Let Freedom Ring, Inc.

Let Freedom Ring, Inc. is an American conservative advocacy organization.

Let Freedom Ring, Inc.
MottoOur mission is to promote: Constitutional government, Economic Freedom and Traditional values
Formation2004
TypeNon-profit, nonpartisan public policy think tank
HeadquartersWilmington, DE, United States
President
Colin A. Hanna
Revenue (2015)
$996,823[1]
Expenses (2015)$1,052,487[1]
Websitewww.letfreedomringusa.com

Organization

Let Freedom Ring, Inc. was founded in 2004, using seed funding consisting of a $1-million donation from John Templeton Jr., President of the John Templeton Foundation.[lower-alpha 1] It is organized as a 501(c)(4) entity, and in 2014 created a super PAC as well.[lower-alpha 1] Let Freedom Ring has employed Timothy Goeglein as a consultant, and has Colin Hanna as its President.[2] Hanna[3] is a former County Commissioner in Chester County, Pennsylvania,[4][5] and in his role as president has written on issues including a fence on the southern border,[lower-alpha 2] work visas,[lower-alpha 3] copyright,[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5] protest art of the tea party movement,[6][7][8][lower-alpha 6] the navy,[lower-alpha 7][lower-alpha 8] the Iran deal,[lower-alpha 9][lower-alpha 10] recipients of Weyrich Awards,[9] and several Trump'16 campaign issues,[10][lower-alpha 11][11][lower-alpha 12][lower-alpha 13][12][13][14][lower-alpha 14][lower-alpha 15][lower-alpha 16][lower-alpha 17][lower-alpha 18] in addition to regularly publishing about taxation.[lower-alpha 19][lower-alpha 20][lower-alpha 21][lower-alpha 22][lower-alpha 23]

Activities

In terms of political efforts, Let Freedom Ring concentrates on promoting conservative ideals within the Republican party, and on opposing liberal ideals of the Democratic party more broadly.

2004 cycle

Let Freedom Ring has supported several religious causes.[15][16] It has advocated for a fence along the U.S.–Mexico border,[17][2] and promoted the neo-conservative agenda led by President George W. Bush, and campaigned actively in favor of keeping troops in Iraq as part of the war on terror political effort.

2008 cycle

Let Freedom Ring ran attack ads against Obama in 2008.[2] It was involved in organizing the nationwide Tea Party movement protests on April 15, 2009, in part by sending out robocalls to potential participants the day before.[18] The organization received some signatures from Senators, on a pledge to give voters an opportunity to read Obamacare, and read it themselves, before voting on the bill.[19] Hanna, its president, said the treatment by the media of the topic of domestic terrorism, in particular renewed coverage of Timothy McVeigh in 2010, was being politicized.[20][21] As the broader right-wing opposition to the Obama administration unified,[22] the organization supported the election of politicians associated with the Tea Party movement in 2010 and later years.[23][24][25] During 2011, it worked with tea-party-affiliated politicians and activists to oppose increasing the debt ceiling.[lower-alpha 24][lower-alpha 25]

2012 cycle

During the 2012 election cycle, the organization worked with other groups to get signatures from all major contenders for the Republican nominee in support of a balanced budget amendment, along with a campaign promise to cut federal spending if elected.[4][26] It signed the Mount Vernon statement with other conservative activist groups,[27] while continuing to oppose the Obama administration during his second term,[28][lower-alpha 26] and also continued to support religious causes.[24][lower-alpha 27]

The organization worked with Marco Rubio on immigration reform during 2013.[29][30] During 2013, it opposed the Karl Rove-backed American Crossroads within the context of the Republican party primaries and caucuses,[31] as well as criticized the congressional leadership John Boehner and Steve Scalise over the firing of RSC staffer Paul Teller,[32] despite being initially tentatively supportive of Boehner as speaker.[33] Its president Colin Hanna was interviewed at CPAC in 2014.[34]

2016 cycle

The organization's president Hanna met with Scott Walker in May 2015, to discuss issues important to social conservatives such as abortion.[10] It again hosted a tax day protest in April 2016, with appearances by Grover Norquist as well as Bob Goodlatte, Peter Roskam, Tim Huelskamp, Andy Harris, John Ratcliffe, Dan Newhouse, and Jody Hice.[35] Hanna spoke supportively of Rubio'16 in November 2015.[lower-alpha 11] Hanna did not back Trump'16 during the Republican primaries and caucuses;[11][12][13] he attended the 2016 Republican National Convention as an alternate.[14]

gollark: We prefer measuring bee rotation rate in radian-Hertz.
gollark: Ah, bee-based energy generation?
gollark: Go rotate 28 exabees.
gollark: Wait, does that actually fit in a 64-bit address space?
gollark: You'll never need to do garbage collection again.

