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Dear Friends:

Health care is this year’s bellwether public policy issue. If Barack Obama succeeds with a health care bill, it will be easier to get cap-and-trade, new and aggressive labor market regulations, higher taxes on capital and more government spending. If he fails, it will be harder to do these other things.

The reforms that are being contemplated are very threatening. There are five health bills before Congress. They all contain mandates, higher taxes and interference with patient care. These policies will increase cost, decrease quality and may not even increase access to care – despite spending close to a trillion dollars over the next ten years.

The NCPA Grassroots Effort. In May, the NCPA teamed with Salem Radio Network to launch a grassroots campaign. Radio talk show hosts around the country drove listeners to an internet site where they signed an online petition. Over 1.34 million people now constitute the largest grassroots network in the country opposed to nationalized health care.

Throughout the summer, the White House sent out weekly email messages on health care to 13 million people. They contained talking points, attack points and “to do” items. Over the same period, we sent out counter-messages to the NCPA’s 1.34 million, a smaller but more intense and energized group of people.

Then, as now, the White House messages have been cheerleading messages – focused on vision and rhetoric. By contrast, our messages have been factual and substantive – directing people to sites where they could obtain more information. This contrast between cheerleading and substance was very evident in town hall meetings all across the country.

Delivering the Message to Congress. By September, the Free Our Health Care NOW! petition had attracted more than 1.3 million online signatures. House Minority Leader John Boehner, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor and Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Jim DeMint, John Kyl and many other members of Congress joined us outside the Capitol building in September when we presented the largest policy petition ever delivered to Congress! The delivery of the petition was broadcast live on C-SPAN and the NCPA received extensive media coverage, including the CBS Evening News, Fox News, CNN and the Wall Street Journal.

Taking the Effort to the Next Level. We are now taking advantage of a new site. The Free Our Health Care NOW! Action Army (http://www.capitolconnect.com/freeourhealthcarenow/) is a website on Salem Radio Network that allows people to easily and directly email their Congressional representatives. Because of this site, more than 150,000 emails were sent to legislators in just two weeks. This number is expected to rapidly grow in the coming weeks. Furthermore, delivery is guaranteed. If a message to a member of Congress doesn’t get through, it is either faxed or delivered by hand.

Expanding the Reach of the NCPA. As a result of the petition, more than 550,000 Americans have joined the NCPA as Policy Patriot members who receive weekly updates on the battle over health care and daily summaries of other public policy research through the NCPA’s Daily Policy Digest. This unprecedented growth represents an incredible opportunity to educate a new generation of NCPA supporters about the benefits of free market solutions to public policy problems.

A Four-Star Success. Fifty-two students from 30 states attended this year’s Four Star Debate, co-sponsored by the Tommy Franks Leadership Institute, the NCPA and Oklahoma Christian University. Students learned core concepts about debate and leadership from a number of guest speakers including General Tommy Franks, former Arkansas Governor and Fox News host Mike Huckabee and nationally syndicated talk show host Mike Gallagher.

Four Star Debate is a unique opportunity for the NCPA to invest in our country’s future leaders and for participants in Four Star Debate to learn about debate and improve their leadership skills. Four Star Debate remains both educational and popular. In fact, when asked if attendees would recommend Four Star Debate to their friends, every participant said they would.

Participants in Four Star Debate were asked to summarize their experience in one sentence. Some of these responses included:

  • “I feel as though I will return home not only a better debater, but a stronger leader.”
  • “I enjoyed meeting new people and listening to speeches because I got to learn about other beliefs.”
  • “I liked seeing new points of view in civilized atmospheres.”
  • “Four Star Debate is an experience that challenges one to adapt, listen, and explain one’s worldview, while providing a receptive environment.”

NCPA Benefits from a British Perspective. In September, British Member of the European Parliament Daniel Hannan addressed a sold-out audience at the NCPA’s most recent Hatton W. Sumners Foundation Distinguished Lecture. Mr. Hannan anchored his remarks in the perspective of Mr. Sumners, quoting the Congressman’s 1937 address to the Dallas Bar Association in which Mr. Sumners argued, “If the people fail, government resorts to some other agency to do the work. If we, the people, fail, representative government falls.”

Marketing Success. The NCPA continues to monitor media coverage. Our total advertising equivalent through the third quarter was almost $92,000,000. A complete breakdown is provided in the enclosed report. The report will also give you a more detailed overview of the NCPA’s activities over the last quarter.

These NCPA accomplishments would not be possible without our donors. We invite you to join the NCPA team as we work to generate and promote private sector solutions to public policy problems.

Warm Regards,

John C. Goodman
President, CEO and Kellye Wright Fellow