Think Tanks

Bid to Sink NZ Nuclear Warship Ban Backfires

The prospects of the conservative New Zealand National Party opposition in the September 17 election may be doomed after revelations that it floated the idea of a U.S. think tank helping undermine support for the country's 1985 ban on nuclear armed and powered warships. In January 2004 the Leader of the New Zealand National Party, Don Brash, and its spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Lockwood Smith, met with the then Republican Senator for Oklahoma, Don Nickles. Brash allegedly told U.S.

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Learning from the Winners

The Center for Media and Democracy's John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton write, "Republican successes have not come quickly or easily. For more than four decades, conservatives have worked to build a network of grassroots organizations and think tanks that formulate and promote their ideas. They are now enjoying the fruits of this long-term investment." The right wing "has simply done a better job than anyone else of organizing from the grassroots up.

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The Little Think Tank That Could

Joining industry lobbyists in the battle against government regulations is a small think tank based at George Mason University in Arlington, Va. The Mercatus Center is earning a reputation as a heavyweight in the business of rolling back and softening unpopular rules, responsible for picking 14 of 23 rules targeted by the Bush White House for elimination or modification.

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Third Time's a Charm

"Cold War hawks are resurrecting a decades-old group to lobby for a harder line against terrorist organizations and rogue states," reports The Hill. The Committee on the Present Danger will see its third incarnation (it was established in 1950 and re-formed in 1976) as a Washington DC-based lobby group, headed by PR pro and former Reagan adviser Peter Hannaford.

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