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Leadership Institute

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The Leadership Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia that teaches "political technology." [1] The Institute's mission is to "identify, train, recruit and place conservatives in politics, government, and media" through a variety of programs offered at the Institute's Arlington headquarters or at its many training seminars held around the United States, mostly on college campuses. As of August 2007, the Leadership Institute had trained more than 58,000 students. During the fall of 2006, its Campus Leadership Program had around 60 field reps. In the spring of 2007, that number decreased to around 10. The Institute sent out 70 field reps in the fall of 2007. While the Leadership Institute claims to have more than 1,000 student organizations at colleges nationwide, many have ceased to exist.

1 A Non-Partisan Organization
2 Philosophy and curriculum
3 International Training
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

A Non-Partisan Organization

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Leadership Institute is required by law to remain non-partisan. Thus the Institute cannot endorse or support any party or candidate, though it is free to be philosophically conservative. The Institute's founder and president, Morton Blackwell, is very active in the Republican Party an RNC member from Virginia, but the Leadership Institute carefully guards its non-partisan status, which is partially dependent upon the organization "not supporting or advocating the election of any candidate for federal, state, or local office." (Although Blackwell was known to have supported the election of Paul Gourley in an election for College Republican National Committee Chairman and sent a letter of endorsement in an election for chairman of the Young Republican National Committee, these are Blackwell's personal actions and they are not "federal, state, or local offices," and his involvement in these races would not affect LI's tax-exempt status.) Leadership Institute training sessions and leadership schools are open to students regardless of party registration. The instructors, though typically conservative, use examples and anecdotes from multiple political parties and all points on the political spectrum. Although its funding comes from wealthy conservatives ($7 million per year), Morton Blackwell, the institute's president, claims that it does not teach family values or conservative ideology per se. In fact, Mark Montini, one of the institute's former teachers, told his classes that Bill Clinton's skills as a communicator were greater than those of Ronald Reagan, the 'Great Communicator.' Many of the students agree with this observation and see the 'technology' as being politically neutral. Student Leslie Quillen, 22, said "If we can use the technology from the other side to convey the message that we sincerely believe, that is when we will win." The Leadership Institute raises much of its money through direct-mailing campaigns. A recent letter (May 7, 2005) sent to potential donors came with the signature of J.C. Watts, a Republican representative from Oklahoma. The letter said that liberal media bias is out of control and something needs to be done about it.

Philosophy and curriculum

While the Institute does not provide instruction in philosophical conservatism, it does encourage its graduates to read classic conservative authors like Edmund Burke and Frederic Bastiat, as well as contemporary conservative thinkers including William F. Buckley Jr., Milton Friedman, Barry Goldwater, and F. A. Hayek. The Leadership Institute teaches 39 different classes and seminars using its own curriculum. The class content varies from teaching different methods of political activism (i.e. grassroots activism) to professional training and development (i.e. broadcast journalism). The Institute's website lists the schools, content, and dates.

International Training

The Institute has developed an interest in training students internationally, and has been active in the creation of similar Institutes in Greece, Chile, France, the U.K., Korea, Canada, and Japan.