times political writer David D. Kirkpatrick suggested that the organization's secrecy since its founding was intended to insulate it "from what its members considered the liberal bias of the news media."[2]
CNP's meetings are closed to the general public, reportedly to allow for a free-flowing exchange of ideas. The group meets three times per year.[14] This policy is said to be similar to the long-held policy of the Council on Foreign Relations, to which the CNP has at times been compared. CNP's 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status was revoked by the IRS in 1992 on grounds that it was not an organization run for the public benefit. The group successfully challenged this ruling in federal court. A quarterly journal aimed at educating the public, promised in the wake of this incident, has not substantially materialized. The organization has a website that contains many policy speeches from past gatherings (covering the years from 2013 up to the present).[15]
While those involved in the organization are almost entirely from the United States, their organizations and influence cover the globe, both religiously and politically. Members include corporate executives,[16] legislators[16] former high ranking government officers,[16] leaders of 'think tanks'[16] dedicated to molding society and those whom many view as "Christian leadership".[16]
In May 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center released a leaked copy of the membership directory for 2014.[17][18]
A membership list for September 2020, leaked a year later, revealed that members, who could attend meetings together, included elite Republicans, wealthy entrepreneurs, media proprietors and pillars of the US conservative movement, and anti-abortion and anti-Islamic extremists. It was reported that members of the secretive CNP are instructed not to reveal their affiliation or even name the group.[4][19]
The leaked September 2020 list of members included:[4]
- Jerome Corsi, author and conspiracy theorist, member of CNP's board of governors
- Brad Dacus, founder and president of the Pacific Justice Institute†
- Michael Farris, president and CEO of the Alliance Defending Freedom† (ADF)
- ACT! for America† (AFA)
- Frank Gaffney, founder and executive chairman of the Center for Security Policy† (CSP)
- James and Amapola Hansberger, co-founders of Legal Immigrants for America† (Lifa)
- Margaret H. Hartshorn, chair of the board of Heartbeat International
- Charlie Kirk, co-founder and executive director of Turning Point USA.[20] He is the William F. Buckley Jr. Council Member of the Council[21][22] and a spokesperson for CNP Action (est. 1987), the political arm of the CNP.[21][23]
- Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council†
- Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel†
- Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association†
†: on the list of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups
Conferences and political plans
Leading members of the CNP voted in a meeting at the Grand America Hotel in
CNP has membership links to the
CNP's membership also overlaps significantly with that of the Arlington Group, a coalition of conservative Christian organizations which spearheaded ballot initiatives banning gay marriage in thirty-two states in the 2000s;[31][32][33] and with the second, third and fourth iterations of the Committee on the Present Danger.[citation needed]
In his June 1997 speech at a CNP meeting in Montreal, Quebec, then president of the
In 1999, a speech given to the CNP by Republican candidate
In February 2007, the organization planned to be involved in the 2008 presidential election campaign and actively sought candidate that would represent their views.
On August 21, 2020,
In a October 14, 2020, Washington Post article, which described the CNP as a "little-known group that has served for decades as a hub for a nationwide network of conservative activists and the donors who support them", one of the attendees of the August 2020 meeting in Arlington, warned of plans by Democrats to "steal this election". He said that, "if they get away with that, what happens? Democracy is finished because they usher in totalitarianism."[1]
Leadership
CNP was founded in 1981 by Southern Baptist pastor Tim LaHaye, author of
The council's first executive director was
Alleged potential legal violations
On October 14, 2020, The Washington Post reported that it had obtained videos recorded by CNP of several meetings in February and August 2020 whose overtly partisan, political nature raised "potential issues of compliance with election laws and charity rules."[1]
Literature and podcasts
- OCLC 1126560275.
- Katie Thornton (November 22, 2022). "The Divided Dial: Episode 2 - From Pulpit to Politics - On the Media". WNYC Studios (Podcast). Retrieved November 26, 2022.
See also
- Joe Aguillard
- Gary Aldrich
- John K. Andrews Jr.
- Larry P. Arnn
- Cleta Mitchell
- Lowell C. Smith
- 2020 presidential election and the "Pence Card" scheme
- Ginni Thomas' efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election
References
- ^ a b c d e O'Harrow Jr., Robert (October 14, 2020). "Videos show closed-door sessions of leading conservative activists: 'Be not afraid of the accusations that you're a voter suppressor'". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ^ a b Kirkpatrick, David D. (February 24, 2007). "Christian Right Labors to Find '08 Candidate". The New York Times. Washington, DC. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ^ Nelson, Anne (2019). "Shadow Network". Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
- ^ a b c Wilson, Jason (30 September 2021). "Top Republicans rub shoulders with extremists in secretive rightwing group, leak reveals". The Guardian.