References
  1. "Let Freedom Ring, Inc" (PDF). Foundation Center. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  2. Michael Luo (July 18, 2008). "Conservative Group to Air Anti-Obama Ads". The New York Times.
  3. http://www.politico.com/playbook/2015/12/60-days-to-iowa-some-donors-want-mike-murphy-at-jebs-side-backstage-with-rahm-why-he-got-so-mad-and-why-hes-over-it-speaker-ryan-theme-confidentamerica-bday-robby-mook-ali-zelenko-211560 http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/playbook/2016/12/trump-team-leaning-on-bob-gates-on-trumps-call-to-taiwan-exclusive-homeland-preview-go-gw-bday-robby-mook-217682 ...12/03/16... BIRTHDAYS: ...Let Freedom Ring USA president Colin Hanna...
  4. Fitzgerald, Michael (2011-09-24). "The New Norquist: Meet the GOP's Latest Hardline Power Broker". New Republic. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  5. http://www.unionvilletimes.com/?p=32341 "...the PAC Let Freedom Ring, a right-wing group fronted by former County Commissioner Colin Hanna. ..."
  6. "Tea Party slogans celebrated in new coffee table book". TheHill. 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  7. http://www.newsweek.com/art-tea-party-grandmas-not-shovel-ready-214738 "...Every movement has its images, and the tea party movement is no exception. While conservative speakers are making their case in the main ballroom, an exhibition hall downstairs is packed with various groups selling their wares and ideas, no one better than the tea partiers (though the NRA's faux rifle range comes close). ...the tea partiers are getting savvier, and are packaging themselves professionally. One popular stand belongs to the makers of the documentary movie ...[T]he tea partiers ...their images may also be going home with [the CPAC 2010] attendees in the form a new book being launched today [titled] Grandma's Not Shovel-Ready!: Signs from 9/12 and the Tea Parties of 2009 [see also: Shovel ready#History]. One favorite sign of Colin Hanna, who compiled the pictures for the book, reads Marxism is the Opiate of the Asses. Under it, he says, 'is the Democratic Party donkey logo. There is just so much within that.' "
  8. "Inside the Beltway". Washington Times. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  9. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/3/david-daleiden-pro-life-investigator-takes-multipl/ ...David Daleiden... Mark Levin... Rep. Joseph Pitts... Ken Paxton... Little Sisters of the Poor... Mike Mears, Republican National Committee coalitions director... Tom Minnery, president emeritus of CitizenLink and longtime Focus on the Family official... winner[s] at Wednesday’s 2016 Weyrich Awards Dinner... [the namesake of which] helped found the Heritage Foundation, Free Congress Foundation and the American Legislative Exchange Council... “These individuals reflect the beauty of the conservative movement,” Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring, said in a statement. “Their work in the trenches is an inspiration to others in the movement, and we are pleased to honor their work.”
  10. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/scott-walkers-crisis-of-faith-117937 ...said Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council and one of about 50 people invited to huddle with Walker. ...Perkins, a former Louisiana state legislator and political operative who’s made himself into a power broker in evangelical circles, is one of Walker’s skeptics. ... The meeting [between Walker and fifty social conservatives including Perkins], slated to take place on Tuesday afternoon at the Capitol Hill Club, is part of a broader effort [by the Walker'16 campaign] to court social conservatives who might play critical roles in the nominating contest. He’s [Walker] been in regular contact with Perkins, speaking to him most recently around a month ago. Next week, Walker is scheduled to meet with Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring, an anti-abortion organization. And last week, Rebecca Kleefisch, Walker’s lieutenant governor and an evangelical, huddled in Washington, D.C., with Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America, a prominent Christian group. ...
  11. http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/02/15/colin-hanna-in-fighting-at-the-republic-debate-damages-party/ "Reacting to Saturday night's contentious Republican presidential debate, Colin Hanna, the President of Let Freedom Ring, told Chris Stigall on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT that the continued bickering and denigrations do nothing to further the interests of the party. Hanna blamed the majority of the untoward dramatics on Donald Trump and yearns for the day he is no longer part of the nominating process. “I think it’s a mess. I think it’s embarrassing. The sooner it ends, the better. The sooner Donald Trump is vanquished and off the stage, the better.” "
