January 28, 2011, Arlington, VA—Staff from the Leadership Institute's Campus Reform went out to the March for Life in DC Monday to talk with attendees, many of them college students, about why they came so far to walk for a cause in weather so cold . Click more to watch the full video.On Monday, Jan. 24 people all across our nation gathered in Washington, D.C. to march for those with no voice. Attendees, many of them students, came to America's capitol to send a pro-life message to legislators that life begins at conception and ends in natural death.The rally commenced at noon on the National Mall where more than 20 Members of Congress spoke and affirmed their shared view of life with hundreds of thousands of pro-life activists. After the rally, around 2 p.m., the activists marched up toward the Supreme Court where the landmark case Roe v. Wade set the precedent for legalized abortions.To watch the full video of attendees from the 38th annual March for Life, please click here.The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 91,500 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org-30->

Due to inclement weather, the Leadership Institute has postponed the "Free Lunch" Panel Series scheduled for today at noon. An announcement will be made as soon as a new date has been confirmed with the panelist speakers. If you have any questions, please contact Tyler Foote by email or phone at (703) 247-2000. Thank you for your support of LI. We hope to see you at the rescheduled luncheon.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The email from Illinois State Representative Tom Morrison was simple: "Thanks to training at the Leadership Institute, my campaign manager and I beat an incumbent Illinois state representative in the primary, and we went on to win in the general election by 24%." Of course, the story had more to it. Tom, a 36-year-old local business owner, started taking Leadership Institute training in 2005. His first class was a Grassroots Workshop that the Leadership Institute hosted in Chicago, Illinois -- not far from Tom's hometown of Palatine. A few months later, he came for more training at the Leadership Institute's Arlington, Virginia office: Public Relations School, Campaign Leadership School, and Future Candidate School in quick succession. When LI training came to Chicago the next summer to offer more training, Tom was there too. He attended the Institute's Grassroots Fundraising Workshop and Television Training Workshop, and then took an intensive, One-on-One Television Workshop. Tom publicly declared his candidacy for Illinois state representative less than a year later in September 2009. His primary race was against a six-term incumbent who previously had beaten challengers. When Tom won his primary race in February 2010, a local newspaper characterized it as a stunning upset. When Tom won the general election in November 2010, he did so by 24 percentage points. Now Tom is a freshman member of the Illinois General Assembly. In one of his first official acts, he surprised senior members when he refused to join the Assembly's “lucrative” pension program on the principle of cutting government spending. Tom has credited his campaign victories to a "very, very strong grassroots effort" -- and Leadership Institute training. "We were outspent in both elections nearly 2-1,” but were still victorious, Tom explained to the Leadership Institute. “Thank you for all of your good work. I've told dozens of people about your outstanding programs, and that you all were the key to my success.” Tom joined hundreds of Leadership Institute graduates in winning political office in the 2010 election. Whether you're a candidate for student government, state house, US Senate, or any office among them, Leadership Institute training can help you too. Review LI's 2011 training schedule, and contact LI's Grassroots Department if you'd like to bring Leadership Institute training to your town.

The potential for growth of conservative political strength still exists. The rapid, spontaneous growth of grassroots conservative activity in 2009 and 2010 proves that. It turns out that the more groups you have and the greater the number of people you activate and teach how to be effective, the more power that you have to impact on the public policy process. I don't have to tell you how often Supreme Court decisions on liberal versus conservative issues are now decided on a five to four basis. The Congress is divided between conservatives and the left, with many congressional elections decided by only a handful of votes. The next presidential election is likely to be very close. Conservatives may once again be able to unite behind a conservative to win a presidential nomination and the 2012 presidential election. The margins of victory in the American public policy process may be smaller now than at any other time in American history. You can make a difference, now and in the future. The number of American conservative activists and leaders is certainly growing. To grow in effectiveness, they must study how to win. My Leadership Institute now offers 40 types of training schools in the public policy process. You can review those 40 types of schools online. For the first time, political training for conservatives is available online, on demand, and free 24 hours a day. Other conservative organizations also offer worthwhile training you should consider. Nothing would be more disappointing politically than for conservatives to lose because of avoidable mistakes. So I urge you, remember the real nature of politics and the clinching argument which has revived the power of conservative principles in America: You owe it to your philosophy to study how to win. You have a moral obligation to learn how to win. Morton Blackwell is the president of the Leadership Institute. This post is excerpted from "Another Large Influx of Grassroots Conservatives."

