“Ideas that matter,
since 1965.”

Ripon Forum
Vol. 41, No. 3

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A Note from the Chairman Emeritus

Two hundred and twenty years ago this summer, fifty five delegates from America’s thirteen states locked themselves in a room in Philadelphia to hammer out a new Constitution for our Nation.

By Ripon Society

Q&A

The Search for Common Ground – A Q&A with Howard Baker

The former Tennessee Senator discusses a bipartisan effort he is leading to break the political logjam and forge a consensus on some of the key challenges facing our Nation.

By Ripon Society

The Truth about Congressional Gridlock

He spent 40 years in Congress. Now, the former House Republican Leader writes the institution is suffering from neglect and proposes some reforms that, he says, are long overdue.

By Ripon Society

The Making of the President’s Health Plan 2008

Recent calls for universal health coverage remind some of similar proposals made during the 1992 presidential campaign. But differences exist in today’s debate, and the chances for sweeping reform are slim.

By Ripon Society

Bloomberg Tackles Poverty

The Mayor of New York establishes a public-private partnership to help his city’s less fortunate. His plan is bipartisan and innovative. But will it work?

By Ripon Society

Finding Consensus on an International Counter-Narcotics Strategy

According to the Ranking Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, politics is standing in the way of a plan to stem the flow of drugs into America.

By Ripon Society

The AMT: Not Such a Minimal Tax

The Alternative Minimum Tax is affecting more and more moderate income taxpayers. The solution does not lie in raising taxes on others, but rather in broader reform of the tax code itself.

By Ripon Society

The Road to Fundamental Immigration Reform

Congress is on the verge of reforming an immigration system that is 40 years old. An assessment of the legislation, from the politics of the measure to what it will achieve.

By Ripon Society

Hoping for a Medicare Miracle

This year’s Medicare Trustees’ Report once again found the system in trouble. Because of a new law, however, the President now has to do something about it.

By Ripon Society

Making Government Work

In an excerpt from a speech delivered this past April, America’s Comptroller General discusses the need to transform the federal bureaucracy so it better meets the demands of 21st century life.

By Ripon Society

Form Follows Function

Senator Joe Lieberman’s decision to change the seating chart on his Committee drew chuckles. But it also served a purpose.

By Ripon Society

Ripon Profile of M. Jodi Rell

The party must move to the center – cease polarizing every issue – and listen more closely to everyday people.

By Ripon Society

Ripon Profile of M. Jodi Rell

Name: M. Jodi Rell

Hometown: Brookfield, Conn.

Occupation: Governor, State of Connecticut

Previous Jobs: Lieutenant Governor, January 1995 – June 2004, State Representative (107th District), 1985– 1995

Individual(s) who inspired me as a child: I have always had a great deal of admiration for my step-mother: Anyone who could manage a large, blended family and keep house so well was a hero in my book.

Historical figure(s) I would most like to meet: I would love to meet Amelia Earhart and ask what drew her to aviation. Being married to an airline pilot (now retired), I understand the thrill of flying. But she must have been a remarkable woman to have entered into such a career in an age when women pilots were all but unknown.

Issue facing America that no one is talking about: The growing use of alcohol and drugs among the very young. It isn’t just teenagers we have to worry about anymore – these days it’s 7- and-8-year-old as well.

What the GOP must do to reclaim its congressional majority: The party must move to the center – cease polarizing every issue – and listen more closely to everyday people.

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