American Principles Project

The American Principles Project (APP) is a populist conservative 501(c)(4) think tank founded in 2009 by Robert P. George, Jeff Bell, and Francis P. Cannon. It is chaired by Sean Fieler. It is led by Terry Schilling, the son of the late former U.S. Representative Bobby Schilling, who serves as the organization's president. It has led efforts opposing the Common Core standard and advocated for monetary reform by suggesting a return to the gold standard. APP has also focused much of its programatic efforts on opposing the teaching of critical race theory and gender ideology in public schools. The organization has an affiliated super PAC, the American Principles Project PAC, which spent nearly $4 million during the 2020 election cycle. APP often refers to itself as the "NRA for Families."

History

In 2009, the American legal scholar Robert P. George and political strategist Frank Cannon formed APP. In 2010, Jeff Bell became the policy director at APP, alongside Cannon.

In 2011, APP served as the lead sponsor of the Palmetto Freedom Forum, a Republican presidential primary debate televised nationally by CNN. They choose the panelists ( Sen. Jim DeMint, Rep. Steve King, and Prof. George) in an effort led by APP program director Emmett McGroarty.

Following the Republican Party's post-2012 election review, in which the GOP suggested de-emphasizing social issues, APP published a report detailing the importance of social issues to the Republican Party. The report pointed out that Republicans ran almost exclusively on economic issues during the 2012 election to lackluster effect. /sup>

Four years later, during the 2016 primary, APP created scorecards on a variety of issues and a pledge to sign the First Amendment Defense Act into law that was subsequently signed by the vast majority of Republican candidates (including Donald Trump).

APP also led the charge opposing the Common Core in Indiana, the first state to legislatively repeal it.

In February 2021 ''USA TODAY'' printed an op-ed in which former UFC champion Frank Mir and an Executive Director of the APP were hostile to the proposed Equality Act because "Our athlete daughters shouldn't have to compete with transgender women" who take female hormones. They raised the spectre "of increased risk of severe injury based on physical differences" and noted that "biological male athletes have an insurmountable physical advantage over biological female athletes". They felt that "the entirety of women's athletics would be deeply imperiled".

Policy initiatives

Family policy

APP believes that the family stands as the most fundamental unit of society, and supports policy that protects and promotes the welfare of American families. In 2018, APP's sister organization released a “Contract with American Families” detailing a number of specific policy proposals the organization supports to help strengthen the family.

Education

The American Principles Project describes its education initiative as an effort to "promote policies and actions that protect children and secure their future." It has been critical of the Common Core standards.

In 2012, Jane Robbins, Senior Fellow at the American Principles Project, and Emmett McGroarty, Executive Director of APP Education, co-authored a report for the APP and the Pioneer Institute called ''Controlling Education From The Top: Why Common Core Is Bad For America.'' Both McGroarty and Robbins have published numerous articles discussing what they perceive as flaws in Common Core, both in its contents and in the way it was enacted. APP staff members have testified before state legislatures, encouraging states to withdraw from the Common Core standards. APP argued that the Republican Party would suffer in the 2016 presidential election if it fielded a pro-Common Core candidate.

The American Principles Project launched an effort to expose what it calls a "radical new Advanced Placement U.S. History framework," charging that the new AP U.S. History framework teaches a "biased, leftist" version of the traditionally objective curriculum.

Economics and monetary policy

The American Principles Project has been critical of Federal Reserve System monetary policy and has advocated a return to the gold standard.

In November 2014, Steve Lonegan, Director of Monetary Policy at the American Principles Project, sent a public letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen requesting a meeting to discuss how current monetary policy is "reducing" the standard of living for "average working Americans."

Jackson Hole Summit 2015

In 2015, American Principles Project funded a conference on economic policy held from August 27–29, 2015, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to advocate for hard money monetary policies and an end to government involvement in the money supply. According to associates of hedge fund CEO Robert Mercer interviewed by ''Bloomberg'', Mercer was the main financial backer of the Jackson Hole Summit.

References

External links

* {{official, https://americanprinciplesproject.org

Organizational Profile
– National Center for Charitable Statistics (Urban Institute)

Conservative organizations in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Advocacy groups in the United States
Discrimination against transgender people