January 25, 2011, Arlington, VA—Despite the freezing weather, tens of thousands of people gathered in Washington, D.C. yesterday to walk for life. Read on for more about yesterday, including pictures.The 33rd annual March for Life was a several day event with several rallies, an exhibit hall, a march with more than 25 pro-life Members of Congress speaking, and a closing dinner.For more information on March for Life, click here.The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 91,500 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org-30- >

January 21, 2011, Arlington, VA—Leadership Institute Graduate Amanda Carpenter, who is currently a speechwriter and senior communications advisor to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has been named one of the Top 10 Capitol Hill Staffers to watch, according to the Washington Post. Amanda Carpenter has taken 10 LI trainings, including: Broadcast Journalism, Public Speaking, Student Publications, and Television Workshop—both introduction to techniques and on camera, and the Youth Leadership School. She has lectured as a distinguished faculty member at four LI trainings, including: Conservative Career Workshop, Advanced Student Publications School, and two Public Relations Schools. Ms. Carpenter has “achieved two of her long-term goals in 2010, when she placed op-eds in both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. But it's her digital media savvy that really distinguishes Carpenter from the pack. Among her other qualifications for the job was an enviable Twitter presence. At last count, Carpenter has well over 16,000 followers on the micro-blogging site,” The Washington Post said. To read the full article from the Washington Post, please click here. Her full story can be found here. The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 91,500 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org -30- 

January 20, 2011, Arlington, VA—After the Leadership Institute's Capitol Hill Staff Training School in November, Alex VanNess of Baltimore, Maryland landed an internship in Congressman Doug Lamborn's (CO-05) office. Mr. VanNess said, “You provide an invaluable service to the Hill job hunter.” “I just wanted to thank you and the Leadership Institute, again, for holding the Capitol Hill Staff Training School. I also thought that you would be interested to know that shortly after making the revisions to my resume, utilizing the suggestions of [LI staff], I received an offer.” “I would also like to note that at the very beginning of my interview, it was commented to me that my resume looked very professional and well put together. Thank you so much. Without your help, I do not feel that this opportunity would have presented itself and I am looking forward to utilizing the rest of the skills I have learned from the Leadership Institute to further networking toward my career aspirations,” said Mr. VanNess. The Capitol Hill Staff Training School helps conservatives looking to work in Congress by bringing in distinguished faculty to highlight students' personal strengths, interview skills, salary negotiation, annual budget process, and the legislative process in the House and in the Senate. The Leadership Institute's next Capitol Hill Staff Training School is February 2-3, 2011. To sign up contact Amanda Bowman at ABowman@limail.us or go here. The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 91,500 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org -30-

January 19, 2011, Arlington, VA—Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, spoke January 5 at the Leadership Institute's monthly Wednesday Wakeup Club Breakfast. Read on for Mr. Phillips' personal comments on the Leadership Institute and to watch the video. To view the full breakfast video on January 5, please go here. At the breakfast Mr. Phillips said, “There are many reasons that I'm thankful to Morton Blackwell and the Leadership Institute. Some of them are personal. Twenty-six years ago I was a 19-year-old young man with not much to offer frankly, except maybe a good work ethic that my parents instilled in me. Morton trained me through LI Youth Leadership Program. He pulled me aside late on a Sunday night, it must have been about midnight. We ate a couple of Oreo cookies about midnight, and he said, “Young man, you need to go on a campaign somewhere,” as I'm sure many of you and thousands of other Americans have heard over the last 30 years. So, two weeks later I was in the coal fields of southwest Virginia, and I found my life's calling. But, he did more than that. He had a young lady working for him. She may have been the 5th or 6th employee, Morton, it was way back in 1984. And she was really pretty, I mean, beautiful, smart, just like all of your folks are. I married her about 7 months later. The bad news was I took her away from LI. We moved down to work on the next campaign, that also Morton helped me work with. So on a personal level there is a lot to be thankful for. But, the other thing I'm thankful for is Leadership Institute. I see the growth; I see the dynamic programs and the difference they're making; Morton and all the LI staff… I meet your graduates all over the country, whether it's at one of the hot air events that Abigail talked about where we're fighting cap and trade or whether it's the hands off our health care bus tour and ad effort we ran, which by the way, Rachel Maddow called “the bloody red hand” because we had this big red hand print on the side of the bus (that's actually pretty good I thought). We meet your graduates everywhere. They are the grassroots activists of America. They are the people who are organizing locally. They are the people who are helping us beat the left right now. Make no mistake. The battle in DC is not decided. But out in the rest of the country, we're beating them right now. I can tell you that with confidence having been in all 50 states in the last year, except Hawaii. Morton, I cannot get the AFP Hawaii chapter up and running. My board won't let me; it's very frustrating for me. We're going to do one day, maybe. I can tell you we're winning everywhere with the American people, and that's something LI is a crucial role in. I meet your graduates everywhere,” said Mr. Phillips. The next LI Wednesday Wakeup Club Breakfast is scheduled for Wednesday, February 2 featuring guest speaker Todd Herman. To register, click here to pay online or call Joanne Bogan at 703-247-2000. The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 91,500 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org -30- 

