libertas 32.1

Vol. 32 • No. 1Spring 2011

Inside: Governor Sarah Palin and Vice President Dick Cheney Headline Reagan 100 Birthday Celebration

May 9, 2011

Dear Friends,

You may have observed the increasing rancor in public debate.

More government decisions are riddled with controversy. The Presidency no longer commands the respect of either party’s pundits. Public officials require more security. An ideological reporter even moved in next door to Sarah Palin in the hopes of besmirching her family’s reputation.

What is the cause of this deteriorating environment, and will it ever end?

A significant reason for such rancor is the shift away from limited government. The Founding Fathers gave the Federal government a few, enumerated powers. They reserved the rest of life’s decisions to the states and to the people. This is the essence of limited government.

However, today the Left wants unlimited government. In the past two years, the Obama Administration sponsored an orgy of government overreaching.

Government now decides which investment firms succeed and which ones fail. Lehman Brothers may go under, but other firms receive subsidies.

The Obama Administration’s car czar forces some bond holders to lose their investments while politically supportive unions receive billions in bailouts. Some successful car dealerships have been ordered to shut while other, less successful but politically connected, dealerships have expanded markets. Some car lines are forced to cease operations as government decides the size and styling of new models.

Students can no longer receive private loans for college. Government controls that business completely, and it won’t be long before bureaucrats begin to add “politically correct” stipulations to student loans.

Worst of all, government no longer leaves personal health care choices to the patient, his or her family, and the family doctor. Government imposes itself as the “decider” of all future medical decisions.

The last example of government expansion should be the brightest red flag for anyone worried about civility in public life. Any family that has gone through end-of-life or other crucial medical decisions knows the wrenching and divisive nature of those decisions. They can permanently scar family relationships.

Washington is now going to insert politicians into that personal and sometimes volatile situation and hope to maintain civility!?! Most decisions are better left to individuals and their families. At least they have themselves to blame, not their elected officials, when they get unexpected results from their decisions.

The history of totalitarian regimes teaches us that, no matter the original intentions, unlimited government always leads to great division and discord. If we have any hope to restore civility, we must first reign in our government. We must protect Americans’ right to choose how to spend the income they have earned without bureaucrats or politicians imposing their schemes.

Sincerely,

Ron Robinson President

Ron RobinsonFoundation President

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Ron Robinson President of the BoardRonald Pearson Vice President of the BoardFrank Donatelli Secretary and Treasurer of the BoardT. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.Wynton C. HallThomas L. PhillipsPeter SchweizerJames B. TaylorKirby Wilbur

Frank Donatelli ChairmanJudge William Clark Co-ChairmanEdwin Meese Co-ChairmanGovernor George AllenJohn BarlettaDr. Suzanne BeckerLisa M. BuestrinRobert CumminsBecky Norton DunlopRobert Giuffra, Jr.Timothy S. GoegleinAmbassador Patricia L. HerboldEric & Nicole HoplinMarty IrvingHarold KnapheideMark LarsonAl & Bette MooreGovernor Bill OwensDoug & Pat PerryThomas PhillipsDr. Robert RuheFred & Ruth SacherLee ShannonCraig ShirleyOwen & Bernadette Casey SmithMrs. Gene Waddell

Thomas Phillips ChairmanAlex X. Mooney Executive DirectorPeter BarnesKellyanne ConwayTerry EastlandDavid GraceyRich LowryMatt RobinsonTom Winter

LibertasSpring 2011

Libertas, a publication of Young America’s Foundation, highlights the programs, events, students, staff, and supporters of the Foundation. You may contact Libertas and Young America’s Foundation by writing to: Young America’s Foundation, National Headquarters, 110 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170; calling 800-USA-1776; or visiting http://www.yaf.org.

Publisher: Ron Robinson; Editor: Jessica Jensen; Publication Design: Jonathan Briggs; California event photographers Jacqueline Pilar, Kevin Steele, and Jensen Sutta; Washington, D.C event photographer Spencer Anderson. This document and all herein contents, images, stories, graphics, and design, fall unto Copyright © 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Young America’s Foundation, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Any use of Libertas’ content without the written permission of Young America’s Foundation is prohibited.

C o N T E N T S

Lee, Thiessen, Reagan, and Stein Inspire Students in Santa BarbaraLeading conservatives bring pro-freedom ideas to more than 200 participants at the West Coast Leadership Conference.By Katie Taran, Program Officer

450 Attend the 32nd Annual National Conservative Student ConferenceAttorney General Cuccinelli, Senators Thompson and Sessions, and others headline the Foundation’s signature student conference in Washington, D.C.By Jessica Jensen, Editor

A River and a Church: The Making of a LeaderHow Ronald Reagan’s experiences in Dixon, Illinois, shaped the young man who would become one of our nation’s greatest Presidents. By Paul Kengor, PhD, Professor and Author

Palin and Cheney Headline Reagan 100Governor Sarah Palin and Vice Dick Cheney join 350 Foundation students, supporters, and other leading conservatives to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth.By Kate Obenshain, Vice President

Foundation Alumnus Jason Mattera Leads Human Events TeamBest-selling author, recent Foundation spokesman, and Human Events Editor Jason Mattera shares how he got his start in the Conservative Movement.By Katie Taran, Program Officer

Leadership and Crisis:Bobby Jindal’s PerspectiveGovernor Jindal discusses topics from his new book—Leadership and Crisis—including the economy, the Obama administration’s assault on freedom, immigration, and more. By Governor Bobby Jindal, Louisiana

Conservative Activism: 101Discover how you can take back your campus, advance freedom, and inspire your peers with conservative ideas.By Patrick X. Coyle, Vice President

The Schultes Sponsor Dos Vistas Acre to Honor Family Foundation supporters Henry and Dundie Schulte share why they decided to sponsor the Dos Vistas Acre at the Reagan Ranch. By Bryant Conger, Development Officer

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Also in this issue:• David Limbaugh addresses Reagan Ranch Roundtable Luncheon – page 4 • Remembering Those Killed on 9/11 – page 4 • European MP Daniel Hannan Warns of the Dangers of Socialized Healthcare – page 6 • How You Can Honor Ronald Reagan – page 11 • Learn the Untold Stories of the Individuals Who Launched the Conservative Movement – page 31

On the Cover:Governor Sarah Palin and her family visited the Reagan Ranch during Young America’s Foundation’s Reagan 100 Celebration Weekend in Santa Barbara, California. While at Rancho del Cielo, Governor Palin rode on the same trails President Reagan enjoyed during his time at the “Western White House.” (Photograph by Jensen Sutta)

9/11: Never Forget Project Reaches Campuses Nationwide

For the eighth year in a row, Young America’s Foundation worked with students to take the lead in remembering the 2,977 people murdered by radical jihadists on September 11, 2001. Without the efforts of campus conservatives, most schools would completely ignore the anniversary. The Foundation worked with students in 36 states, providing them with 9/11: Never Forget materials, logistical advice, and other resources to create displays of 2,977 American flags. Students, community members, and even the occasional professors regularly approached the organizers of more than 180 displays, expressing their gratitude for the memorials and for bringing Young America’s Foundation’s Never Forget Project to their communities. Of his flag memorial at the University of Texas – Austin, student organizer Tyler Norris noted,

We had a football game on campus, so we set the flag memorial up at 4:00 a.m., and we finished just before the tailgaters began to arrive.

We had more than 100,000 onlookers, as the flag display was en route to the stadium. It was rewarding to return to the display after the game to see it surrounded by folks queuing up to get pictures in front of the flags and the UT tower...The display was better than we could have hoped for!

Young America’s Foundation • Libertas4

I N B R I E F

David Limbaugh Headlines Wendy P. McCaw Reagan Ranch Roundtable

New York Times best-selling author and syndicated columnist David Limbaugh addressed a capacity crowd at the Reagan Ranch Center. Limbaugh drew parallels between the problems facing our nation today and the problems Ronald Reagan confronted. He noted, “It’s a worldview war that we’re engaged in, and it’s going to continue. We’re never going to stamp out liberalism. We’re always going to have to fight it, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.” Highlighting topics from his bestselling book, Crimes Against Liberty, Mr. Limbaugh not only provided an in-depth analysis of President Obama’s policies since taking office but also the motives behind the President’s actions and statements. “What [Obama] is doing can all be traced back to his narcissism, his arrogance, his self-importance, and his left-wing extreme ideology. He actually believes he is on a mission from God, i.e. himself, to fundamentally change the United States of America.” Limbaugh argued that “you don’t try to fundamentally change something that you love.” He concluded by encouraging those in attendance to “stay active, stay vigilant,” and to remind the elected leadership that “the only way you build a big tent is the way Ronald Reagan did—by principled leadership, by sticking by your conservative ideals, and governing in accordance with them.”

Students from the University of Florida’s Air Force ROTC Color Guard participate in Young America’s Foundation’s 9/11: Never Forget Project and present the colors near the flag memorial created to remember those murdered by radical jihadists on September 11, 2001.

David Limbaugh, author and columnist, addresses a capacity crowd in the David Louis Bartlett Outreach Center during the Wendy P. McCaw Reagan Ranch Roundtable luncheon.

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I N B R I E F

Remembering the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11

September 11, 2011, marks the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You can make sure your campus and community remember those murdered by radical jihadists one decade ago. Young America’s Foundation encourages students, families,

Scenes from the 9/11: Never Forget Project

businesses, and community members to take part in the 2011 9/11: Never Forget Project. Contact Patrick X. Coyle at 800-USA-1776 or [email protected] to receive 9/11: Never Forget Project materials and information on how you can create a flag display to honor those killed on September 11, 2001.