- ^ a b Kirkpatrick, David K. (August 28, 2004). "The 2004 Campaign: The Conservative; Club of the Most Powerful Gathers in Strictest Privacy". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ^ Max Blumenthal, Secretive Right-Wing Group Vetted Palin Archived 2014-05-29 at the Wayback Machine thenation.com 09/01/2008
- ^ Nelson, Anne (2019). Shadow Network. Bloomsbury.
- ^ "A History of Accomplishment". The Conservative Caucus. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ^ Inside the Council for National Policy ABC News May 8, 2008
- ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (August 28, 2004). "The 2004 Campaign: The Conservatives; Club of the Most Powerful Gathers in Strictest Privacy". The New York Times.
- ^ The War for Thee University, page 191. November 1991. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ^ "About Steve Baldwin". Archived from the original on 2016-03-06.
- ^ Nelson, Anne (February 22, 2021). "How the CNP, a Republican Powerhouse, Helped Spawn Trumpism, Disrupted the Transfer of Power, and Stoked the Assault on the Capitol". The Washington Spectator. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ Gibbs, Nancy; Duffy, Michael (October 4, 2007). "Still Looking for Mr. Right". Time. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007.
- ^ "Council for National Policy - Policy speeches".
- ^ a b c d e Adam Clymer, "Conservatives Gather in Umbrella Council for a National Policy", The New York Times, May 20, 1981
- ^ "The Council for National Policy: Behind the Curtain | Southern Poverty Law Center". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- OCLC 1129904664.
- ^ Leonard, Kimberly; Relman, Eliza; Beckler, Hannah (24 September 2021). "One of the most secretive and powerful groups in GOP politics just had its cellphone numbers leaked. Here's what its members said about Trump 2024 when we started calling". Business Insider.
- ^ Wilson, Jason (September 30, 2021). "Top Republicans rub shoulders with extremists in secretive rightwing group, leak reveals". The Guardian. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
- ^ a b Nelson, Annie (March 24, 2021). "The Shadow Network (Council for National Policy) Is Not Going Away". billmoyers.com. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ^ Wilson, Jason (September 30, 2021). "Top Republicans rub shoulders with extremists in secretive rightwing group, leak reveals". The Guardian. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ^ "CNP Action, Inc". cfnp.org. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ^ Martin, Jonathan (2007-09-30). "Social conservatives may back 3rd party over Rudy". POLITICO.com. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
- ^ Scherer, Michael (2007-09-30). "Religious right may blackball Giuliani". Salon. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
- ^ "Committee for the Free World - Political Research Associates - Right Web". Rightweb.irc-online.org. 7 January 1989. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Board of Trustees".
- ^ "Midge Decter". National Endowment for the Humanities.
- OCLC 46421841.
- ^ Judith Miller, Arms control chief asserts Reagan is uncertain how to use power, The New York Times, January 23, 1982
- ^ Ireland, Doug (Summer 2006). "Back to the Future: GOP Revives Anti-Gay Marriage Campaign for '06". The Public Eye Magazine. Retrieved 2020-01-19 – via Political Research Associates.
- ^ "Blackwell is darling of foes of gay marriage". Democratic Underground. 2006-05-07. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
- ^ Sheryl Gay Stolberg (2005-01-25). "Backers of Gay Marriage Ban Use Social Security as Cudgel". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
- ^ "National Citizens Coalition (NCC) – Harper's presidency was a critical period]". The Harper Index. May 11, 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
- ^ ABC
- Salt Lake Tribune.
- ^ Gibbs, Nancy (2007-10-05). "Still Looking For Mr. Right". Time. Archived from the original on February 3, 2008.
- ^ "Christian Conservatives Vow To Back Third Party Candidate If Giuliani Wins GOP Nomination", Bismarck, SD CBS affiliate, http://www.kxmb.com/News/Nation/167321.asp Archived 2007-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Donald Trump (August 2020), Speech by Donald Trump, Arlington
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Home - Americans United". www.au.org.
- ^ "Council for National Policy". www.nndb.com.
- ^ a b "Behind closed doors: who is the council for national policy and what are they up to? And why don't they want you to know? - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com.
- ^ "Council for National Policy (CNP) - I - J - K - Member Biographies". www.seekgod.ca.
- ^ "Council for National Policy Executives & Members". www.seekgod.ca. Archived from the original on 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
- ^ "Tony Perkins, President". Family Research Council. 2003-08-21. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
External links
- Official website
- "Council for National Policy Internal Revenue Service filings". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
- 2014 Membership Directory, redacted and released by the Southern Poverty Law Center
- 2020 Membership Directory, redacted and released by the Center for Media and Democracy