Gary Lee Bauer (born May 4 1946, Covington, Kentucky)[1] is a conservative American politician notable for his ties to several evangelical Christian groups and campaigns. Bauer received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown College and a law degree from Georgetown University. He served as Ronald Reagan's Undersecretary of Education from 1982 to 1987, and as an advisor on domestic policy from 1987 to 1988.[1] While serving under Reagan, he was named Chairman of President Reagan's Special Working Group on the Family. His report, "The Family: Preserving America's Future," was presented to the President in December 1986.[2] Bauer served as the president of the Family Research Council from 1988-1999.[3] He resigned from this position to run for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. He dropped out of the race after the primaries in February 2000. In 1996, he founded the Campaign for Working Families (CWF), a non-partisan Political Action Committee dedicated to electing pro-family, pro-life and pro-free enterprise candidates to federal and state offices.[4] In addition to serving as the chairman of CWF, Bauer is also the president of American Values, a non-profit organization committed to defending life, traditional marriage, and equipping children with conservative values. [5]
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Political posture
Bauer describes himself as pro-life. He supports a Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, and prefers abstinence programs to current sex education programs. He is a supporter of the death penalty. [6] On foreign policy issues, Bauer supports strong ties with Israel, would not trade with China until the country improves its human rights record, and supports military action undertaken to ensure American security. He supports full funding for the Iraq War, and opposes setting dates for troop withdrawal. On economic issues, Bauer supports income tax cuts and decreased regulation of small businesses. He has stated that corporations should serve the U.S. as well as their shareholders, and has occasionally been critical of the World Trade Organization.
Presidential campaign
In the fall of 1999, two senior members of Bauer's campaign staff raised questions about closed-door meetings between Bauer and a female campaign aide, Melissa McClard. Bauer's refusal to acknowledge any impropriety, or to apologize for the appearance thereof, prompted a number of campaign workers to resign.[7]
Rage Against the Machine
Following an incident at a 2000 town hall event in which Republican primary candidate Alan Keyes crowd-surfed in the mosh pit of a group playing the music of rock band Rage Against the Machine, Bauer made a statement that "a band called The Machine Rages On - er - Rage Against the Machine, that band is anti-family, and it's pro-terrorist", which was quoted in the band's "Sleep Now In the Fire" video. [8]
Media activities
Bauer has recently branched out into the realm of talk radio, co-hosting a show that is broadcast occasionally on WABC's radio affiliate in New York with talk radio host Mike Rosen.
Organizations
Bauer has been involved in the following organizations:
- American Values, president[9]
- Campaign for Working Families, chairman[10]
- Family Research Council, past president
- Project for the New American Century[11]
- Christians United For Israel, executive board[12]
References
- ^ a b OnPolitics: Bauer (R). The Washington Post (2000). Retrieved on May 4, 2007.
- ^ http://www.ouramericanvalues.org/bauer_main.php
- ^ http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PG03F06&f=WX03E10
- ^ http://www.cwfpac.com/about.php
- ^ http://www.ouramericanvalues.org/about.php
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20050206025635/http://www.issues2000.org/2000/Gary_Bauer.htm
- ^ http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/106/21.0.html, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-09/30/012r-093099-idx.html
- ^ http://www.langston.com/Fun_People/2000/2000ADE.html
- ^ http://www.ouramericanvalues.org/
- ^ http://www.cwfpac.com/
- ^ http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm
- ^ http://www.cufi.com/executiveboard.aspx
