Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute
Founded1993
FounderMichelle Easton
Type501(c)(3)
FocusJudeo-Christian values, limited government, student activism, traditional values, economic freedom, entrepreneurship
Location
MethodEducational programs, awards, political commentary
Key people
Michelle Easton, Kellyanne Conway, Frank Donatelli, Kate Obenshain, Clare Luce, Marji Ross, Ursula Meese, Darla Patridge
Websitewww.cblpi.org

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute (CBLPI) is an American conservative non-profit organization designed to promote and educate young conservative women through seminars, conferences, internships, fellowships, and lectures.[1] CBLPI is named after notable playwright and politician Clare Boothe Luce, who was a staunch conservative activist in the twentieth century.

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute's primary mission is to "to prepare young women for effective leadership and to promote leading conservative women." [2] In order to achieve this, CBLPI hosts female-oriented summits, conferences, and college lectures designed to promote conservatism. [3] Current Board of Directors members include Kellyanne Conway, Frank Donatelli, Kate Obenshain, [4] and current Advisory Board members include Dr. Christina Hoff Sommers and media personalities Michelle Malkin and S.E. Cupp.

Origin and history

edit

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute was founded in 1993 by Michelle Easton, who believed the conservative movement had great women leaders who were not always celebrated or promoted as role-models to young women. Easton was a presidential appointee of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush from 1980 to 1992, working in the U.S. Department of Education, the Africa Bureau of the Agency for International Development and as Director of the Missing Children's Program in the U.S. Department of Justice. [5] Easton is married to Ron Robinson, current President of Young America's Foundation.[6]

Philosophy

edit

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute advocates for the principles of American conservatism, which includ individual freedom, personal responsibility, limited government, and free enterprise. Its focus on women has led it to advocate for traditional values while also encouraging young women to join the conservative movement as activists. CBLPI also promotes the legacy and history of Clare Boothe Luce.[7] CBLPI supports efforts that are "pro-America, pro-business, and pro-family."[8] In 2006, CBLPI was one of the conservative organizations that were vocal critics of The Vagina Monologues, accusing it of being vulgar and degrading to women.[9] CBLPI publishes pamphlets that promote conservative ideas, like discouraging hookup culture.[10]

Organization activities

edit

Summits, seminars, and lectures

edit

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute holds an all-women student luncheon during the Conservative Political Action Conference, where they name and honor their Woman of the Year. In 2012, the honoree was former Governor Sarah Palin, and the most recent winner in 2016 was Congressman Marsha Blackburn.

Since 2008, the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute has hosted Women's Summits in different regions of the United States, including Santa Barbara, California at the Reagan Ranch;[11];Fort Worth, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Washington, D.C.; and more. At Summits, conservative women students interact with speakers, network with each other, and are given leadership training and speaking instruction. CBLPI also gives those students instruction on how to host conservative speakers on their campuses and a list of suggested speakers CBLPI can assist them with hosting. At the 2015 Texas Women's Summit, CBLPI hosted a gun rights panel at Texas Christian University as the university was deciding whether or not to opt out of Senate Bill 11, which would require public universities to allow licensed gun owners to carry their weapons on campus.[12]

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute funds about a dozen college lectures per semester. In 2013, CBLPI hosted Former U.S. Treasurer Bay Buchanan to speak at Azusa Pacific University.[13] In 2016, CBLPI helped host Christina Hoff Sommers at Ohio University to speak out against radical feminism.[14] In 2015, CBLPI helped to host Sommers at Oberlin College to the protests of many students there.[15]

Conservative Women Calendar

edit

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute has published a "Great American Conservative Women" calendar every year since 2005.[16][17] In 2009, the "Pretty in Mink" theme was criticized in a Huffington Post editorial for glorifying wearing mink fur.[18][19] As a response, the Huffington Post encouraged readers to submit photos of themselves for a "Great Liberal Women" calendar.[20] The 2009 CBLPI calendar ended up selling 25,000 copies of its first printing.[21]

Conservative Women's Networks

edit

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute hosts a Conservative Women's Network luncheon with The Heritage Foundation monthly since 1999,[22] with the first-ever speaker being Christina Hoff Sommers. Conservative Women's Networks typically include at least one conservative woman speaker giving an hour-long midday lecture to a conservative audience. Unlike many of CBLPI's student activities, CWNs are open to conservative women of all ages.

Awards

edit

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute gives three different awards annually: the Woman of the Year Award, the Conservative Leadership Award, and the Woman of Exceptional Courage Award. The Woman of Exceptional Courage Award is only given out on special occasion, being awarded to human rights activist Nonie Darwish in 2008 and Catherine Engelbrecht, founder of the anti-vote fraud group True the Vote, in 2014.

Woman of the Year Award

edit

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute has given a "Woman of the Year" Award every year since 2002. In 2009, it was given to activist Phyllis Schafly as a Lifetime Achievement Award.