  12. By $${element.Contributor} (2016-03-07). "Why Stopping Trump at Convention Is No Cure-All". Rollcall.com. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  13. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/presidential/20160505_Can_conservatives_stomach_Trump_as_the_Republican_nominee_.html "...As Trump's capture of the GOP was drawing to a close, many of its leaders, particularly conservative thinkers, were still resisting. Instead of jubilation, conservative advocate Colin Hanna of Chester County [Pennsylvania] described "a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach." [a few paragraphs later]...Hanna, the Chester County conservative who heads the national advocacy group Let Freedom Ring, said he worries about Trump at the head of the GOP ticket. "I'm optimistic, and I don't go in for doom-and-gloom, but I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach," Hanna said. "I don't know what I'm going to do." As a committed conservative, he wants to stop Clinton, yet he is unclear on where Trump stands."
  14. "Chesco GOP: Rivera gets nod in 158th; Toomey offers praise". The Unionville Times. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  15. Faith Takes Key Role in Political Landscape, by L. Anderson - Chicago Tribune, 2004. (need URL)
  16. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-08-02-christian-cover_x.htm "...Evangelical Christian leaders nationwide have been emboldened by their role in re-electing President Bush and galvanized by their success in campaigning for constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage, passed in 18 states so far. Now some are organizing to build on last year's successes. They want to solidify their role in setting the political agenda and electing sympathetic public officials. ...Ohio... ...Texas... The fledgling Pennsylvania Pastors' Network has signed up 81 conservative clergy so far. Similar efforts are beginning to percolate elsewhere. "It's maturing as a movement within the evangelical Christian community," says Colin Hanna of Let Freedom Ring, a Pennsylvania-based group that teaches pastors how to be involved in politics. John Green, a political scientist at the University of Akron, calls the networks a new chapter in an effort to organize conservative clergy that began with the Moral Majority a quarter-century ago, then faltered. "This generation of evangelical pastors is much more open to this type of activity," says Green, who studies Ohio politics and religious conservatives. "There isn't the kind of hostility to involvement in public affairs you would have found among evangelicals 25 years ago." ..."
  17. http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/10/12/groups-advocate-border-fence-along-mexico.html ...A fence already marks the U.S. border with Mexico but in some places, it's no more than a strand of wire ...group of border activists are pushing for a new, bigger fence — more like a Berlin Wall — from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. "...illegal immigration from Mexico provides easy cover for terrorists," says one national television ad sponsored by Weneedafence.com, a project of Let Freedom Ring, Inc. The TV spot focuses not on the politically charged issue of illegal Hispanic immigration but border crossers who may be a security threat, especially those caught who originated from suspected sponsors of state terrorism. "What are people from Yemen and Syria and Iran doing in Mexico trying to enter the U.S. illegally? This is an issue that requires a wall," said Colin Hanna of Weneedafence.com. "We are absolutely not anti-Hispanic, we do not think the fence should be perceived as anti-Hispanic, or anti-Mexican, we are not anti-immigrant, we are pro-immigration, but we are pro- legal immigration." Hanna's group hopes to persuade Congress to take on the $8 billion project but aside from the cost, Hispanic activists claim that good neighbors build bridges, not fences, and that a fence will stigmatize people fighting for their shot at the American dream. ...Years ago, the idea of a great wall on the southern border would have been dead on arrival in Congress, but times have changed. Polls now show that more than 80 percent of Americans like the idea... Many Democrats favor the concept because the downward pressure on wages from illegal immigrants is hurting organized labor. Republicans, meanwhile, also like the wall for national security reasons. ...
  18. Peter Hamby (February 12, 2009). "Robocalls pressure GOP senators to vote against stimulus". CNN.
  19. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/will-congress-read-bills-before-voting/ "...Various grassroots organizations are blasting Congress for not taking the time to properly consider the energy bill or health care reform -- two very significant pieces of legislation. Let Freedom Ring, a non-profit, grassroots organization that supports a conservative agenda, announced an initiative today urging members of Congress to sign a pledge to read and give citizens the opportunity to read any health care reform legislation before voting on it. "For something as significant as health care reform, which influences 16 percent to 17 percent of GDP, I think it is important for legislators to know what they're voting on, and not have lobbyists and staff members be the only ones who know what's in there," said Colin Hanna, Let Freedom Ring president. The pledge was distributed to members of Congress on Tuesday, and Hanna has so far received signatures from Senators James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). Certainly, Hanna said, it would be in the members' best interests to sign it. "I can assure you, legislators will be held accountable if there are parts in there their constituents find objectionable," he said. Meanwhile, the Sunlight Foundation, a non-profit with the goal of increasing government transparency, is raising similar concerns..."