January 18, 2011, Arlington, VA—The Leadership Institute trained Mike Watson, founder and president of Control Automation Technologies Corporation, a precision instrument testing laboratory company. Read on for his personal testimony. Mr. Watson has taken many LI trainings, including: the public speaking workshop, campaign manager school, future candidate school and legislative project management school. Mr. Watson said, “I am writing to thank your fine organization for providing such a wonderful learning opportunity for conservative activists, future candidates and political professionals. I first learned of the Leadership Institute at the 2009 RPV Advance in Williamsburg during one of your lectures and followed up with you at a subsequent CARMA meeting. Since, I've completed the Public Speaking Workshop, Future Candidate School and have already benefited both personally and professionally from each. In addition, I have a clear vision of goals for the Commonwealth of Virginia and our Nation and as I determine the route that I will take to accomplish these, rest assured, I will make a difference. Without a doubt, the knowledge and skills learned through LI will be a significant facilitator in this effort.” Mr. Watson is working with a couple of campaigns now as well as serving in leadership roles with both the local Tea Party and Republican Committee. Control Automation Technologies Corporation is accredited through the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation ("A2LA") and provides test equipment calibration services to manufacturing industries including pharmaceutical, power generation, chemical, automotive and many more. Mr. Watson's company was selected as "North Carolina Small Business of the Year" in 1998 and state finalist for the US Chamber of Commerce "Blue Chip Enterprise Award" in 1999. They are active in the community, frequently sponsoring or supporting various charitable causes and are the principle sponsor for the Billy Friend Endowed Educational Scholarship at NRCC in Dublin, VA. For more information about the company, please click here. The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation that has been training conservatives to win since 1979. LI's mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 91,500 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org -30- 

January 17, 2011, Arlington, VA—Washington Post Columnist George Will wrote yesterday on two of the four distinguishing tenants between liberals and conservatives that Leadership Institute Vice President Steve Sutton often lectures on.Mr. Sutton said, “Here's an outstanding op-ed by George Will which discusses two of the areas conservatives should focus on in the coming months. Another outstanding analysis by Mr. Will.”Washington Post's January 16th column by George Will starts, “Unlike most of the 111 that preceded it, the 112th Congress must begin the process of restoring the national regime and civic culture the Founders bequeathed. This will require reviving the rule of law, reasserting the relevance of the Constitution and affirming the reality of American exceptionalism.”To read the full article, please click here.The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation that has been training conservatives to win since 1979. LI's mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 91,500 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org -30- >

January 13, 2011, Arlington, VA—The Leadership Institute, through generous donors, was able to train more than 9,500 students in 2010, with seven being in the freshman class of the 112th Congress. Read on for LI President Morton Blackwell's thoughts on this past year.LI President Morton Blackwell said, “Last year my staff set records in almost every area of LI programs. Last year more than 9,500 people were students at our 40 types of in-person training programs, and more than 4,000 viewed LI political training lectures online, the first year the Institute ever offered online training. The new Congress includes seven freshmen congressmen who are graduates of Leadership Institute training. Dozens of other House and Senate winners had LI grads in leadership positions in their campaigns.”“Right now my team and I are working hard to maintain and expand our programs over the next two years because I believe the 2012 elections will be at least as important as last year's,” said Mr. Blackwell.The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 91,500 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org-30- >

