Council for National Policy
Encyclopedia
The Council for National Policy (CNP), is an umbrella organization and networking group for social conservative activists in the United States
. It has been described by The New York Times
as a "little-known group of a few hundred of the most powerful conservatives in the country," who meet three times yearly behind closed doors at undisclosed locations for a confidential conference. Nation magazine
has called it a secretive organization that "networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy."
It was founded in 1981 by Tim LaHaye
as a forum for conservative Christians seeking to strengthen the political right
in the United States.
The CNP describes itself as "an educational foundation organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We do not lobby Congress, support candidates, or issue public policy statements on controversial issues. Our over 600 members include many of our nation's leaders from the fields of government, business, the media, religion, and the professions. Our members are united in their belief in a free enterprise system, a strong national defense, and support for traditional western values. They meet to share the best information available on national and world problems, know one another on a personal basis, and collaborate in achieving their shared goals."
." The CNP was founded in 1981. Among its founding members were: Tim LaHaye, then the head of the Moral Majority
, Nelson Baker Hunt, T. Cullen Davis
, William Cies, and Paul Weyrich
.
Members of the CNP have included: General John Singlaub, shipping magnate J. Peter Grace
, Edwin J. Feulner Jr of the Heritage Foundation
, Rev. Pat Robertson of the Christian Broadcasting Network
, Jerry Falwell
, Senator Trent Lott
, Southern Baptist Convention
activists Texas State Judge Paul Pressler and the Rev. Paige Patterson
, Senator Don Nickles
, former United States Attorneys General Ed Meese and John Ashcroft
, gun-rights activist Larry Pratt
, Col. Oliver North
, and philanthropist Else Prince, mother of Erik Prince
, the founder of the Blackwater
private security firm.
Membership is by invitation only. The membership list, previously made public, is now "strictly confidential." Guests may attend "only with the unanimous approval of the executive committee." Members are instructed not to refer to the organization by name, to protect against leaks. New York Times political writer David D. Kirkpatrick suggested that the secrecy since its founding was intended to insulate the Council from the "liberal bias of the news media".
CNP's meetings are closed to the general public, reportedly to allow for a free-flowing exchange of ideas. The group meets three times per year. This policy is said to be similar to the long-held policy of the Council on Foreign Relations, to which the CNP has at times been compared. CNP's 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status was revoked by the IRS
in 1992 on grounds that it was not an organization run for the public benefit. The group successfully challenged this ruling in federal court. A quarterly journal aimed at educating the public, promised in the wake of this incident, has not substantially materialized. The group has launched a website that contains selected speeches from past gatherings.
While those involved are almost entirely from the United States, their organizations and influence cover the globe, both religiously and politically. Members include corporate executives, legislators former high ranking government officers, leaders of 'think tanks' dedicated to molding society and those whom many view as "Christian leadership".
candidate if the 2008 Republican nominee is a pro-choice
candidate. (This was an implicit reference to Rudy Giuliani
, whose liberal opinions on several social issues, such as abortion, gay rights and gun ownership have disturbed the Christian right.) The CNP's statement read, "If the Republican Party nominates a pro-abortion candidate, we will consider running a third-party candidate." Attending the meeting were notable social conservatives, including James Dobson
, Richard Viguerie
, Tony Perkins
and Morton Blackwell
.
CNP members have taken millions of dollars from Rev. Sun Myung Moon
, the founder of the Unification Church
and the conservative Washington Times newspaper, and are aligned with various other groups supported by him such as CAUSA International. Moon's religious message places him as superior to Jesus Christ. Moon was crowned "King of Peace" in a ceremony in the United States Senate Office Building, (not before the actual United States Senate
). CNP members have also supported legislation proposed by the Church of Scientology
.
CNP also has membership links to the World Anti-Communist League
, whose many other members included,among others, the Unification Church and backers of rightist paramilitary death squads in Latin America, particularly during the 1980s.
In 1999, a speech given to the CNP by Republican candidate George W. Bush
is credited with helping him gain the support of conservatives in his successful bid for the United States Presidency in 2000. The content of the speech has never been released by the CNP or by Bush.
