Today, Carolina Journal Radio’s Mitch Kokai discusses limiting government and promoting free markets with Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity. (Go to http://www.carolinajournal.com/cjradio/ to find a station near you or to learn about the weekly CJ Radio podcast.)
Kokai: For those who are not familiar with Americans for Prosperity, just give us a quick rundown of the main things that you are focusing your attention on.
Phillips: Sure. We start off on the premise that our free-market ideas are winning. Most folks know that socialism is not the way to go — it has failed — that free markets, economic freedom is the way to go. But at the ground, on the ground level, too often we lose because the big-government side has, frankly, more activists. Usually they are taxpayer-funded activists, so our job at Americans for Prosperity is to go out and find folks from all walks of life who will exert pressure on their elected leaders, and on the media, and on the other opinion leaders in their communities, to make a difference for lower taxes, less spending, less government intrusion, property rights — those kinds of things where our economic freedoms are being infringed upon.
Kokai: Seems like one of the keys for your group is to focus on getting real people, normal folks, involved in the process.
Phillips: That’s exactly right. And it’s a challenge, because, think about it. Most retired folks, they want to be with the grandkids. They may want to travel. We’re asking them to give up that and, instead, to give back and to fight for liberty. We’re asking single moms and students who are busy, and we’re asking small business owners. And it’s folks from all walks of life. We’re asking them to do something that Americans have traditionally done, which is give something back. And in this case the giving back is protecting their very economic freedoms by keeping taxes low, stopping the growth of government, etc.
Kokai: Give us a sense of where things stand for Americans for Prosperity across the US. You have chapters in each state?
Phillips: We’re growing like wildfire. A year ago we had nine chapters. Today we have 20 chapters.
Kokai: So it’s growing.
Phillips: We’re in every region of the country but New England. We’re hoping to fix that soon.
Kokai: Although people, I guess, should not be surprised that there’s one region that’s not going to have it. [LAUGHTER]
Phillips: That’s a challenging area to operate in …We doubled our membership in the last year, and the reason Americans for Prosperity is growing, I believe, is because we offer something that is a huge niche in the marketplace, and that is this: If you want to learn, if you’re an activist, or an average person, and you want to learn how to be effective for your values, how to really have an impact on your elected leaders, on the local media, we teach you how to do that. We can help you become a grassroots activist with clout. And that’s what it’s all about — teaching our people to be better [at] espousing our values and driving home our message.
Kokai: So when you look at what’s happening across the country and building your chapters, what are some of the main challenges that AFP is facing?
Phillips: Well, the biggest challenge is overcoming the idea that one person or one family can’t make a difference. So often people think, “You know what? I’m just one guy, I’m just one lady. I really can’t make a difference.” And that mindset is wrong. Legislators — our elected leaders — they respond to pressure. And maybe that’s good, maybe it’s bad, I don’t know, but I can tell you it’s a fact. And when you have a tax battle going on about whether or not your taxes are going to go up, for example, or whether or not the government is going to go deeper into debt, and bond and bonding authority, inevitably the side of big government has people whose very jobs depend on government getting bigger, pounding away at these legislators saying, “Do it. Raise the taxes. Get more money in.” We need our activists to say, “You know what? I can make a difference. I’m going to call my legislator. I’m going to go that rally at the capitol. I’m going to attend the local AFP meeting. I’m going to go to these events and make sure my voice is heard, and I’m going to talk to my friends and family.” That’s the biggest challenge we have. And that sounds like it wouldn’t be the case, but it is. People have to be convinced that revolts start with two or three people. They don’t start with 20,000 people. They start with two or three people and get bigger. And that’s probably the biggest challenge we face.
Kokai: AFP has been involved and active in North Carolina. Tell us your assessment from outside of this state of how AFP North Carolina is doing.
Phillips: Well, thankfully in Dallas [Woodhouse], we have a leader who is a hard fighter. He’s our state director. He fights hard, and he’s dedicated.
Kokai: That’s Dallas Woodhouse.
Phillips: Dallas Woodhouse, who is our state director. And it really does begin with leadership. But I’ll tell you something. When you look at the most recent few years, when you’ve seen the corruption in North Carolina among many elected leaders, when you see the pork slush funds that have been out there that Dallas and Americans for Prosperity North Carolina have exposed, it does give you pause for concern. And here’s why. This is a Southeastern state. It’s supposed to be a rock ribbed—it should be a rock-ribbed, fiscally responsible, free-market area, right? At least you would think that. Candidly, it’s not right now. And when you look at your neighbors in South Carolina and Virginia, their tax rates are lower because the politicians here have been increasing the tax rates. And what does that bring? Well, it brings wasteful spending. But also, when you are trying to get jobs to come to North Carolina now, they’re having to do these big giveaways that are an issue right now. And look — if they would just lower the tax rates, North Carolina has so much to offer. It’s got a quality of life that is wonderful. It’s got beautiful natural resources. It’s got a workforce that works super hard, and so it offers so much. But when your tax rates are high here in North Carolina, then you are reduced to having to basically give away taxpayer money to get businesses to come here. That’s no way to run a state … North Carolina, growing up, was a state we looked at and said, “Man, that state’s humming. That state’s really going.” And right now, when you look at the tax rates, and when you look at job growth, North Carolina is lagging, and I believe it’s lagging because political leaders here haven’t been pressured by activists across the state to do the right thing on spending, growth of government, and taxes.
Kokai: So should we expect to see Americans for Prosperity North Carolina playing an increasingly active role in holding these people to account?
Phillips: That’s exactly right. And I tell you something, a wise man once told me — Sen. Tom Coburn from Oklahoma, who is a free-market champion — he said, “Son, most elected officials respond to shame, and if not shame, at least shining the light on what they are doing.” And we are going to be somebody with a big spotlight shining the light and making sure folks know what’s going on with their elected leaders, and we’re going to ask these people across the state to really step forward and give back.
Kokai: Some people might be thinking, “You know, that sounds pretty good. I’d like to get involved.” How can they find out more about Americans for Prosperity in general, or specifically about working in North Carolina?
Phillips: The easiest way to do it is to go to americansforprosperity.org. There’s a North Carolina icon they can click on. It’ll tell you all the activities that have been occurring here. It’ll give you direct contact access for Dallas Woodhouse, and that’s the best, fastest way to get involved.
Kokai: And what if someone looks and doesn’t find a local chapter, but might be interested. Is that a possibility? They can contact folks and find out more about starting a new AFP group?
Phillips: You bet … and we encourage counties to start their own Americans for Prosperity North Carolina chapters. It’s easy to do. The cost is literally nothing. I mean, we help provide all the logistical services.