OPINION:
As anyone who’s been paying attention for more than five minutes knows, conservative voices are being snuffed out across culture, entertainment, academia and media.
The troubling instances of censorship, political correctness and cancel culture didn’t arrive overnight. Those on the left have worked tirelessly for more than half a century to create the inhospitable environment we find ourselves in today.
During my time as the governor of Wisconsin, I learned how to fight back — and win — for common sense conservative values. When I first took office, my state faced a dire economic and fiscal situation. We created a big, bold plan to move Wisconsin forward.
Despite protests, riots and even a recall, we prevailed — on policy and in politics. Our conservative reforms are still delivering positive results today.
The left tried to intimidate us, but we fought back. And we won. It’s time for conservatives to win again.
Now, as president of Young America’s Foundation, I’m launching “The Long Game” to do just that. It’s not going to be easy to undo the damage done by the left, but it’s a war we can win.
To ensure America remains a shining city on a hill for generations to come, we need to take bold action. As it has done through its six decades of inspiring young people with freedom’s principles, YAF is ready to lead the charge.
As I explain fully in “The Long Game,” we have a specific action plan that will win the battles we face today as well as the war for America’s future. This ambitious plan includes sponsoring 1 million new students to attend YAF’s breakthrough programs. Our life-changing seminars and conferences can strike the spark in young people that will light up the rest of their lives.
Best-selling author Peter Schweizer credits YAF for “igniting his interest in politics and ideas.” The National Conservative Student Conference (which YAF will hold in Houston this summer) he attended years ago was his first exposure to conservative books and thinkers. Today, Mr. Schweizer has authored nine books, including the No. 1 best-sellers “Clinton Cash” and “Profiles in Corruption.”
Fox News contributor, best-selling author and Townhall Editor Katie Pavlich attended a YAF program in 2008 at the Reagan Ranch. Thinking of that experience, she notes that “Young America’s Foundation changed my life.”
We need more students involved because our conservative movement and our country need more leaders and writers like Katie Pavlich and Peter Schweizer.
YAF also plans to expand its activities at America’s notoriously-liberal institutions of higher education by planting a flag for freedom on more than 4,000 campuses. Currently, YAF supports students at about 2,000 campuses — half of the schools in America. Our plan is to be active on every campus — because we need to be able to reach every student. And that means reaching students in associate degree programs and at technical schools in addition to undergraduates.
As YAF has already proven, conservatives can fight back against liberal bias in education by holding schools accountable. We’ve taken on liberal behemoths like U.C. Berkeley and won. Now it’s time to take on every school in the nation that tries to silence conservative students or speakers. We have the U.S. Constitution on our side, and we’re not afraid to invoke it.
As we’ve seen — and YAF has led the charge in exposing — the left’s attempts to start indoctrinating America’s students are starting earlier and earlier.
We cannot wait until students are in college or even high school to start making an impact on their beliefs.
YAF recently exposed an Iowa school district’s plan for a Black Lives Matter “Week of Action” targeting students as young as preschool. One lesson included “transgender affirming” coloring pages, which stated, “Everyone gets to choose if they are a boy or a girl or both or neither or something else.” This is wrong.
To rebut the left’s craziness, YAF will create appealing programs for younger students and provide resources to parents to instill patriotic values in their children.
Not all professors are liberal, but many who reject the left’s group think fear retribution and exclusion if they share their conservative ideas. To ensure more balance in the classroom, YAF will support conservative professors and teachers — including those at the elementary, middle and high school levels as well as college — by creating a national network to provide critical resources. These conservative educators need help just as our conservative students do, and YAF will ensure they have the support they need to teach the truth.
Teaching the truth will in turn reinforce the strength of our founding principles and Judeo-Christian values — and combat the false narrative of liberal propaganda, including the 1619 Project.
YAF’s materials — especially those geared toward middle and elementary school students and their families — will empower the rising generation to defend American exceptionalism and the values upon which America was founded. We love the U.S.A!
These ideas and many more are part of our bold plan for winning the battle and the war for the heart and soul of our republic. This fight is about more than a news cycle and even a presidential cycle. It’s about “The Long Game.” This plan of action will reverberate for generations to come — we just need the help of concerned Americans to win.
• Scott Walker was the 45th governor of Wisconsin. You can contact him at swalker@washingtontimes.com or follow him @ScottWalker.
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