As of February 2007, the organization was planning involvement in the 2008 presidential election campaign, and actively looking for a candidate to represent their views. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney
and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney
spoke at a four day conference they held in Salt Lake City, Utah
during the last week of September 2007. The Council for National Policy scheduled a conference in late October 2007. Most Republican presidential candidates pledged to appear, with the exception of Rudy Giuliani.
series of books. Other early participants included Cleon Skousen
, a prominent theologian and law enforcement expert; Paul Weyrich
; Phyllis Schlafly
; Robert Grant
; Howard Phillips, a former Republican affiliated with the Constitution Party
; Richard Viguerie
, the direct-mail specialist; and Morton Blackwell, a Louisiana
and Virginia
activist who is considered a specialist on the rules of the Republican Party.
The council employs about eight people. Its first executive director was Woody Jenkins; later, Morton Blackwell served in this role, which is currently held by Steve Baldwin (b. 1957), not to be confused with actor Stephen Baldwin
. Presidents have included Nelson Bunker Hunt
of Dallas
, Amway co-founder Richard DeVos
of Michigan
, Pat Robertson
of Virginia Beach
, Paul Pressler of Houston
, and former Reagan Cabinet secretaries Ed Meese and Donald Hodel, as well as current president Kenneth Cribb
. Former Texas state Republican chairman George Strake, Jr.
, was a member during the 1990s.
at Cornell University
considers the Council for National Policy a leading force in the Dominionist
movement. TheocracyWatch
, a CRESP project, describes it as "an umbrella organization of right-wing leaders who gather regularly to plot strategy, share ideas and fund causes and candidates to advance the theocratic
agenda."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It has been described by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as a "little-known group of a few hundred of the most powerful conservatives in the country," who meet three times yearly behind closed doors at undisclosed locations for a confidential conference. Nation magazine
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
has called it a secretive organization that "networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy."
It was founded in 1981 by Tim LaHaye
Tim LaHaye
Timothy F. LaHaye is an American evangelical Christian minister, author, and speaker. He is best known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins. He has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction.-Early life:LaHaye was born in Detroit,...
as a forum for conservative Christians seeking to strengthen the political right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
in the United States.
The CNP describes itself as "an educational foundation organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We do not lobby Congress, support candidates, or issue public policy statements on controversial issues. Our over 600 members include many of our nation's leaders from the fields of government, business, the media, religion, and the professions. Our members are united in their belief in a free enterprise system, a strong national defense, and support for traditional western values. They meet to share the best information available on national and world problems, know one another on a personal basis, and collaborate in achieving their shared goals."
Meetings and membership
Marc J. Ambinder of ABC News said about the Council: "The group wants to be the conservative version of the Council on Foreign RelationsCouncil on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
." The CNP was founded in 1981. Among its founding members were: Tim LaHaye, then the head of the Moral Majority
Moral Majority
The Moral Majority was a political organization of the United States which had an agenda of evangelical Christian-oriented political lobbying...
, Nelson Baker Hunt, T. Cullen Davis
T. Cullen Davis
Thomas Cullen Davis is an American oil heir. He was arrested for, and later acquitted of, the murders of his stepdaughter and his estranged wife's boyfriend, then hiring a hitman to kill his estranged wife and a judge.-Criminal trials:In August 1976, Davis was charged with the murder of his...
, William Cies, and Paul Weyrich
Paul Weyrich
Paul M. Weyrich was an American conservativepolitical activist and commentator, most notable as a figurehead of the New Right. He co-founded the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and the Free Congress Foundation, another conservative think tank...
.
Members of the CNP have included: General John Singlaub, shipping magnate J. Peter Grace
J. Peter Grace
Joseph Peter Grace was a multimillionaire American industrialist and conglomerateur of Irish Catholic heritage. He was president of the diversified chemical company, ' for 48 years, making him the longest reigning CEO of a public company.Born in Manhasset, New York, he succeeded his father, Joseph...
, Edwin J. Feulner Jr of the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
, Rev. Pat Robertson of the Christian Broadcasting Network
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
, Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
, Senator Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
, Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
activists Texas State Judge Paul Pressler and the Rev. Paige Patterson
Paige Patterson
L. Paige Patterson is the eighth president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.- Education :*B.A. - Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, Texas*Th.M. - New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary...
, Senator Don Nickles
Don Nickles
Donald Lee Nickles is an American businessman and politician who was a Republican United States Senator from Oklahoma from 1981 until 2005. He was a fiscal and social conservative.-Early life:...
, former United States Attorneys General Ed Meese and John Ashcroft
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
, gun-rights activist Larry Pratt
Larry Pratt
Lawrence D. Pratt is the executive director of Gun Owners of America, a U.S.-based firearms lobbying group, and a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates.- Early life :...
