Ripon Forum


Vol. 51, No. 6

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In this edition

To the extent that the Ripon Profile has been one of our most popular and consistent features over the past 10 years, we thought it would be a good time to publish a compilation of every profile that has appeared in our pages during that time.

Ripon Profile of Jenniffer González-Colón

…from the November 2017 edition.

Ripon Profile of Doug Ducey

…from the September 2017 edition.

Ripon Profile of Bill Cassidy

…from the June 2017 edition.

Ripon Profile of Pat Meehan

…from the April 2017 edition.

Ripon Profile of Todd Young

…from the February 2017 edition.

Ripon Profile of Mimi Walters

…from the November 2016 edition.

Ripon Profile of Jeff Flake

…from the September 2016 edition.

Ripon Profile of Susan W. Brooks

…from the July 2016 edition.

Ripon Profile of Orrin G. Hatch

…from the April 2016 edition.

Ripon Profile of Elise M. Stefanik

…from the February 2016 edition.

Ripon Profile of Carlos Curbelo

…from the December 2015 edition.

Ripon Profile of Larry Hogan

…from the September 2015 edition.

Ripon Profile of Cory Gardner

…from the May 2015 edition.

Ripon Profile of Renee Ellmers

…from the February 2015 edition.

Ripon Profile of Mia Love

…from the December 2014 edition.

Ripon Profile of Mike Pence

…from the September 2014 edition.

Ripon Profile of Kelly Ayotte

…from the Spring 2014 edition.

Ripon Profile of Adam Kinzinger

…from the Winter 2014 edition.

Ripon Profile of Lynn Jenkins

…from the Fall 2013 edition.

Ripon Profile of Pat McCrory

…from the Summer 2013 edition.

Ripon Profile of Deb Fischer

…from the Spring 2013 edition.

Ripon Profile of Brian Sandoval

…from the Winter 2013 edition.

Ripon Profile of Cathy McMorris Rodgers

…from the Fall 2012 edition.

Ripon Profile of Luis G. Fortuño

…from the Summer 2012 edition.

Ripon Profile of Dean Heller

…from the Spring 2012 edition.

Ripon Profile of Kristi Noem

…from the Winter 2012 edition.

Ripon Profile of Bill Haslam

…from the Fall 2011 edition.

Ripon Profile of Nan Hayworth

…from the Summer 2011 edition.

Ripon Profile of Ron Johnson

…from the Spring 2011 edition.

Ripon Profile of Susana Martinez

…from the Winter 2011 edition.

Ripon Profile of Tim Scott

…from the Fall 2010 edition.

Ripon Profile of Charlie Dent

…from the Summer 2010 edition.

Ripon Profile of John Hoeven

…from the Spring 2010 edition.

Ripon Profile of Jo Ann Emerson

…from the Winter 2010 edition.

Ripon Profile of Jason Chaffetz

…from the Fall 2009 edition.

Ripon Profile of Jan Brewer

…from the Summer 2009 edition.

Ripon Profile of Lisa Murkowski

…from the Spring 2009 edition.

Ripon Profile of Richard Burr

…from the Winter 2009 edition.

Ripon Profile of Meg Whitman

…from the October/November 2008 edition.

Ripon Profile of Tim Pawlenty

…from the August/September 2008 edition.

Ripon Profile of Jon Huntsman

…from the June/July 2008 edition.

Ripon Profile of Michael Steele

…from the April/May 2008 edition.

Ripon Profile of Shelley Moore Capito

…from the February/March 2008 edition.

Ripon Profile of Charlie Crist

…from the December 2007/January 2008 edition.

Ripon Profile of Judy Biggert

…from the October/November 2007 edition.

Ripon Profile of Chuck Grassley

…from the August/September 2007 edition.

Ripon Profile of Jodi Rell

…from the June/July 2007 edition.

Ripon Profile of Kevin McCarthy

…from the April/May 2007 edition.

Ripon Profile of Linda Lingle

…from the February/March 2007 edition.

Ripon Profile of Kay Granger

From the December 2006/January 2007 edition.

Ripon Profile of Jo Ann Emerson

…from the Winter 2010 edition:

Name: U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson

Hometown: Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Occupation: Member of Congress

Previous Jobs: Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, American Insurance Association; Director of State Relations and Grassroots Programs, National Restaurant Association; Deputy Communications Director, National Republican Congressional Committee

Individual(s) who inspired me as a child: My father, Ab Hermann, who was the executive director of the RNC in the 1960’s. He was charged with the task of uniting our party and redefining the Republican Party to a new generation of conservatives using new technologies and media – our challenges today are much the same as the ones he took on 50 years ago.

Historical figure(s) I would most like to meet: Abraham Lincoln – he had to fight to preserve our Union and, though the challenges are different today, we have to stop runaway federal spending and work harder to preserve individual freedoms in order to guarantee the blessings of liberty for future generations of Americans.

Issue facing America that no one is talking about: People may be talking about how the manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy is hurting, but no one is talking about the changes we must make. For starters, we should expand tax incentives for American businesses to invest in modernizing equipment and to expand R&D efforts. We should also emphasize business expensing for all kinds and sizes of American businesses, instead of depreciation, to speed the benefits of tax treatments to the U.S. economy at a critical time. Finally, we must make wise choices in government to curb wasteful and redundant spending in favor of investments in public infrastructure – chiefly transportation infrastructure – to create lasting, stable jobs in America.

What the GOP must do to reclaim its congressional majority: Simply put, but not so simple to do, we must return America to the days when an entrepreneur could make his idea a profitable reality entirely within the United States. Today, great business and manufacturing ideas from America are assembled in Mexico using labor from Central America, capital from Japan, energy from Brazil and the Middle East, and packaging from China. The call centers to answer questions about the resulting product are in India, and the only thing made in America is the credit card transaction to buy the thing. Public-private partnerships to achieve this goal should be a staple of a smaller, more streamlined government that encourages American economic productivity.