 
Marsha Blackburn holding the CBLPI Woman of the Year Award at CPAC in 2016
Year Name
2002 Laura Schlessinger
2003 Erika Harold
2004 Ann Coulter
2005 Marji Ross
2006 Michelle Malkin
2007 Bay Buchanan
2008 Becky Norton Dunlop
2009 Phyllis Schafly
2010 Monica Crowley [23]
2011 Michelle Duggar
2012 Sarah Palin
2013 Cleta Mitchell[24]
2014 Katie Pavlich[25]
2015 KT McFarland[26]
2016 Marsha Blackburn[27]

Conservative Leadership Award

edit

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute's Conservative Leadership Award, has been awarded since 1996. The last recipient was Katie Pavlich in 2013.

 
Activist Katie Pavlich accepting her Conservative Leadership Award in 2013
Year Name
1996 Virginia Thomas
1997 Helen Chenoweth
1998 Suzanne Fields
1999 Kay Bailey Hutchinson
2000 Ann Coulter
2001 Laura Schlessinger
2002 Bay Buchanan
2003 Marilyn Musgrave
2004 Michelle Malkin
2005 Kate Obenshain
2006 Elaine Chao
2007 Marsha Blackburn
2008 Kellyanne Conway
2009 Liz Cheney
2010 Michelle Bachmann
2011 S.E. Cupp
2012 Star Parker
2013 Katie Pavlich

Board members

edit

The Board of Directors includes Michelle Easton, Kellyanne Conway, Frank Donatelli, Kate Obenshain, Clare Luce, Marji Ross, Ursula Meese, and Darla Patridge.

The Advisory Board includes S.E. Cupp, Marsha Blackburn, Monica Crowley,Bay Buchanan, Michelle Malkin, Nonie Darwish, Ying Ma, Star Parker, Andrea Tantaros, and Cleta Mitchell, and Christina Hoff Sommers.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Homer, Marie (10 August 2003). "Next Generation Feminism" (PDF). The Washington Times. The Washington Times. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Our Mission". CBLPI.org. Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  3. ^ http://cblpi.org/our-mission/
  4. ^ "Board of Directors". CBLPI.org. Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Michelle Easton". CBLPI.org. Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Ron Robinson, President". YAF.org. Young America's Foundation. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  7. ^ "About Clare Boothe Luce". CBLPI.org. Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  8. ^ CBLPI.org. Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute https://cblpi.org/our-mission/. Retrieved 20 July 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ Goldfarb, Zachary A. (8 March 2006). "Delivering the Conservative Line on 'Monologues'". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Sense and Sexuality". CBLPI.org. Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  11. ^ Greer, Michael. "Clare Boothe Luce Women's Conference 2016". Citizen's Journal. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  12. ^ Silver, Johnathan (22 October 2015). "Campus Carry Advocates Make Their Case at TCU". The Texas Tribune. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  13. ^ Gould, Jeena (21 November 2013). "Former U.S. Treasurer visits campus, speaks against 'political correctness'". The Clause. The Clause. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  14. ^ Fisher, Kelly (21 February 2016). "Speaker at OU provides counterpoint to feminist doctrine". The Athens News. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  15. ^ Schallhorn, Kaitlyn (20 April 2015). "Feminist students feel 'unsafe' bringing female, conservative speaker to campus". Campus Reform. The Leadership Institute. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  16. ^ "Great American Conservative Women Calendars Archive". CBLPI.org. Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  17. ^ Kant, Garth. "GOP Pin-up Gals: Bold Mix of Beauty and Brains". WND.com. WND. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  18. ^ Wang, Jen; Nguyen, Diana (22 December 2008). "Isn't She... Pretty in Mink?". The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  19. ^ http://www.wnd.com/2015/10/gop-pin-up-gals-bold-mix-of-beauty-and-brains/
  20. ^ Editorial Board (30 September 2009). "Liberal Women Calendar: Vote On Photos Sent In By HuffPost Users". The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  21. ^ Huffstutter, P.J. (5 October 2009). "Ann Coulter, Carrie Prejean, Michele Bachmann become calendar girls -- and Phyllis Schlafly too". Los Angeles Times. Tronc, Inc. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  22. ^ The Luce Ladder (PDF) (Issue 1 ed.). Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. 2013. p. 2. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  23. ^ "Monica Crowley". WashingtonSpeakers.com. Washington Speakers Bureau. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  24. ^ "Conservative Women's Network - Lois Lerner and the IRS Scandal: An Update on the Investigation and Cover-up". Heritage.org. The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  25. ^ Williams, Rachel (11 July 2014). "And the 2014 Woman of the Year Award Goes To..." Townhall. Townhall Media. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  26. ^ "ACUF Senior Fellow KT McFarland to be Honored by the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute at CPAC 2015". Conservative.org. The American Conservative Union. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  27. ^ "Congressman Marsha Blackburn named 2016 "Woman of the Year"". Blackburn.house.gov. Retrieved 30 June 2016.

External sites

edit

Category:Organizations_established_in_1993

Category:Herndon, Virginia

Category: Conservatism in the United States

Category:Women's_political_advocacy_groups_in_the_United_States

Category:501(c)(3)_nonprofit_organizations

Category:Political organizations based in the United States