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DECEMBER 10, 2017

WE THE PEOPLE RADIO

WE THE PEOPLE RADIO

Hour 1 Expert Analysis on the Middle East WE THE PEOPLE RADIO
  Clare M. Lopez  
Hour 2 What's Really Happening in Congress WE THE PEOPLE RADIO
  Brad Fitch    encore of July 2, 2017  
Hour 1:

"Expert Analysis on the Middle East"

We are incredibly sorry that Clare couldn't do both hours today as planned. She let me know this morning just prior to the show that her schedule had changed. We hope that you enjoyed the time we were able to spend with her. She is amazingly interesting.

Clare M. Lopez                                          WE THE PEOPLE RADIO

Clare M. Lopez is a strategic policy and intelligence expert with a focus on national defense, Islam, Iran, and counterterrorism issues. Currently a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and vice president of the Intelligence Summit, she formerly was a career operations officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, a professor at the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies, Executive Director of the Iran Policy Committee from 2005-2006, and has served as a consultant, intelligence analyst, and researcher for a variety of defense firms. She was named a Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute in 2011.

Already an advisor to EMP Act America, in February 2012 Ms. Lopez was named a member of the Congressional Task Force on National and Homeland Security, which focuses on the Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) threat to the nation. She is deputy director of the U.S. Counterterrorism Advisory Team for the Military Department of the South Carolina National Guard and serves as a member of the Boards of Advisors/Directors for the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, the Clarion Fund, the Institute of World Affairs, the Intelligence Analysis and Research program at her undergraduate alma mater, Notre Dame College of Ohio, and United West. She has been a Visiting Researcher and guest lecturer on counterterrorism, national defense, and international relations at Georgetown University. Ms. Lopez is a regular contributor to print and broadcast media on subjects related to Iran and the Middle East and the co-author of two published books on Iran. She is the author of an acclaimed paper for the Center, The Rise of the Iran Lobby and co-author/editor of the Center's Team B II study, "Shariah: The Threat to America".

Ms. Lopez received a B.A. in Communications and French from Notre Dame College of Ohio and an M.A. in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She completed Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Quantico, Virginia before declining a commission, in favor of joining the CIA.

https://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/

https://www.understandingthethreat.com/

http://www.aim.org/benghazi/ - Citizens' Commission on Benghazi - final report 6/29/16

For twenty-five years, the Center for Security Policy has pioneered the organization, management and direction of public policy coalitions to promote U.S. national security. Even more importantly, the Center’s mission has been to secure the adoption of the products of such efforts by skillfully enlisting support from executive branch officials, key legislators, other public policy organizations, opinion-shapers in the media and the public at large.

The philosophy of “Peace through Strength” is not a slogan for military might but a belief that America’s national power must be preserved and properly used for it holds a unique global role in maintaining peace and stability.

The process the Center has repeatedly demonstrated is the unique ability that makes the Center the “Special Forces in the War of Ideas”: forging teams to get things done that would otherwise be impossible for a small and relatively low-budget organization. In this way, we are able to offer maximum “bang for the buck” for the donors who make our work possible. This approach has enabled the Center to have an outsized impact.

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Frank Gaffney is the President and Founder of the Center for Security Policy.

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Hour 2   encore of July 2, 2017   WE THE PEOPLE RADIO
"What's Really Happening in Congress" - Brad Fitch

Bradford Fitch, President & CEO Congressional Management Foundation

Part of the mission of the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) is to explain how Congress REALLY works, often dispelling myths that endlessly emerge in the media. Recently I appeared on CSPAN's "Washington Journal" and had the opportunity to tear down some of these myths. Below are some excerpts and link the full interview.

LINK TO FULL INTERVIEW:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?427540-5/washington-journal-bradford-fitch-discusses-health-benefits-members-congress

EXCERPTS

ON PERKS. “Most of the perks that Congress have gotten over the decades have been whittled away by law and regulation and practice, and there are only a few left. Most of the things you’ve heard are not true.” 

ON HEALTH BENEFITS. “This is the frustrating thing when I talk about the perks. This information gets exaggerated and people want to portray them [Congress] getting special subsidies. It’s just not that way. [Members of Congress and staff] are treated just like regular employees working for a large organization….The myth out that is that Members of Congress get all these extra benefits. It is just not true.”

ON CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT WITH CONGRESS. “We have been studying citizen engagement for the last 15 years, looking at what works and what helps build better relationships between citizens and lawmakers. One the myths out there that CMF hopes to dispel is that citizen voices do not make a difference. We did a survey of congressional staff and asked this question, “If your member of Congress has not arrived at a firm decision on an issue, how much influence does the following advocacy strategies have on his or her decision. The number one answer, at 94%, was in-person visits from constituents. The one thing our research shows that people getting engaged is a good thing for our democracy.”

ON RESOURCES FOR CONGRESS. "People think Congress has all these resources and staff. In fact Congress hasn’t increased its resources since 1974, and the House of Representatives cut its budget by 20 percent since 2011 for each Member office.

 
 

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