University of California, Santa Barbara

College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Missouri

Scottsdale Christian Academy,Scottsdale, Arizona

Amherst College,

Amherst, Massachusetts

Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina

College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Missouri

Milton High School, Alpharetta, Georgia

European MP Daniel Hannan Exposes the Dangers of Socialized HealthcareBy Ben Afshar, Sarah T. Hermann Intern Scholar

More than 200 guests congregated at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, California, to listen to British member of the European Parliament Daniel Hannan speak on the dangers of continuing down a path of European socialism. The dinner event was a part of the ongoing Wendy P. McCaw Reagan Ranch Roundtable Series, and guests included Foundation supporters, students, and community members. Mr. Hannan, impressed guests with a strong understanding of American history, heritage, and public affairs. He began by speaking about the lasting accomplishments of President Reagan. “This is the kind of [leader] that your Founders envisaged: a man who would never allow his office to go to his head,” he said. “So thank you, all of you, for what you are doing to preserve the legacy of a great Californian and an American who embodied the spirit of his nation. Thank you for teaching a young generation that they are the inheritors of a great tradition. There is almost nothing so valuable as the work of Young America’s Foundation in terms of communicating to people, to young people, that they are not simply a random set of individuals, born to another random set of individuals, but that they are the guardians, the custodians of a great tradition.” Mr. Hannan spoke of the dangers of an engorged government and increased government spending, both in the United Kingdom as well as in the United States. “When we talk of stimulus packages putting money into the economy, we have reversed the reality,” Mr. Hannan said. “What a stimulus package does is it takes money out of the economy and concentrates it in the hands of a government bureaucracy. As it expands, that bureaucracy takes individuals out of productive work and puts them in relatively unproductive roles.” Mr. Hannan concluded his well-received remarks with advice and praise. “You are teaching young Americans that they are the guardians of an extraordinary tradition,” Mr. Hannan said. “You’re teaching them to honor the vision of their founders, to respect the most sublime constitution designed by human intelligence. You are very privileged to be the keepers of that heritage. Hold it intact and pass it on safely to your children.”


I N B R I E F

Daniel Hannan, a member of the European Parliament representing South East England for the Conservative Party, addresses a sold-out Reagan Ranch Roundtable audience and discusses the dangers of government controlled health care.

UCLA students (from left) David Melby, Laura Taft, Katie Mellon, Anneliese Mondorf, and Jolynn Earl enjoy hearing from European MP Daniel Hannan in the David Louis Bartlett Outreach Center at the Reagan Ranch Roundtable dinner.


The American people sent a message to Washington, D.C., late last year, and more than 200 participants descended on Santa Barbara, California, to learn how to send the same message to their professors. Young America’s Foundation held our annual West Coast Leadership Conference at the Reagan Ranch Center, where students from 17 states and 49 colleges and high schools immersed themselves in the Conservative Movement. The event kicked off with author, talk-radio host, and President Reagan’s son, Michael Reagan, discussing the new Reagan

Senator Mike Lee, Marc Thiessen, Ben Stein, and Others Headline West

Coast Leadership ConferenceBy Katie Taran, Program Officer

Senator-Elect Mike Lee speaks at the West Coast Leadership Conference and offers insights on how conservatives can continue to advance freedom.

Revolution. Dr. Wayne Thorburn, long-time Foundation director and author of A Generation Awakes, continued with that topic by adding his own insights into the rise and future of the conservative activist. The afternoon concluded with a panel discussion on how to take November’s energy into 2011 and beyond. Talk-radio host and Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Mark Larson emceed the panel, which included California GOP Chairman Ron Nehring, consultant Jon Fleischman, and strategist Arnie Steinberg. Chairman of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Frank

Donatelli emceed Friday evening’s Ronald Reagan Banquet, which featured speechwriter to President George W. Bush and Foundation alumnus Marc Thiessen. Mr. Thiessen, author of Courting Disaster: How the CIA Kept

America Safe and How Barack Obama is Inviting the Next Attack, offered a frightening exposé on why America is in a growing danger of another 9/11. The following day attendees were introduced to Utah’s conservative

senator-elect, Mike Lee, who discussed how conservatives and Tea Parties can work together to limit the size of government. Lee also expressed his appreciation for Young America’s Foundation’s mission, noting, “It’s

(Above) Best-selling author and Foundation alumnus Marc Thiessen meets with UCLA student activists in the Reagan Ranch Center Exhibit Gallery. From left: Darren Ramalho, Cynthia Judson, Lydia Mazuryk, and Katie Mellon.

Kimberly Squire (left) from Pepperdine University and Emily Baudraun (right) from the University of California, Santa Barbara enjoy an afternoon at President Reagan’s beloved Rancho del Cielo.

(From left) Tyler Warman from Canyon High School, Alexandra Weiting-Lukowski from Carmel High School, Levi Rosdahl from Prescott High School, and Amanda Huntington from Carmel High School participate in a special rooftop reception at the Reagan Ranch Center.

(Right) Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli emcees the opening banquet at the West Coast Leadership Conference.


one of the things I love about this organization…It really points to the youth of our country as perhaps our greatest strength.” Westmont College professor of entrepreneurial finance Dr. David

Newton and president and CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc. (Hardees and Carl’s Jr.) Andy Puzder gave the students a crash-course in economics based on their new book, Job Creation: How It Really Works and Why Government

Doesn’t Understand It. Congressman Tom McClintock followed with a talk on what Congress needs to do to get off the road to ruin. The weekend continued with a visit to President Reagan’s beloved Rancho del

(From left) Jon Fleischman, Arnie Steinberg, Ron Nehring, and Mark Larson headline a West Coast Leadership Conference panel and discuss how to motivate activists in 2011 and beyond.

Young America’s Foundation’s director of planned giving, Kimberly Martin Begg, introduces Dr. Wayne Thorburn, long-time Foundation Director and author of A Generation Awakes.

President Reagan’s son, Michael, shares stories about his father with the conference attendees—most of whom were born after Ronald Reagan left office.


Cielo. Foundation Vice President Kate Obenshain energized the crowd with stories about students waging the battle for conservatism on their campuses. Author, commentator, and actor Ben Stein then took the stage just steps from Ronald Reagan’s ranch home to address

the group on the triumph of freedom. “This house is history; it is an incredible honor just to

be near it,” Stein said. “It’s not an empire. It’s not the Forbidden City. It’s not Buckingham Palace. It’s just the home of an idea far more majestic than any of the ideas that came from those places—that man, under God, is in charge of his own destiny.”

Five student panelists also shared their experiences and what it takes to be an effective activist on campus. Many students, including activist Ben Afshar from Santa Barbara City College, felt tremendously motivated after hearing from the student panel. “Listening to their experiences as activists really inspires you to do more on your own campus,” Afshar said. “Everyone will leave here invigorated and determined to continue the spread of conservative values.”

(Above) Lucy Darby from Pacific Coast High School and Michelle Kee from Santa Ynez Valley High School take their picture with actor and author Ben Stein.

(Below) Representative Tom McClintock (CA – 4) offers insights into what Congress can do to restore America’s economy and advance freedom for future generations.

Schaeffer Crawford from The College of the Desert in Palm Desert, California, stops near Lake Lucky at the Reagan Ranch.


Freedom Is the God-Given Right of All His Children:Make it Your Legacy

Freedom is on the precipice in America. Barack Obama is winning key battles to “fundamentally transform the United States of America.” He knows—as President Reagan did—that young people are the key to the long-term success of his agenda.

That’s why the Left is launching the most expensive, most comprehensive, and most targeted campaign in American history to win over young people.

You can join forces with Young America’s Foundation to counter the Left’s influence and pass on Ronald Reagan’s freedom philosophy.

Even though Ronald Reagan is no longer with us, there is still one place where young people can come face to face with all that Reagan stood for: hard work and its rewards, perseverance, humility, hope, love of family, and love of country.

Our students tell us they are not only better educated about Ronald Reagan after visiting the Ranch, but they are also more committed to protecting America’s freedom.

Ronald Reagan’s words inspire young leaders to embrace and strengthen the freedom movement. He said:

Freedom is not just the birthright of the few, it is the God-given right of all His children.

You can help protect future generations’ God-given right to freedom by remembering Young America’s Foundation in your estate plans.

Updating your plans to reflect your priorities enables you to control your legacy. If you die without a will, the government will decide how to distribute your estate for you—and take its share!

Currently, the death tax rate for 2013 and beyond is 55% or more for estates of more than $1 million. There is no tax on gifts to Young America’s Foundation.

Tell your attorney to make freedom your legacy by adding this language to your will:

I give, devise, and bequeath to Young America’s Foundation, tax identification number 23-7042029, 110 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170 (insert percentage, amount or nature of gift, or remainder of estate) to be used for educational purposes.

You will be honored on Freedom Wall at the Reagan Ranch for your legacy gift. Please call Kimberly Martin Begg, Esq., director of planned giving, at 800-USA-1776 to request a free information packet or if you have any questions.

National Headquarters, F. M. Kirby Freedom Center, 110 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170, 800-USA-1776, www.yaf.orgThe Reagan Ranch Center, 217 State Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101, 888-USA-1776

Freedom Is the God-Given Right of All His Children:Make it Your Legacy


Thompson, Sessions, Cuccinelli and Others Inspire Young Conservatives

Senator Fred Thompson addresses more than 450 participants at the closing banquet of the 2010 National Conservative Student Conference in Washington, D.C.

Young America’s Foundation • Libertas 15Young America’s Foundation • Libertas 13

Thompson, Sessions, Cuccinelli and Others Inspire Young Conservatives

W illiam F. Buckley Jr. called Young America’s Foundation conferences “major events for conservative students throughout the country.” The 32nd annual National Conservative Student Conference was no exception. More than 450

participants from 38 states, the United Kingdom, France, and Canada—representing more than 135 colleges and universities—came to The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., for a week-long introduction to conservative ideas. The level of excitement only increased throughout the week as many conservative leaders took the podium. Students heard from Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers about her fight against the left-wing agenda in the House of Representatives. “We can start anew and make America a great leader in this century as it was in the last century,” she said. Foundation Vice President Ron Pearson introduced Rodgers and secured her participation. Conference speakers included Dr. Burt Folsom, Marji Ross, Rich Lowry, Ken Blackwell, Bay Buchanan, Jason Mattera, Kirby Wilbur, John Miller, Matt Kibbe, Dr. Walter Williams, Ed Feulner, Dr. Robert George, Wayne Thorburn, Mark Kennedy, Senator Jeff Sessions, Kate Obenshain, Sally Pipes, David French, Tim Goeglein, Frank

By Jessica Jensen, Editor

Vinciane Ngomsi from Truman State University participates in the question and answer session with a conference speaker.

