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American Principles Project
AbbreviationAPP
Formation2009
FoundersFrancis P. Cannon, Jeff Bell, Robert P. George
Legal statusNon-profit
Headquarters2800 Shirlington Road, Arlington, VA 22206
Coordinates38°50′33″N 77°05′05″W / 38.842541°N 77.084644°W / 38.842541; -77.084644
Chairman of the Board
Sean Fieler
Founding President
Francis P. Cannon
President
Terry Schilling
Budget
Revenue: $2,072,613
Expenses: $1,964,657
(FYE December 2014)[1]
Websiteamericanprinciplesproject.org

The American Principles Project (APP), originally named American Principles in Action, is a socially conservative 501(c)(4) think tank founded in 2009 by Robert P. George, Jeff Bell, and Francis P. Cannon.[2] It is chaired by Sean Fieler.[3][4] It is led by Terry Schilling, the son of the late former U.S. Representative Bobby Schilling.[5][6] The organization has an affiliated super PAC (political action committee), the American Principles Project PAC, which receives significant funding from Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein.[7][8] It also has an affiliated 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the American Principles Project Foundation.

The American Principles Project focuses on using social issues as a way to turn out voters for conservative candidates.[9] It advocates for parental rights and has criticized or opposed abortion rights, Common Core education standards, Federal Reserve System monetary policy, same-sex marriage, transgender rights, and voting rights legislation. In particular, after the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage in 2015, APP shifted to advocacy against affirmation of transgender identity in young people.[10]

History

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In 2009, the American legal scholar Robert P. George and political strategist Francis P. Cannon formed APP. They aimed to create a grass-roots movement around George's ideas, which included that homosexual sex is morally wrong.[11] In 2010, Jeff Bell became the policy director at APP, alongside Cannon.[12] Bell established a project to encourage Tea Party lawmakers to support a return to the gold standard.[13][14] Bell left his APP position in 2014.[15]

In 2011, APP sponsored a Republican presidential primary debate, called the Palmetto Freedom Forum, where panelists Jim DeMint, Steve King, and Robert P. George asked questions.[16]

Following the Republican Party's post-2012 election review, in which the GOP suggested de-emphasizing social issues, APP published a report detailing the importance of social issues to the Republican Party.[17] The report pointed out that Republicans ran almost exclusively on economic issues during the 2012 election to lackluster effect.[17]

In 2018, the APP Foundation released a “Contract with American Families” describing its agenda for 2019.[18] In 2021, APP created a membership program that it called an "NRA for Families."[19]

APP is a member of the advisory board of Project 2025,[20] a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive power should the Republican nominee win the 2024 presidential election.[21] Terry Schilling, president of APP, advised the 2024 Republican National Convention platform committee on social and family issues.[22]

Super PAC

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APP chairman Sean Fieler is a major funder of the American Principles Project and gave more than $1.3 million to the APP super PAC between 2013 and 2023.[23] The PAC received $3.2 million from Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein between 2020 and 2022.[7] Thomas Klingenstein, chairman of the Claremont Institute, contributed $500,000 to the PAC in 2020.[23] In the second half of 2023 the PAC received $2.3 million in funding, including $2.1 million from Restoration PAC, which is mostly funded by the Uihleins.[8]

In 2020, the APP PAC spread disinformation that falsely claimed Joe Biden endorsed "sex change treatments" for children between age 8 and 10 years old.[24][25] In 2022, the PAC spent $25,000 on commercials for a school board election in Polk County, Florida,[26] supporting candidates that were running on a parental rights platform.[27] In 2023, it spent at least $66,000 on advertising in support of Daniel Kelly in the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election,[28] including ads with false information about school district policies regarding transgender youth.[29] In 2023 it also funded an attack ad against Kentucky governor Andy Beshear that said re-electing him would lead to the government removing trans-identifying children from families if parents asked them questions, which was not part of his platform.[30]

Policy initiatives

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Abortion

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APP is anti-abortion.[31] In 2009, APP cofounder George explained his position that abortion is a moral crime.[11] In 2023, APP policy director Jon Schweppe recommended that politicians pursue a federal ban on abortion with exceptions popular with voters, including rape, incest, or if the health or life of the mother is at risk.[32] APP president Schilling also called for "A 15-week law that allow[s] exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. That’s harder for the other side to take down."[33]

Diversity programs

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APP has conducted focus groups to evaluate how to effectively criticize the concept of diversity programs as part of election campaigns for conservative candidates, such as by emphasizing the terms "woke" and "DEI".[34]