  20. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/19/inside-the-beltway-92436810/ ...TBD...
  21. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/could-tea-party-rhetoric-lead-to-another-oklahoma-city/ ...Thirty-eight percent of Americans now see domestic terrorism as a more serious threat than international terrorism, according to a new CBS News poll; that's up eight points from 2002. On Monday, MSNBC is airing a documentary called "The McVeigh Tapes" detailing McVeigh's motivations and perspective on his crime -- and raising questions about the dangers of the extreme rhetoric that influenced him. Some conservatives are unhappy with the broadcast; Colin Hanna of the group Let Freedom Ring complained that the message is "that tea party fervor and an anti-Washington mood are precursors to domestic terrorism akin to Oklahoma City bombing." Last year, conservatives attacked a report from the Department of Homeland Security warning of a rise in "rightwing extremist activity" tied in part to the recession and the election of an African-American president, alleging that it was politically-motivated or worse. ...
  22. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/31/AR2010013102860.html ...Disputes festered between economic and social conservatives during the Bush years, but they have eased amid what all sides decry as Obama's liberal agenda. "Nothing unites like a common enemy," said Colin Hanna, president of the conservative group Let Freedom Ring. The movement that many date to the 1955 founding of William F. Buckley's venerable National Review now spreads through new media. Learning from the Democratic "Net roots," conservatives use Twitter and Facebook to plan ...
  23. http://www.cleveland.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/11/tea_party_republicans_carry_am.html ...Associated Press ...More than 30 tea party candidates won election to Congress on Tuesday, according to an analysis by The Associated Press, enough to make their voices heard by Capitol Hill leaders if not numbers large enough to pass their conservative agenda. "You can't necessarily set the positive agenda that we want across the board, but you can stop a lot of bad things from happening, and that's a step forward," said Colin Hanna, president of tea party support group Let Freedom Ring. Tim Scott, elected to the House from South Carolina, said he's not looking for a fight with Republicans but to help push the party toward the right.
  24. The Teavangelicals: The Inside Story of how the Evangelicals and the Tea Party are Taking Back America. by D. Brody - 2012
  25. The Machine: A Field Guide to the Resurgent Right. by L. Fang - 2013. "... Colin Hanna, the silver-haired chairman of the Republican front group Let Freedom Ring, approached the podium and announced that his group had covertly provided training and resources to the Tea Party Patriots throughout the election. ..."
  26. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/2011-06-29-pledge-politics-Huntsman-Romney-Tea-Party-Ron-Paul-GOP_n.htm ...Last week, a host of conservative groups rolled out a pledge aimed at cutting the debt called "Cut, Cap, Balance." The pledge asks presidential candidates and members of Congress to commit to significant federal spending cuts, capping spending after the cuts, and to implement a balanced-budget amendment. Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring, a conservative group, said it was important that presidential candidates sign the pledge to let voters know where they stand on the issue but did not say his group or any of the other groups present would shun GOP contenders who did not sign. Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, said... Romney added his signature to the pledge this week, joining such presidential contenders as Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, Pawlenty, former senator Rick Santorum, former House speaker Newt Gingrich and businessman Herman Cain in signing the pledge that is backed by 32 advocacy groups. ... [romney/paul/santorum/gingrich were the four finalists in the 2012 republican primaries and caucuses]
  27. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mitt-romney-scott-brown-dick-cheney-cpac-pan/story?id=9873498 ...As the conservative movement finds its voice, some are seeking a return to "America's founding principles." On Wednesday, more than 80 conservative leaders signed "The Mount Vernon statement," a "defining statement of conservative beliefs, values and principles penned by a broad coalition of conservative leaders representing a wide spectrum of the movement including fiscal, social, cultural and national security conservatives." The statement is based on the Sharon statement, which was signed in 1960 and is credited by some as redefining the conservative movement. "The pillars of conservatism rest on a set of common values," said Colin Hanna, president of conservative group Let Freedom Ring, who also signed the declaration.
  28. The Great Destroyer: Barack Obama's War on the Republic. by David Limbaugh - 2014. published by Threshold Editions, a division of Simon & Schuster