, Col. Oliver North
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
, and philanthropist Else Prince, mother of Erik Prince
Erik Prince
Erik Dean Prince is the founder and formerly the sole owner of the private military company Xe Services LLC, formerly Blackwater Worldwide. On March 2, 2009, Prince announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Xe. He is currently living abroad in the United Arab Emirates, where he is creating a...
, the founder of the Blackwater
Blackwater Worldwide
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
private security firm.
Membership is by invitation only. The membership list, previously made public, is now "strictly confidential." Guests may attend "only with the unanimous approval of the executive committee." Members are instructed not to refer to the organization by name, to protect against leaks. New York Times political writer David D. Kirkpatrick suggested that the secrecy since its founding was intended to insulate the Council from the "liberal bias of the news media".
CNP's meetings are closed to the general public, reportedly to allow for a free-flowing exchange of ideas. The group meets three times per year. This policy is said to be similar to the long-held policy of the Council on Foreign Relations, to which the CNP has at times been compared. CNP's 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status was revoked by the IRS
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
in 1992 on grounds that it was not an organization run for the public benefit. The group successfully challenged this ruling in federal court. A quarterly journal aimed at educating the public, promised in the wake of this incident, has not substantially materialized. The group has launched a website that contains selected speeches from past gatherings.
While those involved are almost entirely from the United States, their organizations and influence cover the globe, both religiously and politically. Members include corporate executives, legislators former high ranking government officers, leaders of 'think tanks' dedicated to molding society and those whom many view as "Christian leadership".
Conferences and political plans
Leading members of the CNP voted in a meeting at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, on September 29, 2007, to consider launching a third partyThird party (politics)
In a two-party system of politics, the term third party is sometimes applied to a party other than the two dominant ones. While technically the term is limited to the third largest party or third oldest party, it is common, though innumerate, shorthand for any smaller party.For instance, in the...
candidate if the 2008 Republican nominee is a pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
candidate. (This was an implicit reference to Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, whose liberal opinions on several social issues, such as abortion, gay rights and gun ownership have disturbed the Christian right.) The CNP's statement read, "If the Republican Party nominates a pro-abortion candidate, we will consider running a third-party candidate." Attending the meeting were notable social conservatives, including James Dobson
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
, Richard Viguerie
Richard Viguerie
Richard Art Viguerie is a conservative figure, pioneer of political direct mail and writer on American politics...
, Tony Perkins
Tony Perkins (politician)
Anthony Richard "Tony" Perkins is president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian think tank and public policy foundation based in Washington, D.C...
and Morton Blackwell
Morton Blackwell
Morton C. Blackwell is an American Republican Party activist. He is president and founder of the Leadership Institute , a 5013 non-profit educational foundation that teaches political technology....
.
CNP members have taken millions of dollars from Rev. Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
, the founder of the Unification Church
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
and the conservative Washington Times newspaper, and are aligned with various other groups supported by him such as CAUSA International. Moon's religious message places him as superior to Jesus Christ. Moon was crowned "King of Peace" in a ceremony in the United States Senate Office Building, (not before the actual United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
). CNP members have also supported legislation proposed by the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
.
CNP also has membership links to the World Anti-Communist League
World Anti-Communist League
The World League for Freedom and Democracy is an international anti-communist political organization founded in 1966 in Taipei, Republic of China , under the initiative of Chiang Kai-shek. It was founded with the aim of opposing Communism around the world through "unconventional" methods...
, whose many other members included,among others, the Unification Church and backers of rightist paramilitary death squads in Latin America, particularly during the 1980s.
In 1999, a speech given to the CNP by Republican candidate George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
is credited with helping him gain the support of conservatives in his successful bid for the United States Presidency in 2000. The content of the speech has never been released by the CNP or by Bush.
As of February 2007, the organization was planning involvement in the 2008 presidential election campaign, and actively looking for a candidate to represent their views. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
spoke at a four day conference they held in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
during the last week of September 2007. The Council for National Policy scheduled a conference in late October 2007. Most Republican presidential candidates pledged to appear, with the exception of Rudy Giuliani.
Leadership
CNP was founded in 1981 by Tim LaHaye, author of the Left BehindLeft Behind (series)
Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
series of books. Other early participants included Cleon Skousen
Cleon Skousen
Willard Cleon Skousen was an American author, conservative American Constitutionalist and faith-based political theorist. He was also a prolific popularizer among Latter-day Saints of their theology...
