WASHINGTON, DC – The Ripon Forum marks 40 years of publishing this month with an issue that focuses on the Suburban Agenda, an effort by a group of Republicans in the House of Representatives to develop a positive, issues-oriented strategy heading into the mid-term elections this fall.

The anniversary issue of the Ripon Forum also includes articles on creating a federal sunset commission and the end of TV’s The West Wing.  In addition, House Majority Leader John Boehner looks at the coming months in Congress.  The April/May issue of the Ripon Forum can be found at http://www.riponsoc.org/forum-apr-may-06.htm.

First published in 1965, the Ripon Forum is currently published bimonthly by the Ripon Society.  A note introducing the anniversary issue from former U.S. Representative Bill Frenzel (R-MN), the Chairman Emeritus of the Ripon Society, is reprinted below: 

“It struck us, as we were beginning work on this issue in the first part of February, that this is something of a milestone moment in the history of our magazine.  The Ripon Forum turns 40 this year. 

“For the record, we have been publishing since 1965.  This obviously makes us 41 officially, but like a lot of others entering middle age, we lost a year somewhere along the way and have rounded things downward.  Regardless, it is a significant event in the life of the Ripon Forum, and one in which we take a certain amount of pride.

“To mark the occasion, we have changed the look of the magazine somewhat to reflect its original design.  The one thing that has not changed, however, is the content.  Our goal – today as it was 40 years ago — is to provide a forum for ideas that matter.  In that regard, let me reiterate that we are open to good ideas from anywhere.  No one group has a monopoly on original thinking.  Accordingly, we welcome ideas from any place on the political spectrum, including, of course, the center.

“We have tried to continue that tradition in this issue by focusing on a number of important topics that we believe will have some prominence in the coming weeks and months.  We lead off with a discussion of the Suburban Agenda, an effort by a group of House Republicans to craft a positive, issues-oriented strategy that they hope will not only help a vital part of the American voting population, but also help the GOP hold and build its majority in the elections this fall.