  29. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/us/politics/rubio-says-heritage-foundation-analysis-on-immigration-is-flawed.html "...As part of Mr. Rubio’s effort to shore up support for his immigration bill, he met in his Senate office Tuesday afternoon with about 20 grass-roots conservative leaders who are largely supportive of the overhaul. Several attendees said Mr. Rubio had told them that he expected the bill that reaches the president’s desk to be more conservative than the current legislation. “He feels that in the markup and committee process, the bill probably needs to move to the right, not the left, and that it may move further to the right if it gets out of the Senate and over to the House,” said Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring, a conservative grass-roots public policy organization. On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will take up the legislation...."
  30. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/american-conservative-union-issues-statement-supporting-immigration-reform/article/2529260 Statement from conservative leaders about pending immigration legislation: ... simply opposing immigration reform should not be the conservative response... Conservatives are ready to support immigration reform, so long as it is pro-economic growth, strengthens families, fosters assimilation and prevents another wave of illegal immigration from happening again. The immigration bill being taken up in the Senate is an important starting point ...This legislation is not perfect. We do not expect the bill without amendments to pass, and we encourage good-faith amendments.... Note: Institutional Affiliations Listed Below for Identification Purposes Only...
  31. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/the-anti-establishment-establishment-087643 ...The anti-Crossroads backlash kicked off in earnest on Monday, Feb. 4, the day after the Times story ran. ...Brent Bozell... Colin Hanna, leader of the group Let Freedom Ring, issued a message blasting “the establishment ‘consultariat’ in Washington D.C.” seeking to control the will of primary voters. ... Terry Jeffrey declared at the website CNSNews.com ... Tea Party Patriots ... Every one of those activists and groups [complaining about Karl Rove and the new initiative by establishment repubs] is a client of either CRC or Shirley & Banister [PR firms]. Virtually every shot they fired at Rove and Crossroads last week moved through the conduit of the PR firms’ email servers, landing on the BlackBerrys and iPhones of reporters across Washington. The promotion strategy appears to have worked. ....
  32. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/conservatives-under-attack-101045 ...More than 50 high-profile conservatives signed onto a statement Wednesday responding to both House Speaker John Boehner’s harsh words for conservative groups earlier in the day and to the firing of the Republican Study Committee’s longtime executive director, Paul Teller. Boehner called it “ridiculous” Wednesday that outside conservative groups oppose a budget deal crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). RSC Chairman Steve Scalise dismissed Teller later in the day over accusations that Teller was leaking intel to the groups. ...The effort [open letter criticizing actions of repub leadership including Boehner and Scalise] was put together by the Conservative Action Project, a weekly gathering of more than 100 CEOs of organizations representing conservative movement, economic, national security and social groups. Co-signers include Ed Meese, former attorney general under President Ronald Reagan; former Rep. David McIntosh (R-Ind.); Brent Bozell, chairman of For America; Mike Needham, CEO of Heritage Action for America; and Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring.
  33. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/incoming-speaker-house-rep-john-boehner-stands-politics-usual-article-1.455260 ...How these apparent contradictions [incoming speaker Boehner's recent statements versus his past actions] play with the newly powerful Tea Party remains to be seen. "He's not genuinely one of the Tea Party movement but quite open to it," said Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring. "In a politically calculated way he perhaps understands its power and its depth. I think he gets it. He doesn't get it because he naturally rises from it, but... because he's good at politics and he's better than most at listening." Boehner has gone to several Tea Party rallies...
  34. https://cbsphilly.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/colinhanna_cpac.jpg, via http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/photo-galleries/2014/03/06/chris-stigall-at-cpac-in-washington-dc/ caption: Colin Hanna of Let Freedom Ring at CPAC
  35. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/apr/13/inside-the-beltway-hillary-clinton-machine-hosts-2/ ...Norquist will also appear at a similar event staged by Let Freedom Ring, also at the Capitol, and also meant to draw attention to the nation’s bulky tax code and the need for reform. On the speaker’s roster: Colin Hanna, president of the liberty-minded policy group, plus Republican Reps. Bob Goodlatte, Peter Roskam, Tim Huelskamp, Andy Harris, John Ratcliffe, Dan Newhouse and Jody Hice. “Tax Day is on Monday, and Congress can’t be trusted to get beyond partisan bickering and use the current code as a starting point to reform,” says Mr. Hanna. “Americans know that the current code is too complex and riddled with special interests, unfair loopholes, and inefficiencies. Americans need a tax code that is not only simpler, but also fairer.” See the groups ideas here: SunsetTheTaxCode.com ...

