CLC is fast approaching, and we want you there! | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: Follow this link to acquire tickets.

    Every year the conference gets better, and 2014 will be no exception... Every year the tickets sell out - so now is the time to register.

    On March 28th and 29th we will hold our 2014 Conservative Leadership Conference at the Marriot Crabtree Hotel in Raleigh. Tickets are on sale now, but you can win two of them, plus a one-night stay at the conference hotel...on us!

    Here's how it works: Today is President's Day, so from today until February 28th, we'll be posting three questions on our website and Facebook page about America's Presidents.

    Walter Williams

    Williams is noted for his incisive yet plain-spoken views on economics and current issues. Take "social justice." Of that liberal slogan, Williams has said, "What's just has been debated for centuries, but let me offer you my definition of social justice: 'I keep what I earn, and you keep what you earn.' Do you disagree? Well, then, tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you  -  and why."

    Dr. Williams received his Ph.D. in economics from UCLA, and has served on the faculty of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., as John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics since 1980. He has appeared on scores of radio and TV programs, and is an occasional guest host on "The Rush Limbaugh Show." He writes a weekly column syndicated in 140 newspapers and various websites, and he is the author of more than 150 articles in scholarly journals.

    Gov. Bobby Jindal

    Bobby Jindal was sworn in as Governor of Louisiana on January 14, 2008. Shortly after taking office, Governor Jindal called a Special Session to address comprehensive ethics reform, the cornerstone of his election platform. Since the conclusion of the session, the Better Government Association and the Center for Public Integrity announced that Louisiana's new ethics laws are among the best in the nation.

    President George W. Bush appointed Jindal to serve as Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2001. In that position, he served as the principal policy advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. He later resigned from the position in 2003 to return to Louisiana and run for elected office for the first time. In that race, Jindal went from being a relatively unknown candidate for Governor, to receiving the most votes in the primary election and eventually 48 percent of the vote in runoff.

    Gov. Pat McCrory

    Governor McCrory was raised in Guilford County and attended Catawba College in Rowan County, where he earned degrees in Education and Political Science. Following his graduation from Catawba, he packed his bags for Charlotte and went to work full time for Duke Energy.

    As Mayor, Charlotte was on the cusp of an explosion of growth, and he was just the visionary needed to help take Charlotte to the next level to become one of America's great cities. He championed major issues such as economic development, infrastructure, transportation, public safety, and education. Charlotte's economy flourished during his time as Mayor as he helped bring tens of thousands of jobs to the region.

    On January 5th, 2013, Pat became the 74th governor of North Carolina after winning election by over 11 points. Since then, Pat has focused on improving "customer service" for the people of North Carolina by streamlining operations and cutting waste. He has been an aggressive job creator during his term, including his recent announcement of MetLife's decision to bring 2,800 well-paying jobs to the state.

    Sen. Mike Lee

    Elected in 2010 as Utah's 16th Senator, Mike Lee has spent his career defending the basic liberties of Americans and Utahns as a tireless advocate for our founding constitutional principles.

    Throughout his career, Lee earned a reputation as an outstanding practitioner of the law based on his sound judgment, abilities in the courtroom, and thorough understanding of the Constitution.

    Today, Lee fights to preserve America's proud founding document in the United States Senate. He advocates efforts to support constitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, and economic prosperity.


    Lt. Gov. Dan Forest

    Dan Forest is the first Republican Lieutenant Governor to be elected in North Carolina in over 20 years, and only the second since 1897. Dan is a registered architect. He and his wife, Alice, reside in Raleigh with their four children, ages 8 to 20. After receiving two degrees from the University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNCC), Dan became a leader in the business community having served as Office President and Senior Partner of the state's largest architectural firm  -  Little Diversified Architectural Consulting.

    As Lieutenant Governor, Dan serves as the President of the North Carolina Senate and serves as a voting member of the State Board of Education, the State Board of Community Colleges, the state Economic Development Board and is the chairman of the eLearning Commission. He is also a member of the NC Advisory Commission on Military Affairs.

    Dr. Terrence Moore

    Terrence O. Moore is a professor of history at Hillsdale College and helps set up classical charter schools throughout the country. He earned a B.A. in history from the University of Chicago in 1990 and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Edinburgh in 1999. He taught at Ashland University in Ohio for two years. Dr. Moore also served as a lieutenant in the U. S. Marine Corps from 1990-1993. For seven years he was the principal of Ridgeview Classical Schools, a K-12 charter school in Fort Collins, Colorado whose high school was twice ranked the number-one public high school in the state. He is now the principal advisor to the Barney Charter School Initiative at Hillsdale College.

    Since the summer of 2013, Dr. Moore has been one of the foremost critics of the Common Core: testifying before legislative bodies in four different states, posting a series of articles on Townhall.com, speaking frequently on the topic throughout the nation and on talk radio, and writing a book, The Story-Killers: A Common Sense Case Against the Common Core, available on Amazon.

    John Rustin

    John L. Rustin is President and Executive Director of the North Carolina Family Policy Council, a statewide nonpartisan, nonprofit, pro-family research and education organization. Rustin, a 25-year veteran of North Carolina's political and public policy arena, returned to lead the Council in May 2013 after serving four years as Executive Director of the North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation, a business-oriented political research organization.







