WASHINGTON—“Kevin Roberts has a plan.” That’s the verdict from the Washington Examiner in a just-published deep-dive on Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’ vision for Heritage in the coming years.
The Washington Examiner’s feature story, “The Future of Heritage,” provides not only a look back at Heritage’s past, but also to the future, and the direction in which Roberts plans to lead the organization.
Roberts’ priorities are apparent—increase Heritage’s impact at the state and local level, give Americans more of a voice in their governance, and help unite conservatives in common cause against the left and its Marxist policy ambitions.
Roberts’ philosophy for increasing Heritage’s impact on policy at all levels is simple:
“Heritage’s mission is to get things done, and increasingly, we want to do so at the state and local level, and through Heritage Action as well as our own work at The Heritage Foundation. We want to provide the intellectual ammunition for that work to happen.”
Look for Heritage to have a more muscular presence outside of Washington, Roberts stresses. The recent uprising of parents and concerned citizens over the increasing radicalization of school curriculums and the proliferation of transgender ideology in the classroom is just one proof that many of the issues important to Americans cut across political lines. Parents rightly believe they should have a say in the education of their children, and that elected officials must be responsive to the voice of those who put them in positions of authority.
Unfortunately, in too many communities across the country in recent months, many Americans have felt powerless and deprived of their voice. That’s where Heritage will step into the gap in new ways it has never before, says Roberts. As the Washington Examiner’s Grant Addison writes, “Roberts shows palpable excitement at the prospect.”
Roberts has emphasized Heritage’s enduring commitment to its unique legacy of shaping and influencing policy in our nation’s capital, but coming from Texas—one of the most successful and prosperous states—he has a plan for scoring victories in state capitals across the country:
“For his part, Roberts seems confident that he has a strong road map for doing so. He explained Heritage’s plan for an upcoming fight over school choice expansion in Texas, emphasizing that ‘Heritage is going to not only participate in that; we’re going to amplify it.’ This includes proliferating foundation scholars’ work on educational choice, testifying in state and committee hearings, and mobilizing the organization’s roster of grassroots activists (called ‘Sentinels’) to move the needle in the state.”
In the broad-ranging interview, Roberts echoed another consistent message: those on the right need to stop denigrating one another, amicably discuss and debate our differences, and train our fire on the real adversary—the radical left that seeks to tear down our fundamental institutions and daily attacks the values and ideals that make America great.
The Washington Examiner’s Addison writes:
“[I]t is another of his goals to have Heritage serve as a great facilitator of these debates and conversations. He notes (correctly, I’d say) that unsettled consensuses can allow for new, innovative thinking about old problems. Yet, as he lamented in National Review Online this month, ‘Conservatives need to stop shooting at one another and to remember that our common enemy is the radical Left in charge of the regime in Washington, D.C., today.’ He echoed the same sentiment in our interview, pointing specifically to carping on Twitter and removing ourselves from face-to-face conversations undertaken with more seriousness and less posturing.”
As Roberts prepares to lead Heritage into a “golden era of American conservatism,” he “has his eye on achieving conservative policy changes, and he has a plan for the Heritage Foundation to be an integral part of it.”
