The Ripon Society...The Home of Ideas

A Note from the
Chairman

      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.
      We also feature a discussion of the Sunset Commission by good government expert Tom Schatz, a debate over dynamic scoring by respected economists Bill Beach and Rudy Penner, and an overview of the year ahead in Congress by a man who is helping to shape the agenda on Capitol Hill — House Majority Leader John Boehner. And, for those fans of TV’s The West Wing, we take a look at the program as it ends its seven year run on the air, and examine its impact on how politics is perceived in America.
      We hope you enjoy this issue, and join us once again in congratulating the Ripon Forum as it turns 40 (or 41!).

                                    Bill Frenzel
                                    Chairman Emeritus
                                     Ripon Society