January 13, 2011, Arlington, VA—The Leadership Institute trained Organize4Palin's Grassroots Manager Karen Allen in public speaking, activism, and campaign management. Read on for her personal testimony. "The training exceeded my expectations. What I really liked was that there was not just 'how to campaign' information taught, but 'how to think' information as well. The way the course was ordered, the expertise of the speakers, and the efficiency of everything was impressive. On top of it, with the living and eating arrangements taken care of so well, I didn't have to worry about anything other than studying. It is a highly effective set up," Ms. Allen said. "I feel so much more prepared and empowered after visiting LI. I know I still have a lot to learn, but attending has made it so much easier to recognize and avoid a lot of pitfalls." The Leadership Institute is a non-partisan educational organization and does not endorse, support, or oppose candidates or proposed legislation. LI has an open admissions policy; all programs are open to the public. The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 90,000 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org -30-

January 12, 2011, Arlington, VA— January 15th is the deadline to submit an essay for the Sound Money Essay Contest sponsored by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. Cash prizes are given out to top writers.The contest is open to students, young faculty, and policy writers interested in sound money.Prizes include:• $2,000 to the overall winner• Two $1,000 prizes to outstanding essays written by junior faculty, graduate students, or policy writers in the United States• Two $1,000 prizes to outstanding essays written by foreign-based students, junior faculty, or policy writers• Two $500 prizes for outstanding essays written by undergraduate students in the United StatesEssay topics are:• Sound Money and Stability: How do Monetary Distortions Create Economic Imbalances?• Monetary Policy and the Rule of Law: What Are the Links Between Sound Money and the Rule of Law?• A New Monetary regime and the Future of Fiat Money: Can Improved Monetary Policies Prevent Future Crises?• The Future of Monetary Nationalism: Are Competing National Currencies and Independent Monetary Policies Compatible with a Globalized Economy?• Effective Strategies on How to Restore Limited Government Though Sound MoneyTo be eligible, you must be 35 or young, a junior faculty member or a student of a fully-accredited university, or a policy writer connected to a think tank or a policy institute.Email completed essays to SoundMoneyProject@AtlasNetwork.org before or on January 15, 2011. Include in the email your name, mailing address, the think tank, university or school you wish to list as a affiliation.For more information, click here.The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 90,000 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org-30->

January 11, 2011, Arlington, VA— The Leadership Institute trained 9,646 students in 2010 and over 91,000 since 1979. One 2010 student is Alonzo Baldonado, a real-estate salesman, who having never run for office attended LI's week-long Campaign Manager School. On January 3, 2011 Mr. Baldonodo was sworn in as a newly elected representative in the New Mexico State House. “This was my first time running for public office, and it was against a political veteran,” Mr. Baldonado said. “It was a tough race, but LI gave me the education needed to run a successful campaign.” His campaign was filled with LI trained volunteers and staff. His volunteer Carolyn Chavez took LI's campaign manager school and decided to run for a school board seat. Additionally, four of Mr. Baldonado's youth volunteers attended LI's youth activist school and have now formed a conservative youth group called Expand The Leadership. Mr. Baldonodo is just one of hundreds of winning candidates in the 2010 elections who took advantage of Leadership Institute's 40 types of training. The Leadership Institute looks forward to identifying and training thousands of more conservatives in 2011. The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 90,000 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org -30-

January 10, 2011, Arlington, VA—In light of today's 11 a.m. moment of silence reflection, the Leadership Institute extends our thoughts and prayers to the victims and their family members of Saturday's horrific shooting in Tucson, Arizona.What took place Saturday was an act of violence that has left many dead and many more wounded. We pray for a speedy recovery for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the others hurt.-30->

Today, January 5, six Leadership Institute graduates will be sworn into the US House of Representatives as freshmen members. The Leadership Institute congratulates alumni Representatives David Schweikert (AZ), Raul Labrador (ID), Tim Huelskamp (KS), Andy Harris (MD), Vicky Hartzler (MS), and Rick Berg (ND) as they enter public office to serve the American people. The Leadership Institute's next comprehensive, five-day Campaign Manager School will be held from February 28 to March 5 at the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia . You can learn more information or register for the school online. After all, you, like these LI graduates, owe it to your philosophy to learn how to win.