32nd AnnuAl nAtionAl ConservAtive student ConferenCe



Donatelli, Michelle Easton, Governor George Allen, Herman Cain, and other leading conservatives. Many speakers signed books and greeted attendees after their talks, allowing students access to the nation’s leading conservatives. Fifty-eighth Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich shared his ideas as well. Discussing the Declaration

of Independence, he noted, “It’s a right to pursue happiness, which doesn’t mean a right to be happy, doesn’t say you are entitled to sue if you are unhappy, doesn’t suggest we need a federal department of happiness, it doesn’t propose that we need happiness stamps for the under happy, and it doesn’t suggest that politicians should take from the too happy to give to

1) Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli discusses his lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal government’s takeover of our health care system. 2) Foundation President Ron Robinson presents long-time conservative activist David Horowitz with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Conservative Student Conference. 3) Speaker Newt Gingrich signs copies of his latest book, To Save America, for conference participants and is assisted by his wife, Callista.

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the unhappy so that we can have a redistribution of happiness.” Many of the speakers discussed defending freedom from the Left’s constant push for larger government. “Everything government does to increase its power comes at direct expense of your freedom,” warned Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli whose

stirring conference address later aired on C-SPAN, reaching 100 million homes nationwide. Senator Fred Thompson was the final speaker of the conference during a banquet held in conjunction with the Foundation’s annual Rawhide Circle Retreat for supporters. Thompson spoke about the need to change the culture of Washington and the importance of taking

4) Students from more 135 campuses gather for the National Conservative Student Conference in Washington, D.C. 5) Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers offers insights about promoting a conservative agenda on Capitol Hill. 6) Radio host and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain delivers an energetic speech on standing up for conservative values and ideas. 7) The Heritage Foundation’s president, Dr. Ed Feulner, addresses Young America’s Foundation’s 32nd annual summer conference. 8) Princeton University’s Dr. Robert George meets with conference attendees following his speech entitled “Social and Economic Conservatism: a Marriage of Principle.”

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action. He even talked about his return to acting, joking that after spending eight years in Washington he “missed the sincerity and realism of Hollywood.” As the conference came to a close, students said they gained immeasurably from the experience. Mike Cunningham from Purdue University


stated, “This has been the most inspiring and thought-provoking week of my life! In a time when conservative ideas are made to seem unpopular and wrong on campus, this conference has inspired me and given me the courage to stand up for conservative ideas.”

1) Students from 38 states enjoy the week-long conference where they learn from some of the nation’s leading conservatives, including best-selling authors, professors, media personalities, and public policy officials. 2) Nationwide media, including C-SPAN, Fox News, and NBC’s Washington, D.C., affiliate, cover the National Conservative Student Conference. 3) The Alliance Defense Fund’s chief counsel, David French, addresses the importance of protecting students’ rights and academic freedom on campuses nationwide. 4) Activist Bay Buchanan meets with a conference attendee following her speech on using debate to successfully advance conservative principles. 5) Students enjoy learning about the importance of limited government, traditional values, a strong national defense, and free enterprise at the 32nd annual National Conservative Student Conference.

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Today, I want to talk to you about two very real and very important

symbols from the youth, the adolescence, of Ronald Reagan. One was from the natural world, made of mud and water, the other a physical structure, made of bricks and mortar—and both were products of God and God’s creation; one was a river and the other a church. Both, too, were central to understanding where Ronald Reagan came from and what he ultimately became; they formed a leader. It is not an exaggeration to draw a line straight from that river and that church to the White House, and to Reagan’s dual objective of rescuing America from the malaise of the 1970s and rescuing the world from the scourge of atheistic Soviet communism. The connection is quite clear, quite moving, and quite unrecognized by history. The genesis for this talk is itself a product of two creations, albeit far from perfect—my first book on Ronald Reagan, God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life, and my second work on the man, The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism. Given the frailties, flaws, and limitations of the human mind, it took me two separate books to (I hope) get it right, to stumble

into this understanding I will share today. Here, I will try, for the first time, to bring them together—which is where they belong. The tale that emerges is dramatic, admittedly sentimental, but it is reality, and it is history—unacknowledged history. I will begin it, as I do The Crusader, with the river—a story from the river.

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Stepping out of his house the morning of August 2, 1928, Ronald “Dutch” Reagan was expecting another scorcher. As he walked across the street to the Graybills’ to catch his

ride to the river, he noticed that it was yet another muggy Thursday in Dixon, Illinois. It was a typical mid-summer afternoon in the Midwest, humid beyond any reasonable expectation, and with the advent of air conditioning still years in the distance, the best form of escape could be found in a Ford automobile with windows open amid a breezy drive to the river at Lowell Park. At Lowell, there were shady trees, cool water, and people, all kept under the watchful eye of seventeen-year-old Dutch Reagan. Already tall, he hovered above the swimmers in a ten-foot-high chair perched on the grassy

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A young Ronald Reagan stands outside in his hometown, Dixon, Illinois, in the 1920s.

“A RIveR AnD A CHuRCH: The Making of a Leader”

By Paul Kengor, PhDYoung America’s Foundation thanks Dr. Kengor for allowing

his inspiring speech to be printed in Libertas.

banks. His height was emblematic of his swimming prowess, and a key factor in his swimming successes. At the YMCA in January, Reagan had sprinted to victory in the 110-yard free style by a half-length of the pool. When competing in the annual Water Carnival at the Rock River on Labor Day, he took first in the longest competition—the 220-yard River Swim. He still holds the record for swimming fastest from the park to the river’s farthest bank and back. So adept were his swimming skills that he was allegedly approached by an Olympic scout who invited him to work out with the team preparing for the 1932 games—an offer Reagan said he refused because he could not give up his summer pay. On this August day, the river’s rough waters and undertows were particularly active. Scattered throughout the choppy waters were hundreds of swimmers, and through the spectacles that rested atop his nose, Dutch gazed at the clusters of people, aware that he could not slack off for a moment. Reagan’s regular pattern for patrolling the waters was tested on such a chaotic summer afternoon. According to the Dixon Telegraph, on a day like this Ronald Reagan often watched more than 1,000 bathers at a time, with no assistant. His most difficult concern was toddlers who ventured too far out (there were legions of them) and adults cocky enough to think they could conquer the depths of the treacherous river. Toddlers who did not listen were an easy nab for Reagan, who was vigilant in pulling them back right away before they disappeared into the murky water. Dutch always followed with a quick lesson to the child about wandering out. unfortunately, the adult swimmers were not as easy. They were bigger and stronger. If not secured in the right position, they tended to pull and grab, putting the lifeguard’s own life in peril. A panicky six-foot-frame was the worst foe. Among them, the end of the summer brought brawny farm boys to the water, just finished with the annual harvest; they invariably underestimated the river, not giving it the respect Reagan learned to grant it. Once in the death grip of a current, they became exhausted, went vertical, and began struggling and clawing frantically. On more than one occasion, Dutch belted them with a right cross to the jaw in order to facilitate a safe rescue. The

unorthodox method was effective: Reagan never lost one. And then there was another type of swimmer, a more unusual “rescue”—young girls. “I had a friend who nearly drowned herself trying to get him to save her!” said one woman, recalling an occurrence that was far from isolated. On afternoons like this August 2, Reagan felt like the burning sun would never set. Mercifully, it finally obliged, quickly growing dark until the swimming section, which was surrounded by tall, full trees and lush, thick hills was covered in shadow. This meant that the area Dutch surveyed got darker quicker than the rest of flat, open Illinois. With nighttime upon the beach, it was now officially after hours. A party of four, two girls and two boys, were looking to have some fun. They giggled as they

surreptitiously slipped into their bathing suits down shore. They entered the beach area from the side and quietly made their way into the deceptively gentle surf, in defiance of beach rules. Among them was Dixonite James Raider, who was not the proficient swimmer he figured. It was 9:30 p.m., the end of another very long day, and Dutch and Mr. Graybill were closing up the bathhouse when they heard splashing in deep water: James Raider had been sucked under. Another member of his group tried to save him but could not and was forced to abandon efforts when he, too, almost drowned in the swift current.

Dutch sprinted to the water and dove into the darkness. With only the stars to light the way, Reagan relied on himself, on his inner eye, the one that knew the way better than anyone else. There was a major struggle in the black water. Witnesses recall noisy splashing, some yelling, and arms flailing in the air. Suddenly, a mass of human appendages began moving in their direction. The lifeguard wrapped one arm under the victim’s arms and dug water profusely with the other, kicking his feet under the current as rapidly as he could. Raider was brought ashore. Young Ronald dragged him onto the grass. Artificial respiration was started. The party was no longer in a partying mood; the festive tone had been muted by a sense of horror. They watched, hoped, and probably prayed. Raider responded, and there was a collective sigh of relief. An exhausted Raider was transported to his home with an unexpected new lease on life. Ronald Reagan

A RiveR And A ChuRCh: The MAking of A LeAdeR

––––––––––––––—————–––––—––––––––––––––––– Speech by Paul Kengor –––––––––––––––––––——————–––––––––––––––––

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Such episodes forged in

the young man a supreme

confidence that never left

him, one that would forever

affect Ronald Reagan’s

actions, from Dixon to

Hollywood, and eventually

all the way to Washington.

headed home as well. When his parents, Jack and nelle, asked about his day, he might have shrugged that it was not especially unusual. It was, after all, the second near drowning in two weeks. This early rescue gave Ronald Reagan one of his first tastes of notoriety: the front page of the Friday, August 3, 1928, Dixon Evening Telegraph carried a top-of-the-fold headline that read “James Raider Pulled From the Jaws of Death,” about the rescue made the previous evening by “Life Guard Ronald ‘Dutch’ Reagan.” It informed residents that Dutch had notched his 25th save. This was Reagan’s first front-page headline. He shared the top-of-the-fold with King George, who was reportedly enthusiastic about the Kellogg-Briand Pact to “outlaw war,” and with the customary story on election fraud in Chicago. He was a news story for the first time—thousands more would follow. He had made the front page, as a hometown hero, early in life. And this would not be an isolated occasion for the Dixonite: The Telegraph continued to broadcast Reagan’s heroics as he continued to make saves, each time updating Dutch’s rescue tally to the wonderment and amusement of the locals. Such episodes forged in the young man a supreme confidence that never left him, one that would forever affect Ronald Reagan’s actions, from Dixon to Hollywood, and eventually all the way to Washington.