Notes
  1. https://www.propublica.org/article/secret-donors-behind-some-super-pacs-funneling-millions-into-midterms "In the final weeks [October/November 2014] before this year's elections, a super PAC called Key Questions, Key Answers started buying TV ads across Pennsylvania attacking Tom Wolf, the Democratic candidate for governor. ...told the Federal Election Commission it had just one [donor], a social welfare nonprofit called Let Freedom Ring... [which] aren't required to identify their donors, [thus] it's impossible to say who's really behind Key Questions' last-minute ad blitz... into 2014 races. ...It's not illegal for super PACs to be funded entirely by dark money unless a nonprofit is effectively acting as a straw donor... Nonetheless, Ann Ravel, an FEC commissioner and the former chairwoman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, said she saw such maneuvers as troubling end runs around disclosure requirements for super PACs. ...Let Freedom Ring's president, Colin Hanna, is also the chairman of Key Questions. JC Callahan, another Let Freedom Ring staffer, is Key Questions' treasurer. Both groups are run out of the same office in Hanna's home in West Chester, Pa. The ads funded by Let Freedom Ring's $200,000 donation started airing earlier this month in the Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh markets. Hanna said he came up with the commercials to help counter the millions that Wolf has poured into his own campaign against Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. Wolf has been leading Corbett in the polls. "I felt the prevailing wisdom that Tom Wolf had the race sewed up was suspect," Hanna said. Let Freedom Ring was one of the earliest dark money groups [aka 501(c)(4)'s] to spend heavily on political ads. Hanna started the group back in 2004 with the help of a $1 million donation from John M. Templeton Jr., a surgeon whose father was a wealthy philanthropist and investor. Let Freedom Ring spent millions on ads attacking Barack Obama in 2008, two years before the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision helped spur a massive rise in political spending by social welfare nonprofits. Hanna decided to create Key Questions this year [2014] in addition to the dark money group on the advice of his lawyer, he said. ...Hanna referred questions about the tax forms to the group's lawyer, Cleta Mitchell. ...Hanna said the [Key Questions] super PAC had received contributions from another contributor since filing its most recent FEC report...[which was to be revealed in a subsequent FEC report circa December 2014]
  2. https://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-the-united-states-build-a-fence-on-its-southern-border/border-fence-part-of-larger-solution
  3. https://www.usnews.com/debate-club/is-obama-right-to-grant-young-illegal-immigrants-work-permits/president-obamas-immigration-policy-is-unconstitutional
  4. "Our forgotten Constitutional right - intellectual property protection". Fox News. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  5. https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2013/07/23/congress-must-reform-copyright-law-for-the-digital-age "...Congress needs to establish what Colin Hanna, the president of Let Freedom Ring – where I am a senior fellow – likes to call new rules for the road. The Internet must not operate as a sort of "Wild West" where the law is whatever the fella' with the most guns says it is at any given time. There needs to be a protocol that protects the commercial rights of U.S. IP producers and allows the government to take meaningful steps to shut down the activities of those who do not pay heed to those rights. ..."
  6. Colin A. Hanna (2010). Grandma's Not Shovel Ready!: Signs from 9/12 and the Tea Parties of 2009 (1st ed.). Wilmington, Delaware: Let Freedom Ring Publishing. ASIN B004A6KH30. Archived from the original on 2017-01-26.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  7. "Obama Naval Doctrine: Anchors Away?". TheHill. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  8. https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2012/05/10/kill-the-law-of-the-sea-treaty ...The [Law of the Sea] treaty may again see the light of day in the Senate, perhaps as early as next week. And this doesn't sit well with some people. "One of the primary missions of the United States Navy for over two centuries has been to maintain freedom of the seas for all. As a Navy veteran, I am offended to think that the Senate and the Chief of Naval Operations would even consider ceding any part of that mission to the United Nations," said Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring—a nonpartisan organization where I am a senior fellow. In reality the Law of the Sea Treaty is one more step towards a system of global governance under which U.S. sovereignty would be subordinated to an international system managed by an unelected, self-perpetuating form of bureaucratic aristocracy that cares little for democratic traditions. Which, Hanna suggests, is one of a series of reasons the Senate should continue to vote down efforts to ratify it. ..."
