April 1, 2022

Former Vice President Mike Pence announced what he calls a “Freedom Agenda” on Friday that includes policy proposals for border security, stopping Big Tech censorship, patriotic education, national security, and more.

“You can’t beat a program without a program,” Pence said on a conference call Friday sponsored by Advancing American Freedom, a conservative policy group. “We looked at what have been the ideas of the conservative movement from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump, and we put them all in one place.”

Among the big items in the plan is promoting what it calls “patriotic education.”

“State and local jurisdictions should require high school students to pass testing on their knowledge of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Federalist Papers prior to graduation to ensure that high school students are graduating with a basic knowledge of America’s most important founding documents and ideals,” the plan states.

It also says American schools must reject racial quotas and set-asides, and calls teaching about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision for judging people by the content of their character, while also teaching about abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ work.

“Oppose radical political indoctrination—including the teaching of anti-American racist ideologies like critical race theory—in our schools and universities (as well as businesses and government agencies),” the Freedom Agenda urges. “Support maximum curriculum transparency so that parents have all the information necessary to pick and monitor schools that best fit the needs of their families.”

Somewhat related to schools, Pence’s plan also calls for protecting women’s sports from gender politics. “Preserve and protect female athletic competition by ensuring that sports competitions are between those who share their God-given gender,” it says.

The plan further calls for reforming Big Tech “to align it with our democratic and free enterprise system.”

“Prevent censorship in the modern public square by requiring that internet companies live under the same liability framework as traditional print and broadcast media companies,” the plan says. “Advance free speech and end digital surveillance without meaningful consent. … Champion increased ownership and portability of private data.”

Pence noted in the call that The Heritage Foundation, the parent organization of The Daily Signal, released a seven-point plan, “Fighting for America’s Future,” a day earlier, and he encouraged more such plans.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, released a separate 11-point plan. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., cautioned that Republicans should stick only to opposing Democratic President Joe Biden’s agenda.

“This is a pathway not just for winning elections, but for winning the hearts and minds of Americans,” the former vice president under Trump said of his 28-page Freedom Agenda. “We need to have a conversation about not just what’s wrong with the other side, but also the spirit of a freedom agenda.”

The plan calls for fortifying NATO allies, allies in the Western Hemisphere, and Israel. It also calls for the United States to stand strong against Russia, China, and Iran.

Pence said Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan signaled a green light to adversaries such as Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine and Chinese President Xi Jinping to invade Taiwan.

“Weakness arouses evil, and the weak leadership [from the Biden administration] has emboldened our adversaries,” he said.

The former vice president noted, “The Trump-Pence administration changed the national consensus on China to understand it is the leading threat to American security.”

The Pence plan also called for an end to federal taxpayer funding for abortion “once and for all,” as well as ending funding for Planned Parenthood. The plan also provides policy proposals for promoting adoption.

On border security, the plan calls for finishing construction of a southern border wall, deporting illegal alien criminals and gang members, and passing a nationwide ban on sanctuary cities.

For election reform, Pence said the country needs universal voter ID.

“Make in-person voting the primary method of voting,” adding that voting by mail “should be rare and only for a very limited set of circumstances, with clear guidelines and procedures for requesting, receiving, casting, validating, and auditing mail-in ballots.”

This article was published on the DailySignal.com.

In just 14 months, Joe Biden has done more damage to our nation than any president in modern history. With inflation at a 40-year high, record-breaking illegal immigration, gas prices up 70 percent, and Biden now warning families to prepare for food shortages, the American way of life is under attack like never before. It is no surprise that the president’s approval rating has plummeted to an all-time low.

In 2022, conservatives have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save America from decline and decay brought on by progressive policies, and to build a true governing majority that could last for generations. But in order to win, conservatives must do more than criticize and complain — we must unite our movement around a bold, optimistic agenda that offers a clear and compelling choice to the American people.

Elections are about the future. Leftists would love nothing more than for conservatives to talk about the past — anything but the mess the Left has made of the present, or the disastrous future that awaits if it remains in power.

Conservatives must be relentlessly focused on the future if we hope to stop the radical Left from destroying this country. That’s why the advocacy group I founded, Advancing American Freedom, has released a detailed Freedom Agenda developed with the help of nearly 50 of the brightest stars in the conservative movement.

The Freedom Agenda provides a clear road map for conservative leaders looking to connect deeply with the American people on their top priorities. It is built upon the belief that Americans want to create more economic opportunity, want to restore American leadership on the world stage, and are proud of traditional American culture and want to preserve it.

Under the Freedom Agenda, conservatives should not hesitate to take bold stands in support of local law enforcement, tough sentences for violent criminals, and powerful border-security measures to shut down illegal immigration. Conservatives should demand that parents be given the right to choose where their children go to school, that schools embrace patriotic education rather than political indoctrination, and that participation in sports be determined by one’s gender at birth as a matter of fairness and common sense.

To preserve our God-given rights, the Freedom Agenda calls for cracking down on Big Tech censorship, adopting universal voter ID and limiting mail-in ballots to only the rarest of circumstances, and permanently ending taxpayer funding for abortion. Most importantly, it provides a framework to return the sanctity of life to the center of American law, and to preserve the right of all Americans to live, work, and worship according to their faith.

For America to be prosperous again, conservatives should work to extend the Trump–Pence tax cuts, restore American energy independence, and support reciprocal trade deals that bring jobs back home to America. At the same time, conservatives must move toward a merit-based immigration system that prioritizes the jobs and wages of American citizens.

Finally, the Freedom Agenda encourages conservatives to embrace policies that will restore American power and prestige in international affairs. As war rages in Eastern Europe, America must stand strong against Russian aggression and rally our Western allies to defend freedom. Conservatives must demand renewed military investments, including in cybersecurity and technology, to counter the growing threat posed by countries such as China and Russia. Finally, conservatives should work to revoke China’s Most Favored Nation trading status and maintain the tariffs imposed by the Trump–Pence administration.

Merging traditional conservative values with the successes of the Trump–Pence administration is a proven formula that will lead to extraordinary growth for the United States.

Today in America, what’s at stake is the very survival of our nation. We cannot afford to take our eyes off the task in front of us, or to be distracted by grievances of the past. In 2022 and beyond, the American people will decide whether their children and grandchildren stand tall as citizens of the freest nation on earth, or whether they are forced to live in the economic, moral, and spiritual poverty of socialism.

With the Freedom Agenda, conservatives can keep our eyes firmly fixed on the future and build a bigger, broader, and bolder majority that lasts for generations to come.

This was originally featured in the National Review.