Education

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The American Principles Project has been critical of Common Core standards.[35][36] In 2012, Jane Robbins, Senior Fellow at the American Principles Project, and Emmett McGroarty, Executive Director of APP Education, co-authored a report for the APP and the Pioneer Institute called Controlling Education From The Top: Why Common Core Is Bad For America.[37] APP staff members have testified before state legislatures, encouraging states to withdraw from the Common Core standards.[38] APP argued that the Republican Party would suffer in the 2016 presidential election if it fielded a pro-Common Core candidate.[39]

APP chairman Sean Fieler told Politico in 2014 that he had instructed the American Principles Project to invest $500,000 in organizing the opposition to the Common Core education standards as part of his organization's "long-standing drive for school choice."[40]

APP has also opposed the teaching of critical race theory and transgender topics in public schools.[41]

Gay and transgender people

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APP aims to change societal attitudes toward gay and transgender rights.[42] APP has funded political campaign ads that reflect the organization's opposition to civil rights protections for LGBTQ people.[43] APP has opposed same-sex marriage and supported restrictions on transgender youth.[44]

In the 2017 Virginia elections, the American Principles Project ran anti-transgender robocalls in the district of Democratic candidate Danica Roem, a former journalist who is a transgender woman.[45]

In 2019, APP conducted research on how to raise voter concern about transgender rights in order to build support for conservative candidates, and it decided to emphasize messaging about transgender children in sports competitions.[46][10]

In February 2021 Terry Schilling co-authored an op-ed in USA TODAY criticizing the proposed Equality Act, arguing that transgender women should not compete in women's sports.[47] In 2022 the American Principles PAC funded political advertisements in six states with claims about Democratic candidates, such as that they were "pushing dangerous transgender drugs and surgeries on kids" and "would destroy girls’ sports".[48] The APP PAC spent close to $16 million in the 2022 midterm elections on anti-trans campaign ads,[49] although the Republican candidates lost many of those elections.[50]

The APP has said that its longterm goal is to eliminate transgender healthcare in its entirety.[51] In February 2023, the group's president, Terry Schilling, told CNN that they oppose gender-affirming care for all Americans, regardless of age and that they are working with states to introduce and pass bans on it for all ages, but are starting with bans for children since "that's where the vast majority of the American people are right now."[52]

Immigration

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Alfonso Aguilar, APP's Director of Hispanic Engagement, has spoken in favor of birthright citizenship[53] and against use of the term "anchor baby".[54] In 2015, he opposed Trump's platforms on legal and illegal immigration,[55] but endorsed Trump in 2016.[56]

Monetary policy

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The American Principles Project has been critical of Federal Reserve System monetary policy and advocated for monetary reform by suggesting a return to the gold standard.[57][58]

In November 2014, Steve Lonegan, Director of Monetary Policy at the American Principles Project, sent a public letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen requesting a meeting to discuss how current monetary policy is "reducing" the standard of living for "average working Americans."[59]

In 2015, American Principles Project funded a conference on economic policy held from August 27–29, 2015, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to advocate for hard money monetary policies and an end to government involvement in the money supply.[60] According to associates of hedge fund CEO Robert Mercer interviewed by Bloomberg, Mercer was the main financial backer of the Jackson Hole Summit.[61]

Pornography

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See also: Legality of pornography in the United States

APP has argued for establishing laws that would limit access to pornographic websites, as a way to change the cultural acceptability of pornography.[62] It has lobbied for state and federal laws requiring age verification systems for pornographic websites, including the Kids Online Safety Act.[63]

Technology companies

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See also: Big Tech § Accusations of censorship and election interference

APP has said that Big Tech companies have "interfered in our elections and increasingly censored conservatives".[64] The organization has worked with the American Economic Liberties Project and progressive activist groups such as Demand Progress on antitrust legislation efforts.[65] In 2021, APP made a website and browser extension that provided information about nonprofits, think tanks, and academic institutions that take funding from Facebook, Google, Amazon, or Apple.[66] The intent was to provide transparency about organizations participating in lobbying about antitrust bills.[66]

Voting

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See also: Republican efforts to restrict voting following the 2020 presidential election

APP has worked with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America against voting rights legislation.[67] APP supported stricter voting laws, including requiring signature verification for absentee ballots, in order to retain donors to APP who were concerned about voter fraud.[68] In 2021, the APP PAC contributed $280,000 to Restoration PAC, which ran inaccurate commercials about the For the People Act.[69] APP's voting-related work was criticized by some Catholic organizations.[70]

References

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  4. ^ Gillman, Todd (February 5, 2015). "Rick Perry embraces idea that Texas is "crazy" at American Principles Project gala". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
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