, a prominent theologian and law enforcement expert; Paul Weyrich
Paul Weyrich
Paul M. Weyrich was an American conservativepolitical activist and commentator, most notable as a figurehead of the New Right. He co-founded the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and the Free Congress Foundation, another conservative think tank...
; Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis McAlpin Stewart Schlafly is a Constitutional lawyer and an American politically conservative activist and author who founded the Eagle Forum. She is known for her opposition to modern feminism ideas and for her campaign against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment...
; Robert Grant
Robert Grant (Christian Leader)
Dr. Robert G. Grant is one of the early leaders of the Christian Right in America. He served as the chairman of Christian Voice and the American Freedom Coalition....
; Howard Phillips, a former Republican affiliated with the Constitution Party
Constitution Party (United States)
The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...
; Richard Viguerie
Richard Viguerie
Richard Art Viguerie is a conservative figure, pioneer of political direct mail and writer on American politics...
, the direct-mail specialist; and Morton Blackwell, a Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
activist who is considered a specialist on the rules of the Republican Party.
The council employs about eight people. Its first executive director was Woody Jenkins; later, Morton Blackwell served in this role, which is currently held by Steve Baldwin (b. 1957), not to be confused with actor Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Andrew Baldwin is an American actor, director, producer and author. One of the Baldwin brothers, he is known for his roles as William F. Cody in the western show The Young Riders and as Stuart in the movie Threesome...
. Presidents have included Nelson Bunker Hunt
Nelson Bunker Hunt
Nelson Bunker Hunt is an American oil company executive. He is best known as a former billionaire whose fortune collapsed after he and his brother William Herbert Hunt tried but failed to corner the world market in silver. He is also a successful thoroughbred horse breeder.-Personal:Hunt was born...
of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Amway co-founder Richard DeVos
Richard DeVos
Richard DeVos, Sr. is an American businessman, co-founder of Amway along with Jay Van Andel , and owner of the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
of Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
, Paul Pressler of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, and former Reagan Cabinet secretaries Ed Meese and Donald Hodel, as well as current president Kenneth Cribb
T. Kenneth Cribb Jr.
T. Kenneth Cribb Jr. is a former Presidential advisor—to President Ronald Reagan—and currently the president of the traditionalist conservative Intercollegiate Studies Institute....
. Former Texas state Republican chairman George Strake, Jr.
George Strake, Jr.
George William Strake, Jr. , is a Houston, Texas, businessman and philanthropist who served as Texas secretary of state from January 16, 1979–October 6, 1981, during the administration of Republican Governor William Perry Clements, Jr...
, was a member during the 1990s.
Criticisms
The Center for Religion, Ethics and Social PolicyCenter for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy
Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy is a non-profit, nonsectarian, educational organization affiliated with Cornell University...
at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
considers the Council for National Policy a leading force in the Dominionist
Dominionism
Dominionism is a term used to describe politically active conservative Christians that are believed to conspire and seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action, especially in the United States, with the goal of either a nation governed by Christians, or a nation...
movement. TheocracyWatch
TheocracyWatch
TheocracyWatch is a project run by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy , located at Cornell University. It was founded by Joan Bokaer, an environmental activist because, she says, "After the 2000 election she realized that few people understood that the religious right had taken...
, a CRESP project, describes it as "an umbrella organization of right-wing leaders who gather regularly to plot strategy, share ideas and fund causes and candidates to advance the theocratic
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
agenda."
Limited media access
The media were barred from late September 2007 meetings of the organization. However, Deseret News (which is associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) was afforded access to the meeting. The Salt Lake Tribune (its competitor) criticized the journalistic ethics of the Deseret News.External links
- Council for National Policy Web Site
- Policy Counsel, archive of speeches before the Council for National Policy
- Bill Berkowitz, "Right's New Strategy Emulates the 'Enemy'", Inter Press News Service, February 28, 2007
- Paul and Phillip Collins, "The Deep Politics of God: The CNP, Dominionism, and the Ted Haggard Scandal", Conspiracy Archive, February 19, 2007
- Suzi Parker, "The Real Convention?", U.S. News and World Report, August 25, 2004
- Sarah Posner, "Secret Society: Just who is the Council for National Policy, and why isn't it paying taxes?" AlterNet, 1 March 2005
- Barbara Aho, lengthy article on origins of CNP