A River

When the Reagans arrived in Dixon in 1920, they fell in love with Lowell Park. In fact they probably visited the park before they visited the church that would become a second home to Reagan and his mom. In fact, the river

was a source of unity for Jack, nelle, and Dutch and his brother neil; the entire family visited the park together, as one, whereas they never attended church together, since Jack was Catholic and nelle was Protestant. That first summer, the Reagans drove to the park in the Model T, as the youngest Reagan, nine-year-old Dutch, dreamed about working there one day.

In the spring of 1926, as a sophomore in high school, Dutch’s big chance arrived. There was a vacated lifeguard job at Lowell. The teenager applied through beach owner ed Graybill, who had doubts about Reagan’s age. Graybill first checked with Dutch’s dad: “Give the kid a chance,” Jack Reagan prodded. “He can do it.” Graybill hired him, and never regretted his decision. His wife, Ruth, later remembered of Dutch:

Even as a high school sophomore, he was a perfect employee. He was my boy. He was wonderful—dependable and polite. I never heard one complaint about him. He always knew his duties. We never had a basket of clothes left due to a body being at the bottom of the river. That was because we had a good lifeguard…. He was dependable and firm…. He would give out orders—“stay inside

the lifeline”—and he meant it. When the beach was not busy, he taught kids to swim. And if he was in a jovial mood, he’d start walking like a chimp and give us a little entertainment.

Prior to Reagan, there had been baskets of clothes left behind. Several people had drowned in the river in the immediate summers before Reagan’s arrival. This sense



Young America’s Foundation • Libertas 16-3

Ronald Reagan—pictured in Lowell Park, Illinois, in 1927—saved 77 lives during his seven summers

as a lifeguard at the Rock River.

of purpose played a formative role in Reagan’s life. Of all his jobs prior to adulthood, Reagan most enjoyed “my beloved lifeguarding,” as he later referred to it—“maybe … the best job I ever had.” It was a job he did not consider work, despite toiling riverside seven days a week, ten to twelve hours per day, typically 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., for a mere $15to $16 a week plus so-called “meals,” which usually meant something from the snack stand. It was a grueling schedule, but despite its difficulties Reagan kept it up, continuing it for seven summers until he finished his education at eureka College in 1932. For seven summers, Ronald was the rock at the Rock River, always watching, always alert. During his seven-year tenure, Reagan saved the lives of 77 people as a lifeguard, a number he held dear. “One of the proudest statistics of my life is 77,” he said many decades later. Saving a drowning victim is not an easy task under any circumstance, but it was especially difficult in the treacherous Rock River with its swirling currents and murky, dark water. Downstream from the river was a dam. When the sluices were opened, the normally slow current quickly picked up its tempo. Reagan remembered the “deeper thrust” this created in the water. The area surprised swimmers by sloping off just a few feet from the edge. Dutch learned that the shortest route from shore to shore was never a straight line but a swooping upstream arc. This swift-moving body of water is so thick, with currents so strong and dangerous, that swimming there today is banned and has been for years.

Forging a Teflon Confidence

The object here is not to transform Ronald Wilson Reagan into a superhero, nor to focus on the positive to the complete exclusion of any negatives. The point is that these very real rescues, these feats of physical daring (of which this is a short list), impacted him greatly. They formed an indelible mark on his psyche. And they shaped him not just as a person but, one day, as a president of remarkable ambition. Generally, these experiences taught Reagan quite a bit about life. A later close friend, Bill Clark, who more than

once listened to Reagan reminisce about those summer days, believes that the lifeguarding instilled in the young man a basic respect for the dignity and sanctity of human life, which later manifested itself in President Reagan’s opposition to abortion, abhorrence of the prospect of nuclear war, and empathy for the suffering citizens of the so-called Captive nations behind the Iron Curtain. More fundamentally, the rescues did wonders for Reagan’s self-esteem. not many youngsters have saved a life, certainly not 77 souls in so risky a fashion. What better reinforcement to a man’s self-worth than such incidents? How many people have directly saved another human being? How many individuals have done so more than seventy times, salvaging lives out of the grim pull of

dark water? All of this happened in real life for Ronald Reagan, not in movies. Here were the seeds of his can-do attitude.

A Church

Of course, there were other influences to Reagan’s confidence. Downstream from the Rock River sat the First Christian Church on 123 S. Hennepin Avenue. The faith that he acquired there, under the nurturing of Rev. Ben Cleaver and his mother—it was nelle who was the most formative figure in his life—became a fundamental source of Reagan’s

confidence. He was sure that God had a plan for his life and guided him daily along a preordained path that was just and right, and which made him confidently optimistic. nelle taught him that “all things were part of God’s Plan, even the most disheartening setbacks, and in the end, everything worked out for the best.” He never abandoned that belief. Appropriately, the First Christian Church resided between Reagan’s home and the river. each Sunday in the 1920s, nelle and Dutch walked the seven blocks to the doors of the church. On especially cold days, they might take the Model T. nelle ensured that Sundays were strictly about God, and she and the boys had a full church agenda. Moon later detailed the schedule: “Sunday school Sunday mornings, church Sunday morning, Christian endeavor Sunday evening, church after Christian endeavor, and prayer meeting on Wednesdays.”




Nelle taught him that

“all things were part of

God’s Plan, even the most

disheartening setbacks,

and in the end, everything

worked out for the best.”

He never abandoned

that belief.

Growing up in Dixon, Dutch was caught up in the fervor of his mother’s faith. nelle included him in Bible readings held at their home with church members and took him to conferences to hear religious lectures. Young Reagan also did numerous recitations at the church and outside the church as part of Christian outreach with his mother—to nursing homes and hospitals, for instance. Some of these acts were solo performances. either way, the local paper, the Dixon Telegraph, raved about the young Reagan’s abilities. Mom and son took the show on the road to other churches. In July 1925, a large audience in nearby Tampico (Ronald Reagan’s birthplace) greeted the Dixonites at their old church. A reporter from the Telegraph made the trip as well and noted, “each number Mrs. Reagan gave was enthusiastically encored; Ronald Reagan was encored several times.” But church was about much more than performance. At fifteen, Dutch began teaching his own Sunday school class to a group of boys. He lectured in the same furnace room that he plastered and painted a few years earlier. He cherished the class, and the boys responded. “He became a leader among those boys,” said childhood friend Savila Palmer. “They looked up to him.” Lucille Patterson, who taught the girls’ class while Reagan taught the boys, recalled: “I can still see the row of upturned faces as he sat on a table and held them all spellbound. There were no discipline problems.” He had a knack for communication. These boys, many of whom were older than Reagan, later described him as “their supremely self-assured teacher.” Reagan biographer norman Wymbs, who 60 years later interviewed Reagan’s pupils, was startled to find that they remembered specific lessons Dutch taught.

They recalled how he employed testimonies of faith from current sports figures who were Christians. He also richly incorporated Christ’s parables, which he saw as a particularly effective method to drive home key points. Reagan didn’t stop teaching until September 1928, when he moved on to eureka College. even then, church records show that he came home from college—a 100-

mile, then two-hour-plus drive—for the remaining three Sundays that September to teach his class. That last class netted a grand twelve cents in collections. In the two-and-a-quarter years he taught the class, Dutch didn’t miss a single Sunday. The young Reagan was also a leader of several prayer meetings before the church. Biographer Anne edwards found: “Parishioners of the church like to recount how Dutch could make the Bible seem personal, like a ‘phrase might just have been written.’” Reagan was an active participant in church activities in general. The bulletin for easter Day and Week services for 1926 lists 15-year-old Dutch and Frances Smice as the “leaders” starting easter Day services. They kicked off the Annual Sunrise Prayer Meeting at 7:00 a.m. Reverend Cleaver counted on

Reagan for activities and prayer meetings. Years later, older members of the congregation were “genuinely surprised” when norman Wymbs told them how young Dutch had been at the time. In fact, young Reagan was so advanced in his faith, and so serious about his church role, that congregation members thought he might become a minister. Through church activities, he also continued to hone his public speaking skills. As a high-school senior, the budding orator branched out. He became a toastmaster, emceeing a number of large church-affiliated events.



Young America’s Foundation • Libertas 21Young America’s Foundation • Libertas 16-5

Ronald Reagan left Dixon, Illinois, in 1928 for Eureka College where he eventually joined the school’s football team.

Religion played a vital, unappreciated role in Reagan’s key to success in radio, acting, and public policy: he began speaking and performing in church. The Great Communicator found his first audiences at the Dixon congregation. This is yet another way that the Reagan of history took form in a church. In addition, a sharp impact on Dutch’s faith at the church came from Rev. Ben Cleaver, who became a father figure to young Reagan. Like nelle, Ben taught Reagan about missionary work, spreading the gospel to the world, patriotism, the American founders, about America as a special place, even as a kind of beacon. On the latter, it is possible that Ben may have even talked to Reagan about America as divinely appointed as a model to other nations, perhaps even a Shining City upon a Hill, since Ben himself was heavily influenced by Disciples of Christ figures who pushed such themes. Likewise, Reagan likely heard a lecture or two from Ben about the evils of Bolshevism, as Ben was a committed anti-communist. In one case in 1928, the Dixon church even hosted a guest familiar with religious persecution in Russia, a Jew named B.e. Kertchman. Both Ben and nelle were intensely interested in global events, including the status of the church abroad, and both—as well as the congregation in general—were missions-oriented. Reagan’s mother, in fact, headed the missions committee at the First Christian Church. Given all of these factors, then, it is highly probable that Ronald Reagan first learned about the Bolshevik persecution of religion as a teen at that church in Dixon, Illinois. Later, this atheist-communist assault on Christianity would be among the strongest reasons for the adult Reagan’s opposition to Soviet communism, and why he would one day, as President, declare the Soviet empire to be not merely a bad empire but an Evil empire. As Reagan later told his audience in the “evil empire” speech, as a Christian he was “enjoined by Scripture and the Lord Jesus to oppose sin and evil with all [his] might.” That was something he learned as a boy at that church, from that pastor, and from that mother.