Some of the resume tips I'm about to list may seem like common sense to many of you, but we can always use a refresher, even when it comes to the most basic of guidelines. So, after looking at hundreds of resumes, here are the reminders for which I see a great need for review.• Keep your resume on one page. I know this is hard for people with 10+ years of experience, and there are certainly exceptions to this rule, but remember, most recruiters give resumes about 14 seconds the first time through. You want your most important information to be seen, so get it on one page to ensure nothing is overlooked.• Unless you are still in college or have graduated within the last year, always list your education at the bottom of the page.• Do not list your high school information on your resume unless you are creating one while you are still in high school.• Be consistent with punctuation. Either use periods at the end of each line or don't. Just decide on one format and stick with it.• Do NOT put a picture of yourself on your resume. It's not a good idea, don't do it.• Line your dates up on the right-hand side of the document. And be sure they are all aligned and consistent. This makes your resume much easier to read in that first 14 seconds.• List the organization, company, or office you worked/work for first, and list your title in that office directly below. Use bold or italics to differentiate between the place and the title, but always use the same font. That goes for your entire document. Nothing screams lack of attention to detail like two or three different font types and sizes in one resume.• Keep it simple. Use the standard bullet to list your responsibilities, accomplishments, and successes under each title you have had or currently have. Resist the urge to use fancy diamond, rectangular, or heart-shaped bullets. The standard black dots will suffice.• Use the whole page. Recruiters do not like to see a lot of white space on a resume. You have one 8 by 11 ½ page to sell yourself to a potential employer. So use all the space you have.• In direct contrast to the bullet above, do not use microscopic font. Anything smaller than 11 is too small, and often recruiters won't bother to read the resume if they have to squint to see what is on the page.• Finally, in your bullets under each place of employment, list your successes and accomplishments rather than just your responsibilities. Quantify your results at each organization or office. Numbers jump out on the page and are proof that you were an asset to that particular employer. I could go on, but I'll save that for another post. Happy resume building! >

The Leadership Institute wishes students, faculty, donors, and friends a merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. Because of you, the Institute trained 9,645 conservative students in 2009, and has trained more than 91,574 conservatives since 1979. LI's Employment Placement Service, through ConservativeJobs.com, helped 80 people find employment in the past year, and LI's Campus Leadership Program now works with 1,467 active conservative campus groups. In the holiday season, we are all thankful -- for our families, for our friends, and for the blessings in our lives. We at the Leadership Institute are thankful for you, and your support of the Institute and training the next generation of conservative leaders. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a Happy New Year!

December 17, 2010, Arlington, VA—This past weekend LI took its Youth Leadership School to Mexico City to train 55 college students at their request.Three students came to Arlington, VA earlier in the year to receive training and requested LI come to them in Mexico City to train more conservative college activists.Above is a picture of many of these students that have now entered into our distinguished LI graduate, alumni group.The Leadership Institute's flagship school, nicknamed “the boot camp of politics,” provides you with effective techniques to organize and lead mass-based youth efforts for candidates and causes of your choice.The Youth Leadership School has launched more successful political careers than any other Leadership Institute training program.Topics covered included:• Building an effective student organization• Getting out the vote• Earned media (favorable publicity)• Developing a public relations strategy• Launching a successful career in politicsFor more information on our upcoming trainings, please click here.The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 90,000 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org-30->

December 14, 2010, Arlington, VA—With the recent elections behind us, how should conservatives move forward? Who should lead this movement? LI President Morton Blackwell answers these questions in his recent blog post. Mr. Blackwell's RedState blog post entitled, A Better Definition of Who is a Conservative, begins, “The most important political development of the just-concluded election cycle is the enormously effective, new, political involvement of grassroots conservatives through the Tea Party groups and other, major, analogous organizations.” “My Leadership Institute has trained newly active conservatives in partnership with every one of these major groups. My staff and I therefore probably understand all these groups as well or better than anyone else.” “If these groups continue active and growing, the 2012 elections will go much as the 2010 elections did.” Mr. Blackwell's ponders what makes a person a conservative. “In this era when claiming to be a conservative can be a pathway to power for opportunists, we must better define who is truly a conservative.” “I suggest this criterion: Conservatives are people who do more for conservative principles than they think they absolutely have to do. Only meeting such a standard will sustain the enthusiasm of the millions of grassroots conservatives who emerged politically in 2010.” To read the full blog post, please click here. The Leadership Institute is an educational foundation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process. To accomplish this, LI identifies, recruits, trains, and places conservatives in government, politics, and the media. Since the Institute's 1979 founding, more than 90,000 people have been trained (with half of those being in the last six years) in one or more of the 40 current programs offered in all 50 states and across the globe. For more information, please visit: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org -30-