    Tami Fitzgerald

    Tami Fitzgerald is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Values Coalition, which seeks to advance faith, family, and freedom in the culture of North Carolina from a Christian worldview by engaging Christians in voting, informing voters about which candidates share their values, and advancing public policies that create a culture in which human life is valued, marriage and families flourish, and religious liberty thrives.







    Neil Oakley

    Neil is an Allied Attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonpartisan nonprofit ministry which advocates for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family. Neil practices with Robbins May & Rich LLP in Pinehurst, NC, where he focuses mainly on civil and appellate litigation, business law, real property, and family law. He is licensed to practice in all North Carolina state and federal courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. Neil is also one of Grass Roots North Carolina's "Gun-Friendly Lawyers"and is part of the legal networks of the Institute for Justice and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.




    Jason Lewis

    Jason Lewis has returned to the Twin Cities and is on KTLK-FM weekdays 4-7 p.m. He was on the air at WBT in Charlotte, N.C. While in Charlotte, he was listed as one of "The Heavy Hundred 2005″ by Talkers Magazine. He has been named by the magazine as one of the top 100 most important talk show hosts in the nation. Prior to WBT, Jason spent ten years at Hubbard Broadcasting in Minneapolis, where he was rated number one. Lewis earned his Masters of Arts Degree in Political Science at the University of Colorado-Denver and his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education/Business at the University of Northern Iowa. He also completed the Series 7 General Securities Examination requirement from the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). In 1990, he was the Republican nominee for the United States Congress from Colorado's Second District. Lewis has been twice featured in ABC Radio's "The Year in Talk" and has also been a substitute host for Rush Limbaugh. He's been quoted in the Washington Postand has written editorials for newspapers throughout the country, including the Wall Street Journal. Lewis has also appeared on such nationally broadcast television programs as NBC's Today Show, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNBC.

    Stephen Moore

    Stephen Moore is an American economic writer and policy analyst, who founded and served as president of the Club for Growth from 1999 to 2004. He is currently a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board and frequently opines on the pages of their op-ed section. Moore is known for advocating free-market policies and supply-side economics.









    Erin Tuttle

    Erin Tuttle, an Indiana mom whose efforts ignited a movement that led to the first statewide slowdown and re-examination of Common Core Standards in the nation.











    Phil Berger

    The President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate, and the first Republican Senate leader in more than a century. He was first elected to the Senate in 2000. He rose to Senate minority leader in 2004, and was elected President Pro Tem in January following the November elections that put Republicans in charge of the legislature for the first time since the 19th century. Senator Berger earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Averett College, and a law degree from Wake Forest University.He lives with his wife, Pat, in Eden, where he practices law. He has three children  -  Kevin, Phil Jr., and Ashley  -  and four grandchildren.




    Michael F. Cannon

    Michael F. Cannon is the Cato Institute's director of health policy studies. Previously, he served as a domestic policy analyst for the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, where he advised the Senate leadership on health, education, labor, welfare, and the Second Amendment. Cannon has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNN, CNBC, C-SPAN, Fox News Channel, and NPR. He holds a bachelor's degree in American government (B.A.) from the University of Virginia, and master's degrees in economics (M.A.) and law & economics (J.M.) from George Mason University.





    Bill Frezza

    Bill Frezza is a contributing columnist forForbes.com, RealClearMarkets, and BioIT World. He writes on a variety of topics, including regulatory reform, crony capitalism, tax policy, "green" government mandates, and ways to restore US economic leadership. Frezza spent three decades as an entrepreneur and venture capital investor. He holds three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute for Technology  - in electrical engineering and computer science, electrical engineering, and biology.






    Frank Buckley

    Frank Buckley has been a Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law since 1989. He was previously a Visiting Olin Fellow of the University of Chicago Law School. Buckley was twice a visiting professor at the Sorbonne, and in fall 2007 was a visiting professor at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris. He earned law degrees from McGill University and Harvard Law School. Professor Buckley is the author of numerous books and articles on law and economics and has published in many of the leading journals, including the Journal of Legal Studies, the International Review of Law and Economics, and Public Choice. His most recent books are The Morality of Laughter and Just Exchange: A Theory of Contract.



    David J. Bobb

    David Bobb joined the Bill of Rights Institute in Arlington, Va. in December 2013. Previously he was the founding director of two national centers for Hillsdale College: the Washington-based Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship, and the Hoogland Center for Teacher Excellence, a civic education program. From 2001 to 2013 he also was a lecturer in politics at Hillsdale College. David is the author of Humility: An Unlikely Biography of America's Greatest Virtue (Thomas Nelson, 2013) and a contributing editor to The U.S. Constitution: A Reader (Hillsdale College Press, 2012).





    Catherine Engelbrecht

    Catherine Engelbrecht started the True the Vote initiative, a citizen led effort to restore honor and integrity to our electoral system. True the Vote educates voters, researches the veracity of voter registries, trains and mobilizes volunteers to work in polling places, and advocates for comprehensive election code reform legislation. True the Vote has developed an exportable program of training, technology, and support to equip citizens for participation in the electoral process at whatever level of involvement they choose, ranging from one time volunteer to program leader. True the Vote is currently working with 30 states, with emphasis in select states and counties known to have historically problematic election processes.