The Dixon “Inheritance”

The adult Reagan was certain that God carefully planned things, introducing the forks in the road and the right people here and there—again, a theological conviction he learned from nelle. Key figures entered in and out. Ben seemed to fit that bill. As fate would have it, he came to the Dixon church in 1922. So did Dutch. He spent eight full years in Dixon, as did Dutch. He played an integral role in Reagan’s life during its most formative

stage. They shared the 1920s together—Reagan’s adolescence, his training. Then, they departed. In the case of the future President, Ben fulfilled his mission. There were other religious influences, including other seriously religious individuals, committed people of faith too numerous to detail here. There were also crucial resources. One of the most pivotal, lasting contributions of nelle were the reading materials she chose for her son, especially a turn-of-the-century Christian novel by Harold Bell Wright called That Printer of Udell’s, which was the most influential book of Reagan’s youth. It further instilled in him the necessity to draw clear lines between good and evil, to

separate right from wrong, and, most significantly, to be a “practical Christian”—meaning a Christian whose faith is a constant, integral part of everything a Christian does personally and professionally. That book would convince the eleven-year-old Reagan that a man looking to change the world—including the principal character in the novel, who on the final page heads off to Washington as an elected official to change the world—does not check his faith at the office door. These Disciples were Ronald Reagan’s roots—his “inheritance,” as he put it. Many years later, he wrote of his adolescence in Dixon: “There was the life that has shaped my body and mind for all the years to come after.” He wrote to Ben Cleaver in 1973: “One thing I do know, all the hours in the old church in Dixon (which I didn’t appreciate at the time) and all of nelle’s faith have come together in a kind of inheritance without which




[That Printer of udell’s]

would convince the eleven-

year-old Reagan that a

man looking to change

the world—including the

principal character in the

novel, who on the final page

heads off to Washington as

an elected official to change

the world—does not check

his faith at the office door.

I’d be lost and helpless.” The town, said Reagan, was “a small universe where I learned standards and values that would guide me for the rest of my life.” And the people in that town, as he later told the Cleaver family, provided him an “unshakable” faith that gave him “a peace beyond description.” The most lasting effect of these influences was how they instilled in Reagan the conviction that God has a special plan for everyone and America as a whole. To Reagan, that conviction became a charge for himself, his country, and his world.

The Confluence

Sometimes two indomitable forces come together to create an even stronger, third force; rivers certainly can do this. Ronald Reagan had a confluence of sorts in his early life; it was where the Rock River met the First Christian Church at 123 S. Hennepin. It seems so fitting, almost poetic, that the church that so influenced Reagan was perched alongside the Rock River, and that its founding members were at one point baptized in the river. Reagan himself was baptized inside the church in June 1922, but received another baptism of sorts upstream at that beach at Lowell Park. The river would help shape him through its religious and personal significance. He had two baptisms which took place on the banks of the river, one spiritual and one sacrificial. The water of the Rock River forever changed Reagan, and he followed its currents not only down stream to the First Christian Church but eventually to the oceans of the world. There were many ways that this confluence affected Reagan, as a person and eventually as a President. none,

however, were as decisive as the way they impacted his confidence. These cold waters of Illinois forged a confidence in Reagan that ran far deeper than Rock River. It was this confidence that transcended his actions, weaving its way into every aspect of his life. Its pervasive nature exists throughout his biography—from the Gipper all the way to the Oval Office. This confidence became the bedrock

of Reagan’s personality, an unappreciated intangible that helped him achieve his goals. His was not a mere confidence but an unshakable one. Indeed, pundits in the 1980s called Reagan the “Teflon President” because, like a Teflon frying pan, nothing unseemly appeared to stick to him. He just shook or washed it off. He was seemingly invincible. “I’m amazed at this Teflon Presidency,” CBS evening news anchor

Walter Cronkite awed. “Reagan is even more popular than [Franklin] Roosevelt, and I never thought I’d see anyone that well-liked…. nobody hates Reagan. It’s amazing.” even the President’s fiercest critics usually liked him as a person. And even the Soviets remarked upon his “‘Teflon’ qualities,” as they put it, and “protective ‘Teflon’ coating.” That Teflon quality can be ascribed to Reagan’s confidence. Historian David McCullough has argued that the quality most essential to Presidential success is “invisible”—an intangible for which there is no measurement. He cites the integrity of George Washington, Lincoln’s “depth of soul,” Truman’s character. “What’s essential is invisible,” McCullough deciphered. Indeed, there was a hidden nature to Reagan’s unbending confidence. And yet, that vital intangible became essential



Young America’s Foundation • Libertas 21Young America’s Foundation • Libertas 16-7

Ronald Reagan honed his public speaking skills as a young boy in Dixon, Illinois, and upon graduating from college, he utilized his talent as a sportscaster

for WHO radio in Des Moines, Iowa.

to the pursuit of his goals vis-à-vis the uSSR. It took someone of this immense confidence to predict and believe that he could win the Cold War, that he could defeat the uSSR, an evil empire that by the late 1970s, prior to Reagan arriving at the White House, was not losing the Cold War—quite the contrary. Reagan believed he could win, at a time when no one else believed he or his country could win, and certainly not so fast. Reagan, however, was dead certain. As Presidential candidate Reagan told Richard v. Allen (his future national security adviser) one January 1977 day in California: “Dick, my idea of American policy toward the Soviet union is simple, and some would say simplistic. It is this: We win and they lose. What do you think of that?” Once he secured the Presidency, he pursued that course, and nothing could deter him from that route—there was evil out there, and he, as Christian was enjoined to oppose it with all his might. One evening in March 1983, at dinner, his wife, nancy, and her friend, Stuart Spencer, were chiding him for his bellicose language, for having called the Soviet union an evil empire. Reagan waved them off: “It is an evil empire,” he instructed them. “And it’s time to close it down.” Such self-certainty, amid defeatists and ridiculers who insisted Reagan was not only a naïve dreamer but a dummy, Ronald Reagan persevered. This required not only

uncommon fortitude in his vision but also in the boldness to pursue the provocative policies that he felt were necessary to achieve that vision. The steps he authorized were extremely daring, but Reagan was unwavering in his belief that he could lead America to victory in the Cold War. In the face of boisterous criticism, he never shied away from his inner voice. It was the voice of Ben Cleaver, and

nelle Reagan, and Harold Bell Wright from the pages of That Printer of Udell’s, telling him to be a practical Christian, to bring his faith into his work, to stand up to evil, to not compromise or accommodate an aggressive, expansionary, atheistic, murderous ideology and empire. It was the voice that led him to James Raider’s rescue in the murky depths of the Rock River. It was the voice that led him to seek another save—to pursue Cold War victory when few put stock in the possibility, and amid

naysayers all around him. Indeed, a rescuer rescues. And America and much of the world—certainly Captive Peoples behind the Iron Curtain—needed to be rescued from the scourge of Soviet communism, from an ideology that took the lives of more than 100 million people in the 20th century, twice the total of those who died in the century’s two world wars. And it was that grandest of rescues that awaited Ronald Reagan off the banks of the Rock River.




The steps he authorized

were extremely daring, but

Reagan was unwavering

in his belief that he could

lead America to victory

in the Cold War.

Photos courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

About Paul Kengor, PhD

Dr. Paul Kengor is professor of political science at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania, and a regular speaker for Young America’s Foundation. He is also executive director of the Center for Vision & Values, a Grove City College think-tank/policy center

and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. Dr. Kengor has authored numerous books including God and Ronald Reagan, The Crusader: Ronald Reagan & the Fall of Communism, God and Hillary Clinton, The

Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan’s Top Hand (with co-author Patricia Clark Doerner), among other works. His latest book is Dupes: How America’s Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century (ISI Books, 2010). Dr. Kengor is also a regular columnist for Townhall and the American Spectator. To bring Dr. Kengor to your campus, contact Young America’s Foundation Vice President Patrick X. Coyle at [email protected] or 800-USA-1776.

Young America’s Foundation • Libertas 17Governor Palin pauses to look out over the Santa Ynez Valley during her visit to Ronald Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo.

Governor Sarah Palin and Vice President Dick Cheney Headline Reagan 100 Birthday Celebration By Kate Obenshain, Vice President

On February 4 and 5, Young America’s Foundation held an historic celebration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth. Students, loyal Foundation supporters whose generosity made the event possible, and luminaries from the Conservative Movement gathered together for the gala event. Governor Sarah Palin and Vice President Dick Cheney headlined the weekend-long program as the keynote speakers for Friday and Saturday evenings, respectively. Their presence, combined with the celebration itself, led to the largest event held at the Reagan Ranch Center in Young America’s Foundation’s history. Overflow seating

Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli interviews Vice President Dick Cheney during the Reagan 100 Celebration Weekend closing dinner banquet.

was opened up to accommodate more than 350 attendees at the Reagan Ranch Center. Press from across the country vied for coveted spots in the main ballroom, with Fox News, C-SPAN, and CNN broadcasting Governor Palin’s and Vice President Cheney’s speeches live. Additional press reporting on the weekend included Time magazine, CBS News, New York Times, ABC Radio, AP, Bloomberg, Christian Broadcast Network, Politico, Reuters Photo, Santa Barbara News-Press, Los Angeles Times, Washington Examiner, Washington

Times, and other outlets. Prior to her evening address, Governor Palin and members of her family visited Rancho del Cielo with Young America’s Foundation President Ron Robinson, Vice Presidents Andrew Coffin and Kate Obenshain, and President Reagan’s close friend, riding partner, and retired Secret Service agent John Barletta. During her rousing speech in the David Louis Bartlett Outreach Center, Governor Palin reflected on her afternoon at the Western White House:

I cannot tell you how really

humbling this is for my family and for me to get to be here. Today, out at the Ranch, it was simply overwhelming and inspiring…There we were riding horses along the trails that he had cleared, feeling the breeze in my face, being able to feel that warm southern air overhead...I knew instantly why Ronald Reagan loved that Ranch. I knew instantly why it was he felt so inspired in that place.