  9. "John Kerry – latter day Neville Chamberlain?". TheHill. 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  10. http://origin-nyi.thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/312869-tearing-apart-iran-deal-isnt-the-only-way-to-make-iranian "...A group of conservative leaders released a letter to House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) on Thursday, commending him for a resolution he introduced in the final days of the last Congress on the restitution of or compensation for property wrongly confiscated by the Islamic Republic of Iran. ...Signatories to the letter include Colin A. Hanna, President of Let Freedom Ring; Admiral James “Ace” Lyons, Jr, former Pacific Fleet commander; Frank Gaffney, President and CEO of the Center for Security Policy; Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation; Amy Ridenour, Chairman of the National Center for Public Policy Research; Ellen Sauerbrey, former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration; and myself. [Kenneth R. Timmerman, chair, Foundation for Democracy in Iran]"
  11. "Rubio's New Billionaire Backer Has Gay Marriage Agenda". Newsmax.com. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  12. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/27/christians-cringe-at-donald-trump-s-sexy-past.html "...There may be a reason Evangelicals aren’t up in arms about his appearance on the cover of a magazine [Playboy Magazine] famous for nude pics. “I would hope that many of them wouldn’t know a thing like that, except secondhand,” said Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring USA. “Why wouldn’t it come up in a debate, come up as a news item, and let him be called to task for it with 20 million people watching,” Hanna continued, of Trump’s infidelities. “It gets at the very matter of character, of sin, of forgiveness. A mature conservative Evangelical Christian should not hold confessed sin against someone, but unconfessed sin should be a problem—a theological problem. And unadmitted sin is sort of a step beyond unconfessed sin, isn’t it?” Trump has even indicated that he thinks the fact that he cheated on his first wife, Ivanka, is fair game for his opponents. But so far, none have bitten."
  13. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/03/trump-s-planned-parenthood-pivot.html "...For many pro-lifers, comments like this one [by Trump] are a deal-breaker. ...“I think he is an unpredictably dangerous candidate,” said Colin Hanna, who heads the conservative group Let Freedom Ring. “And at some point the electorate’s going to wake up to that. I just can’t believe that this deceptive bluster is going to carry the day.” “I don’t think you’re going to find pro-lifers enthusiastically setting their beliefs aside and voting for Mr. Trump,” he added. Thus far, pro-lifers’ efforts to slow Trump have had precious little success. In the lead-up to the South Carolina primary..."
  14. "Clinton: Yeah, I'm Sorry I Said That Half Of Trump Supporters Were Deplorable...Sort Of - Matt Vespa". Townhall.com. 2016-09-10. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "Russia's JV-level hacking is nothing compared to China's". TheHill. 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. http://www.omaha.com/columnists/kelly/kelly-a-great-place-to-get-going-more-millennials-are/article_48689ea6-946a-502f-92d3-9200373c85bb.html "...some commentators suggest a change in the Electoral College. ...among those who want to elect the president differently, the Nebraska-Maine method increasingly is mentioned — distributing electoral votes partly by congressional district. Among the backers of that plan, in a Philadelphia Inquirer opinion piece this week, are Colin Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring and a former county commissioner; and Cleta Mitchell, an “elections and political law partner” in the Washington, D.C., office of Foley & Lardner. The current system has flaws, they wrote, “the worst of which is the disproportionate influence of so-called swing states.” Under the Nebraska-Maine method, the pair noted, George W. Bush still would have won the 2000 election, but more decisively — 288-250 over Al Gore rather than 271-266. In 2004, Bush would have defeated John Kerry 321-217 instead of the actual 286-251. In 2008, Barack Obama would have won 301-237 over John McCain rather than by the real count, 365-173. But in 2012, the result would have been reversed — Mitt Romney would have won 276-262 instead of losing to Obama 332-206. “The Electoral College is a brilliant gift from our Founding Fathers that can be made more fair by tweaking the allocation, rather than abolishing it altogether,” Hanna and Mitchell wrote. “A truly national campaign would result, one where every state and all votes and voters matter.” So what about this year’s election? Hanna told me by email he’s unaware of any data compiling service that routinely totals a hypothetical Nebraska-Maine national outcome, and it will take a while to determine. “What Cleta and I have proposed,” he said, “is the best and fairest system. But since there are so many gerrymandered districts, there’s a lot of interest in gerrymander reform first.” "
