The Religious Right and the Conservative Movement- May 23rd.

The Religious Right has had a large effect on the conservative movement over the last 20 years. Unlike other sub groups like libertarians, neoconservatives, or paleoconservatives, it has a large built in constituency with the ability to swing elections. Unlike these groups, however, it does not have a coherent ideology. These two facts have led many to try to utilize the group for their own agenda, while others are frustrated that their primary concern over social issues comes at the expense of, or in direct conflict with, said agenda.

Debates over the religious right's place within the Republican Party have often focused solely on the role of these social issues and simply are rehashing of the same tired debates over abortion and homosexual marriage.

The Robert Taft Club looks to go beyond this, and look at the greater influence the Religious Right has over the movement.

Speakers

Jim Russell- "The Religious Right and the National Question"

Dr. Russell is director of Christians for Immigration Reform ( http://www.cfir.net ) He holds a PhD in religion from Fordham University.He is the author of Breach of Faith: American Churches and the Immigration Crisis (Representative Government Press), and The Germanization of Medieval Christianity (Oxford)

Doug Bandow. "The Religious Right and American Foreign Policy."

Mr. Bandow is Vice President of Policy for Citizen Outreach. He also is the Bastiat Scholar in Free Enterprise and the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Cobden Fellow in International Economics at the Institute for Policy Innovation. He was formerly a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. Before that he served as a Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and as a Senior Policy Analyst in the 1980 Reagan for President campaign. Bandow has written and edited several books, including Leviathan Unchained: Washington's Bipartisan Big Government Consensus, Foreign Follies: America's New Global Empire, and The Politics of Plunder: Misgovernment in Washington (Transaction).

Michael Tanner: As director of Cato's health and welfare studies, Michael Tanner heads research on new, market-based approaches to health, welfare and Social Security. His approach is based on individual responsibility rather than government control. His most recent book, Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution (2007), chronicles the demise of the Republican party as it has shifted away from its limited government roots and warns that reform is necessary to avoid electoral defeat in 2008.

His other books include, Healthy Competition: What's Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It (2005), The Poverty of Welfare: Helping Others in Civil Society (2003), and A New Deal for Social Security (1998). Tanner's writings have appeared in nearly every major American newspaper, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. A prolific writer and frequent guest lecturer, Tanner appears regularly on network and cable news programs. Before joining Cato in 1993, Tanner served as director of research of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation and as legislative director for the American Legislative Exchange Council.