The Ranch is unmistakably the home of a western conservative

1) Governor Palin reflects on the importance of advancing freedom and preserving Ronald Reagan’s ideas during her nationally broadcast keynote address at the Reagan 100 Celebration Weekend. 2) Governor Palin and her children—Willow, Bristol, and Trig—enjoy a morning at the Reagan Ranch. 3) Students participating in the Summit to Restore Freedom on Campus energetically greet Governor Palin.

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who celebrated our pioneering spirit.

Today, there are hundreds of places that bear his name, but the Ranch is one of the few where truly, when you are there, you can distinctly feel his spirit. This is his home of course. This home was his refuge—his still point in a turning world.

Young America’s Foundation was also honored to welcome Reagan administration alumni, including Attorney General Ed Meese, Frank

Donatelli, T. Kenneth Cribb, Judge Bill Clark, and Michelle Easton for the program. Other special guests included authors who have written extensively on President Reagan: Peter Schweizer, Lee Edwards, Lou Cannon, Wynton Hall, and Craig Shirley. Best-selling novelist Brad Thor, movie director Stephen K. Bannon, talk radio host Mark Larson, Foundation Director and Washington State GOP Chairman Kirby Wilbur, the Wall Street Journal’s John Fund, and President Reagan’s close friends Dennis LeBlanc and John Barletta also

participated in the weekend’s events. Surprise guest and occasional Reagan-nemesis Sam Donaldson arrived at the gate to Rancho del Cielo in hopes of being able to commemorate the anniversary. He was greeted by Foundation President Ron Robinson who noted that Donaldson’s presence was a testimony to President Reagan’s broad appeal, both as an individual and a visionary. As part of the Reagan 100 Celebration Weekend, Young America’s Foundation also welcomed more than 40 students from across the

(continued on page 21)

4) Governor Sarah Palin addresses more than 350 attendees at the Reagan Ranch Center for Young America’s Foundation’s Reagan 100 Celebration Weekend. 5) Andrew Coffin, Foundation vice president and director of the Reagan Ranch, offers remarks to Reagan 100 attendees during a special session held on the lawn of Rancho del Cielo. 6) Foundation supporters (from left) Beth Burger and Bebe Carlisle explore Ronald Reagan’s adobe ranch home. 7) Radio host and Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Mark Larson interviews veteran ABC News reporter Sam Donaldson, who made an unexpected visit to the Reagan Ranch during the weekend celebration. 8) Dozens of media outlets gather inside the Reagan Ranch Center to cover the keynote addresses by Vice President Cheney and Governor Sarah Palin.

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1) Students from around the country meet with Governor Sarah Palin at the Reagan Ranch Center during the Summit to Restore Freedom on Campus—a three-day-long seminar hosted in conjunction with the Reagan 100 Celebration Weekend. 2) Vice President Cheney speaks with loyal Foundation supporter Wendy McCaw. 3) Radio host and Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Mark Larson interviews President Reagan’s close friends, Dennis LeBlanc and retired Secret Service agent John Barletta. 4) (From left) Filmmaker Stephen K. Bannon, Foundation Vice President Kate Obenshain, best-selling author Brad Thor, and author and Foundation Director Wynton Hall participate in a Reagan 100 panel on “Freedom’s Future.” 5) Students participating in the Reagan 100 Celebration Weekend review their photos with Governor Sarah Palin.

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country to learn how they can become stronger activists on their respective college campuses. The Summit to Restore Freedom on Campus, sponsored and attended by Bill and Nan Bensyl, drew students from Furman University (South Carolina), Santa Fe College (Florida), Indiana University, DePaul University (Illinois), the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of California, Los Angeles, and other

campuses nationwide. Participants attended the Reagan 100 Celebration panels and dinners and also gained valuable campus activism advice from Foundation President Ron Robinson, Foundation Director Peter Schweizer, Vice Presidents Kate Obenshain and Patrick Coyle, and Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Mark Larson. The weekend concluded with the screening of Young America’s Foundation’s inaugural film, Still

Point in a Turning World: Ronald Reagan and His Ranch (see related story above)—which Governor Palin referenced in her speech. The Reagan 100 Celebration Weekend provided an inspiring and memorable weekend for all involved, and Young America’s Foundation especially thanks the supporters who made the weekend’s events possible. To view videos from the Reagan 100 Weekend Celebration, visit www.yaf.org.

Young America’s Foundation unveiled our inaugural film, Still Point in a Turning World: Ronald Reagan and his Ranch, in Santa Barbara during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth. Written and directed by Stephen K. Bannon, the film is the definitive examination of Ronald Reagan’s beloved ranch and its reflection of his philosophy and values. Ronald Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo, the “Ranch in the Sky,” was not just a respite from the chaotic world that his Presidency encountered but also a living embodiment of the timeless values he held dear. The Ranch was where hard work and self-reliance showed themselves in the principles he championed for all Americans: Freedom, Prosperity, and Victory. Given unprecedented access to both the Ranch and the Foundation’s film archives, the filmmakers explored Rancho del Cielo as few have, giving viewers a glimpse of why it “cast a spell” on the man who became one of the greatest Presidents in American history. After viewing the film, one student attendee noted, “The movie showed how the Left belittles our country and its great people. Reagan’s words, on the other hand, were so empowering...that I cried.” To view the film’s trailer, visit: www.yaf.org.

Foundation Premieres Inaugural Film, Still Point in a Turning World: Ronald Reagan and His Ranch

From Campus Activist to Human Events EditorFormer Foundation Spokesman Credits YAF for Launching His Conservative Movement Career–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––——

An Interview with Jason Mattera–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––——By Katie Taran, Program Officer

and spent the summer working with the legendary reporter Robert Novak. Young America’s Foundation is family; there’s no other way to describe it.

Libertas: Who was your favorite speaker as a student and why? —————————––––———Mattera: Ann Coulter was my favorite speaker, hands-down. We brought her to Roger Williams University twice, and she rocked it both times. Every student should try to bring Ms. Coulter to his school at least once. You won’t forget the experience—liberals turn into deranged animals at the mention of Ann Coulter, so you can guess how unhinged they became during her live appearance. It was great!

Libertas: What did you most enjoy about working for Young America’s Foundation? ———————––––———Mattera: Learning under Ron Robinson. He’s a superb communicator and excellent strategist. I loved going into Ron’s office before a television appearance to devise the best ways to hammer the Left in a debate. I still call him for guidance now. I also really enjoyed the National Conservative Student Conferences. There’s nothing like being around so many like-

Libertas: What was your earliest involvement with Young America’s Foundation?—————–———–————————Mattera: I believe I was an 18-year-old freshman in college. Patrick Coyle helped me organize a campus lecture with Ann Coulter at my college, Roger Williams University. That began a long relationship with the Foundation—from my activism days in college, to being the Foundation’s media spokesman after graduation, and now being a campus speaker as the editor of Human Events. In addition, in 2003, I participated in the Foundation’s National Journalism Center internship program

A l u m N I S p o t l I g h t

minded peers and hearing from great conservative leaders.

Libertas: How did your work with the Foundation prepare you for a career in the Conservative Movement?—————–———–————————Mattera: YAF was my entry point into the Conservative Movement. If it wasn’t for YAF, I wouldn’t even know that the Conservative Movement existed. To use a baseball analogy, Young America’s Foundation is the Conservative Movement’s farm team because it introduces students to the concepts of limited government and free enterprise and equips them with the tools necessary to pursue a passion to fight for conservative ideas.

Libertas: What is your favorite conservative book or author?—————–———–————————Mattera: If there is one author I could read endlessly all day, it would be Thomas Sowell. Besides my father, Sowell has impacted my worldview

Human Events Editor and best-selling author Jason Mattera first became involved with Young America’s Foundation as a student at Roger Williams University.

As Young America’s Foundation’s spokesman from 2005 to 2009, Mattera frequently appeared on Fox News and other media outlets.


more than any other person. His book, Vision of the Anointed, is my all-time favorite. So, after students read Obama Zombies, they should devour every word that Dr. Sowell has ever written.

Libertas: Your “ambush videos” of leftist leaders in Congress quickly gained tens of thousands of viewers on YouTube and elsewhere. What was your favorite video you made during your time with Young America’s Foundation?

—————–———–————————Mattera: I have many favorites, but having Barney Frank try to explain his innocence on how he didn’t know there was a brothel in his basement certainly tops the list. In fact, Congressman Frank was so flustered that he walked into the wrong office, realized that it wasn’t his, and was forced to return to my barrage of questions. It was great.

Libertas: What advice would you give to young people eager to advance conservatism on their campuses and in their communities? —————–———–————————Mattera: Never back down. Ever. You will get called names, your grades

“Never back down. Ever. You will get called names, your grades may suffer, and you won’t be the most popular kid on the block. That’s okay. Leadership is not built in the face of popularity; it’s built in the face of adversity.”

Mattera meets with best-selling author and fellow National Journalism Center alumna Ann Coulter at a Foundation event in Washington, D.C.

may suffer, and you won’t be the most popular kid on the block. That’s okay. Leadership is not built in the face of popularity; it’s built in the face of adversity. Be bold, be courageous, and have a great time making liberals squirm. You won’t regret it.