  19. A. B. Laffer and D. Arduin (July 2013). "Pro-growth tax reform and e-fairness". Laffer Associates and Let Freedom Ring, Inc. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  20. "Tax Code Reform Deadline: Congress Needs a Deadline Incentive to Move on Taxes". National Review. 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  21. "Time for a do-over: Let's 'sunset' the tax code, America, and start fresh". Fox News. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  22. Colin Hanna Published 6:18 p.m. ET March 5, 2015 (2015-03-05). "Dawn of the tax code sunset: Column". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  23. Hanna, Colin. "COLIN HANNA: Phase out curren tax code". Washington Times. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  24. The Nation July 28, 2011, 2:55 PM (2011-07-28). "How the right-wing is pushing the U.S. to the brink". CBS News. Retrieved 2017-08-28.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. By George ZornickTwitter July 28, 2011 (2011-07-28). "The 'Right-Wing Nutters' Who Are Pushing the Country to the Brink". The Nation. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  26. https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/09/20/new-ad-implies-obama-is-cozy-with-muslim-brotherhood The conservative advocacy group Let Freedom Ring released an ad Thursday to run in key swing states depicting President Barack Obama as a Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer. The group was planning on airing the ads next month, but shifted course after Muslims attacked the Egyptian embassy and killed four Americans in Libya, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Egypt's new president, Mohammed Morsi, belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, considered a terrorist organization by some. The Brotherhood denies such claims. Let Freedom Ring President Colin Hanna says Obama's response to the incidents illustrated his naïvete´ on foreign affairs. "After our embassies were stormed, President Obama's administration offered apologies while the Muslim Brotherhood stood by as we were attacked," Hanna says. "Instead of confronting our enemies such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Obama kowtows to them." The one-minute ad is part of a $7 million online campaign, which is being launched in Wisconsin, Virginia, and Pennsylvania... attacks Obama for inviting the Muslim Brotherhood to the White House and supporting it financially. It blames Obama for the rise of anti-American riots across the Middle East, and also blasts the Obama administration for giving Egypt $1.5 billion in foreign aid. The ad, which is filled with images of rioters, questions why Obama would reach out to Egypt's leaders when they "sought to renew long-severed ties with Iran" and destroy Israel. "The Muslim Brotherhood's top leaders even write about taking over America," the ad's narrator says ...The ad buy comes just two months before the election... Hanna says he hopes the ads will give voters pause on casting a ballot for Obama. "One of our convictions is that the perception of weakness is actually provocative and invites attacks," Hanna says. "Obama isn't keeping us safe."
  27. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/05/mega-donors-bankrolling-religious-right_n_1735337.html The Faith and Freedom Coalition... part of a much broader attempt to reactivate millions of socially conservative voters to not only defeat Obama but help some favorite conservative congressional candidates. Concerned Women for America... The Pennsylvania-based Let Freedom Ring quietly cobbled together a nonpartisan 2,000-member pastor network to spur voter registration efforts and is planning a multi-million dollar ad drive this fall focused on social, economic and foreign policy issues, according to Colin Hanna, president of the organization. Propping up this trio of right-leaning organizations are several of the country’s wealthiest conservatives. Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus and John Templeton Jr., who runs a family foundation, are offering financial support, as are organization that receive funding from the billionaire Koch brothers, according to two GOP fundraisers familiar with the separate operations of the three groups. The ramped-up involvement of these groups is the clearest sign to date that cultural debates long thought to be a side topic in the 2012 election, may still play a role. The Faith and Freedom Coalition, Concerned Women for America, Let Freedom Ring and other allies plan to focus heavily on a few hot-button social and economic issues, including the president’s support for same-sex marriage, to fire up their base. ...can be especially important in determining the next president in swing states... [later]...On another social conservative front in Pennsylvania, Let Freedom Ring is planning to mount its seven-figure, issue-ad blitz this October, in hopes of defeating Obama in the critical swing state, where the president is leading. Hanna, the organization’s president, promised a voter-registration and education drive to spur evangelicals, Catholics and other social conservatives, saying Pennsylvania is “more in jeopardy for Obama than recent polls suggest.” To defeat Obama in the state, Let Freedom Ring also is counting on a big hand from Sam Rohrer, an 18-year veteran of the state legislature and a former head of the Pennsylvania chapter of Americans for Prosperity. Rohrer told Huffington Post that since joining the group last month he’s been “building the network and encouraging pastors to be more bold.” “As a nation we’re in trouble and until we reach out to God rather than government we’ll be in trouble,” he said. Like Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition, Let Freedom Ring is a nonprofit advocacy group that can legally withhold donors’ names. Prominent GOP fundraisers who are familiar with the group’s operations said it’s been helped substantially by John Templeton Jr., a wealthy Philadelphia patron of conservative causes and head of the John Templeton Foundation. Hanna declined to comment when asked about Templeton funding.
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