Libertas: Your first book, Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation (Regnery, 2009), quickly became a New York Times best-seller. How can we stop leftist leaders from creating even more “Obama Zombies” in the future? —————–———–————————Mattera: Increase the voting age to 35! Okay, okay…I kid. The key to slapping the “Obama Zombies” back to reality is to make conservative ideas relevant to their lives. When you

speak, communicate in terms of Apple products and all the social networking sites that young people use. That’s free-market capitalism in action, and they need to make that connection.

Libertas: Where do you see yourself in ten years? —————–———–————————Mattera: Employed, hopefully, but you never know with this Obama economy! I really love leading the Human Events team.

Mattera delivers a humorous and lively speech at Young America’s Foundation’s 2010 National High School Leadership Conference.

Jason Mattera’s first book, Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation, quickly became a New York Times best-seller.


I t is a great honor to speak for and be in affiliation

with the Reagan Ranch and Young America’s Foundation. Alexis de Tocqueville said, “America is great because it is good, and if America ceases to be good, it ceases to be great.” That famous quote sums up a very important truth that I believe President Ronald Reagan believed as well: our country is great because regular people truly believe it is so. In my office in the capitol building, I have George Rodrigue’s original painting of President Reagan sitting upright on his horse. It is a constant reminder of why we are here and what we are here to accomplish as we try to turn our nation around. In November the American people expressed their frustration with the priorities of the current administration. The people want the private sector economy to grow and access to good paying jobs. However, the Obama administration is bailing out car companies and implementing Obamacare, resulting in increasing government control over the private sector and our daily lives. Currently, our nation has trillions of dollars of debt, and government spending is up to 26 percent. The Chinese will not buy our debt forever. Interest rates will go up, and the value of a dollar will go down. The

Obama administration and liberals in Congress are focusing on all the wrong things, and the American people are noticing.

Leadership and CrisisLeadership and Crisis

By Gov e r n o r Bo B By J i n da l

The following column includes excerpts from Governor Bobby Jindal’s address at the Reagan Ranch Center on November 20, 2010.

In Louisiana, we have done things differently. When I was running for governor, I promised we would create a new Louisiana that would enable us to give more opportunities to our children. When I was inaugurated, I promised our people that we would wage wars on corruption and incompetence. We passed some tough legislation that forced officials to disclose their finances; this was crucial for businesses to begin to trust and invest in Louisiana again. We also enacted the largest income tax cut in our state’s history. If you want to discourage an activity, tax it. If you want to encourage an activity, don’t tax it. That basically summarizes my economic philosophy. I made it my goal to tackle our education problems by empowering teachers and giving families a choice of which school to send their students. We also helped shrink government by eliminating unneeded government jobs. This led to huge economic growth by encouraging infrastructure and job creation in the private sector. In my book, Leadership and Crisis, I discuss some very key points including the unnecessary red tape and incompetence of the federal government.

In Louisiana, we have recently seen two major disasters, and both were equally as disastrous with regard to the government’s response. When Hurricane

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal addresses a capacity crowd of Foundation supporters and students at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, California.

Students from UCLA meet with Governor Jindal and his wife, Supriya, in the Reagan Ranch Center Exhibit Gallery following his speech. From left: Deepak Shani, Samantha Schuette, Shiv Samtani, Katie Mellon, Cynthia Judson, and Lydia Mazuryk.


Katrina hit and so many families were without power and running water, one of our local sheriffs called the federal government to ask for some assistance. The officials said they were too busy and told the sheriff to email his requests. When we were dealing with the oil spill, the federal government was not receptive to the innovative ideas suggested by the people to more effectively clean up the oil, nor was the government helpful when the cleanup began. At one point, we were told

to bring our barges back to port for inspections of valves, safety jackets, and fire extinguishers. Twenty-four hours after we docked, the government officials apologized because the boats had already been inspected. The right hand didn’t know what the left was doing. Healthcare is another great concern of mine. Obamacare is costing the people hundreds of billions of dollars in tax increases, and 16 million people are being added to an unreformed Medicaid and Medicare system. I am most concerned not as a policy maker but as a father. When my son had open heart surgery, I didn’t want a faceless bureaucrat telling my wife and me which doctors to see and what kind of coverage we were allowed. Healthcare is too personal to have the government interfering with its delivery. Immigration is another topic I address in my book. My parents are a great example of the success that can come out of legal immigration. My parents moved to Louisiana when my mom was pregnant with me so that she could study nuclear physics at Louisiana State University. My dad immediately opened a phone book and started calling companies looking for a job. My parents have lived the American dream. They knew that if they worked hard and applied themselves, embracing American values, they could create a life that would provide their children with great opportunities. My dad knew that every day he woke up in America, he was already better off than the rest of the world.

I close with my great hopes for America’s future. We are the greatest nation on Earth, and we should not have to apologize for that. We should be proud. The world is safest when America is strongest because we use our power to pursue freedom and liberty. Foreign leaders of democratic, pro-free market nations understand that. We are so fortunate to have the great men and women of our military who love and support this great nation and truly serve to keep America as great as it is. I believe that our best days are ahead of us, not behind us.

Governor Bobby Jindal is the 55th governor of Louisiana. He also served as assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for President George W. Bush and represented Louisiana’s first congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2005 to 2008. He is the author of Leadership and Crisis (Regnery, 2010).—————————————————Emily Badraun assisted with the compilation of this text. Emily is a Sarah T. Hermann Intern Scholar at the Reagan Ranch Center and a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Artist George Rodrigue’s painting, “Ronald Reagan: An American Hero,” hangs in Governor Jindal’s office in the Louisiana state capitol. To prepare for the commissioned painting, Rodrigue traveled to Rancho del Cielo in 1988 to photograph President Reagan on his horse. He later presented the painting to President Reagan at ceremonies in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Photograph courtesy of Wendy Rodrigue

“Healthcare is too personal to have the government interfering with its delivery.”

By Gov e r n o r Bo B By J i n da l

The following column includes excerpts from Governor Bobby Jindal’s address at the Reagan Ranch Center on November 20, 2010.



By Patrick X. CoyleVice President

et’s face it. Conservatives aren’t likely activists. Generally, we want to be left alone and let others run their own lives. Unlike many leftist leaders, such as the Clintons who wanted to run the country early on in their

lives, most conservatives look forward to successfully pursuing career goals, raising families, and living prosperous lives. Conservatives are not prone to participate in demonstrations and boldly confront those with whom we disagree. Unfortunately, this temperament doesn’t always translate well when conservatives choose to advance our ideas on campuses. Too often, young

conservative activists lack the tenacity, perseverance, and boldness of their counterparts on the Left. Furthermore, students constantly hear liberal ideas from their professors, through texts assigned by those same professors, and by guest speakers. Conservative ideas are rarely shared or promoted. President Obama, himself, has been relentless in his outreach to young people by speaking on college and high school campuses an average of once every 12 days since he took office. It should come as no surprise, however, that President Obama is using the campus forum to energize his base and gain new, young recruits. It was in the classroom and on the campus where he and so many of his liberal accomplices learned and developed tactics for advancing socialist policies.

Today, many young conservatives are energized by the new leadership in the House of Representatives. However, if you think that the trend towards more government control will be reversed because of what happened last November, you are mistaken. The Left is well-organized, well-funded, and well-aware that their socialist agenda depends on their ability to indoctrinate your peers. Now, more than ever, you must actively promote conservatism on campus. Young America’s Foundation is your resource for doing just that, and we share the following activism tips to help you take back your campus!

The Campus Conservative Battleplan and the Conservative Guide to Campus Activism offer valuable advice and guidance for today’s student activists.

Students at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, participate in Young America’s Foundation’s 9/11: Never Forget Project.

Sarah T. Hermann Intern Scholar Adam Tragone

raises Young America’s

Foundation’s “I Love Capitalism”

poster at the “9/12 March” on the National Mall.

Students at Fordham University in New York City pose in front of the Berlin Wall they constructed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.


liberal by osmosis?! Leftist students are encouraged by entrenched liberal professors and administrators to demean conservative students, attack conservative speakers, and shut out alternative viewpoints. Leftist students know their administrators and faculty members are on their side, so it is not surprising that they regularly and eagerly disrupt and attack the few campus speakers that offer conservative perspectives. Those new to conservative activism may be intimidated by the idea of walking into the “lion’s den” and directly confronting the Left. You need to remember that conservatives do represent the majority of opinion in society at large—if not on your campus.

You must remind your peers that there is a real world which exists outside of their academic bubble and rejects the Left’s collectivist worldview. However, if the freshmen on your campus go through the next four (sometimes five!) years without ever hearing conservative ideas, they will become liberal by osmosis.

the ronald reagan Model of Campus Activism To make a difference on campus, Young America’s Foundation encourages you to follow the Ronald Reagan Model of Campus Activism—a model which emulates Reagan’s successful methods and approach for confronting and then defeating the Soviet Union. President Ronald Reagan’s

predecessors attempted to appease the Soviets with policies like Deténte or convergence. Their hope was to avoid confrontations—to “live and let live” even though the Communists’ goal was to defeat and subjugate the Free World. The Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter eras saw freedom slowly losing ground to Communism. Ronald Reagan reversed this trend, in part, because his goal was to prevail—and not just coexist—with the Soviets. His style of denouncing the Soviet Union as an “Evil Empire” and calling for Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall led to the collapse of Communism.

(Above) Students activists at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo hand out more than 600 of the Foundation’s “Obama: Epic Fail” fliers during a free concert on their campus. Similar stickers (pictured above) were distributed to students attending CPAC in 2010 and 2011.

(Left) Students at Washington University in St. Louis hand out fliers promoting an upcoming Foundation program.

(Right) A large, hand-painted sign

announces popular Foundation speaker

Ann Coulter’s lecture at Ohio

University.

Young America’s Foundation’s “A Real Revolutionary” buttons featuring Ronald Reagan are sent to students nationwide as part of our

annual “Freedom Week” initiative.


Similarly, campus activists should not want to appease the Left. Instead, you should directly challenge liberal initiatives and work to advance conservatism through activism projects such as Young America’s Foundation’s 9/11: Never Forget Project, Freedom Week, “No More Che Day,” and other tried-and-true initiatives. (Young America’s Foundation’s guide, the Campus Conservative Battleplan, offers many specific activities to organize at your school.) However, promoting conservative ideas and following the Reagan Model does not mean you cause controversy for the sake of causing controversy. Ronald Reagan did not attack every left-wing program. Will there be instances when it will be necessary to confront and expose the Left at your school? Absolutely. Just make certain your attacks will not

draw more attention to the Left’s event, program, or initiative.

Make the left respond to You! Ideally, you want your club to develop your own programs and ideas that, with proper promotion, will force the Left to respond to you. Once you begin speaking out, leftists will verbally attack you and your group, and campus administrators will create needless roadblocks to impede your activities. When the opposition responds in this manner, it only underscores your effectiveness. When the Left states that you are “hateful” or “promoting hate,” use their own language on them. They are the students who can’t sit through a lecture by a conservative speaker without yelling insults. They are the students and the administrators who want to silence conservative ideas and withhold school funding from conservative groups and activities. Do not allow the campus Left to get away with their hypocrisy!

freedom needs Your Protection It is up to you to ensure your classmates are exposed to conservative ideas. You cannot rely on others to take on this vital task. Your professors are tired leftists who silence dissent. The mainstream media does not accurately portray conservative issues, and most older conservatives do not have access to broad audiences of young people you can reach on your campus. When you look back on your time in high school and college, you will cherish your days as an activist. You will know you made a difference on your campus by promoting conservatism, organizing rallies, hosting speakers, and challenging liberal ideas. You will have advanced and protected freedom. Take advantage of this unique time in your life to make a lasting impact at your school. Conservative ideas will only be heard if you take action. Young America’s Foundation will help you get started. The rest is up to you!

Students at Santa Fe College celebrate Freedom Week with a Berlin Wall display and Young America’s Foundation’s “Resist The Tyranny of Socialism” poster.(Above) Students at Santa Fe

College in Florida display the Foundation’s “Victims of Che Guevara” poster (pictured left) as part of Young America’s Foundation’s annual “No More Che Day” campus initiative.

Source: Exposing the Real Che Guevara and the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him, by Humberto Fontova, pages 70 and 92, 2007, Sentinel Publishing. Photographs courtesy of Luis Gonzalez Infante.

Visit www.yaf.org to learn more about Young America’s Foundation. • National Headquarters, F.M. Kirby Freedom center, 110 elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170, 800-uSA-1776

reagan ranch center, 217 State Street, Santa Barbara, california 93101, 888-uSA-1776 • © copyright 2007 Young America’s Foundation

che Guevara was an

international terrorist and

mass murderer. During his vicious

campaigns to impose communism on

countries throughout Latin America, che

Guevara trained and motivated the castro

regime’s firing squads that executed thousands of men, women, and children.

All individuals used in this photo montage were murdered by che and the

cuban regime, revealing the truth of che’s cruel, murderous hypocrisy and

acknowledging his countless victims—known and unknown.

CheGuevaravICTIMSOF The

Young activists join thousands for the “Rally for Troops, Rally for America” on the National Mall—an event sponsored by Young America’s Foundation and Citizens United Foundation.

The Foundation’s “Keep out Kagan Day” flier encourages students to voice their opposition to President Obama’s anti-ROTC Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan.

Big government = Big ProBlemswww.yaf.org

Big Government Bumper Sticker.in1 1

8/26/10 5:51:06 PM

Young America’s Foundation’s bumper sticker, “Big Government = Big Problems” is distributed to students nationwide to help them oppose President Obama’s socialist agenda.


S u p p o r t e r p r o F I L e

Preserving Freedom and Honoring FamilyAn Interview with Dos Vistas Acre Sponsors Henry and Dundie Schulte–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––——Interview By Bryant Conger, Development Officer

Henry and Dundie Schulte are great friends and supporters of

Young America’s Foundation and recently sponsored the Dos Vistas Acre at the Reagan Ranch. We are thankful for the opportunity to interview this generous couple and share their story—and the story of Henry’s father, Rudi Schulte—with Young America’s Foundation’s supporters, friends, students, and alumni.

Libertas: Your sponsorship of the Dos Vistas acre of the Reagan Ranch was an important commitment that kicked off the 100th anniversary year of Ronald Reagan’s birth. Why did you step forward with your leadership gift to Young America’s Foundation? —————–———–————————Schulte: Dundie and I have been active supporters of Young America’s Foundation for nearly five years. We strongly feel your mission is necessary to keep America great. My father, Rudi Schulte, owned the property adjacent to the Reagan Ranch and had met the President several times. They shared the same philosophy even though my father was a German immigrant. Rudi had always felt strongly

that America was his country, going so far as to never buy a foreign car and doing all he could to buy American. Because of the connection with the Reagan Ranch, my father’s strong conservative values, and his love of the land, Dundie and I felt it would be a great tribute to my father to place his name on an acre of the Ranch while, at the same time, supporting a cause we care deeply about: fighting liberalism and supporting self-reliance and freedom. I, too, had the opportunity to shake the President’s hand and think he was the best leader this country has ever had. We need to keep his principles alive.

Libertas: As you noted, you sponsored the Dos Vistas Acre at the Reagan Ranch to forever preserve the exceptional and quintessentially American legacy of your father, Rudi Schlute. Can you share more of his story? —————–———–————————Schulte: At a very young age, Rudi recognized America was the land of opportunity, and he came here as soon as he was able to. As a boy he loved reading stories about the Wild West,

cowboys, and Indians, and that magic pulled him across the Atlantic as well. In 1954, when he was 21-years-old, he brought my mother—who was pregnant at the time—and me—then one year old—on the long journey by boat to the United States. My father had been the youngest master watch maker in Germany, and when he arrived in the United States, he began making a living by repairing watches for $40 per week. Later, he worked in the aerospace industry and became involved in Chuck Yeager’s project in the breaking of the sound barrier, but he saw even greater opportunity.

Risking much, Rudi quit his steady job to help his neighbor develop and create small medical devices. After a while, doctors inquired if he could make some prototype products. Rudi’s designs became widely successful, and his new career took off. He eventually employed more than 400 people making medical devices including the hydrocephalus shunt, catheters, heart valves, breast implants, and the Jackson Pratt—a device used worldwide today. He neither expected nor wanted to get something for nothing. He worked hard, and because of that work he was rewarded—but not without giving back.

Foundation supporters Dundie and Henry Schulte meet with best-selling author Michelle Malkin following her address at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, California.

About Henry and Dundie Schulte Henry and Dundie Schulte have lived in Santa Barbara for more than 50 years and have been married for 37 of those. They have two daughters, Amber and Marya, and two grandchildren, Daxton and Daylon. Dundie is a retired school bus driver and enjoys quilting and spending time with the grandkids. Henry manages their 2,000 acre avocado ranch and enjoys golf, surfing, and photography.


S u p p o R t E R p R o F I l E

Rudi’s company and the products he developed saved many lives, and he pro-vided hundreds of jobs. Rudi recognized early on that, if he came to America, he would be able to accomplish something that his homeland could not provide. Rudi also had a great love of the land and eventually owned nearly 7,000 acres. He developed this land with avocados and a variety of other products including macadamia nuts and abalone. He, like Ronald Reagan, found a sense of peace with working the land and the outdoors. Libertas: How do you and Dundie see your gift to Young America’s Foundation as helping preserve the American principles that Rudi Schulte believed in? —————–———–————————Schulte: Our young people are being indoctrinated through the education system and the media with leftist principles my father did not believe in. And as mentioned, he would never have taken any kind of handout. Young America’s Foundation educates young people about what it means to be American, to take pride in that knowledge, and to spread the word that family, work, and a higher belief is what makes us great.

Libertas: The 100th anniversary year of Ronald Reagan’s birth provides a

unique opportunity to put freedom on the offensive and reach hundreds of thousands of students with President Reagan’s principles. Do you have any words of encouragement for supporters who wish to preserve freedom for future generations? —————–———–————————Schulte: If we’re ever going to push back against the socialist direction the current administration is taking us—and against the media and those who demonize anyone they don’t agree with—now is the time to step up. We have momentum on our side. The majority of Americans don’t like the huge spending and tax increases—or “investments” as they’re now being called. Now, more than ever, we need to unite and support those governors, congressmen, and senators who are attacked for standing up for freedom. We must also support

the rising stars in the Conservative Movement. We can accomplish this with the help of Young America’s Foundation and our youth on campuses nationwide. We must provide today’s young people with knowledge and skills and inspire them to get involved in the Conservative Movement. We need them to reach even more young Americans to ensure the United States remains the exceptional country that Rudi Schulte believed it to be.

The Dos Vistas Acre—sponsored by Henry and Dundie Schulte—includes a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands as well as the Santa Ynez Valley.

Henry Schulte’s father, Rudi Schulte, and Henry’s grandmother, Theresa Schulte, meet with Ronald Reagan at the Reagan Ranch, which was adjacent to Rudi Schulte’s ranch.

“Biographies good enough for movie material.”

—The American Spectator

Available online at www.Amazon.com and at www.Regnery.com.

Call 800-USA-1776 or visit www.yaf.org to order your copy!*Mention this ad, and a free insider booklet,

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“Biographies good enough for movie material.”

—The American Spectator

Available online at www.Amazon.com and at www.Regnery.com.

Contained in the pages of Funding Fathers: The Unsung Heroes of the Conservative Movement are stories that have rarely been

told. They are the stories of the generous people who stood behind some of the Conservative Movement’s most significant books, institutions, and leaders but received little recognition or gratitude from the Movement itself or the country they shaped.

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“Jam-packed with useful insights” — The Journal of the Institute of Economic Affairs

“Fascinating and fast-paced book” — Lee Edwards, Philanthropy Magazine

“Comprehensive and well-written” — John Fund, Wall Street Journal

“Masterful” —Charles Johnson, The Claremont Conservative

“ This indispensable book is a must read.” —75th U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese

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libertas 32.1

Documents

government decisions

unlimited government

federal government

government controls

essence of limited government

future medical decisions

crucial medical decisions

rest of lifes decisions