The Ripon Society is an American centrist Republican think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 based in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 They produce The Ripon Forum, the Nation's longest running Republican thought and opinion journal.

The Ripon Society was the first major Republican organization to support passage of the Civil Rights Act

Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...

 in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, it called for the normalization of relations with China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, and the abolition of the military draft.

History and founding principles

Founded December 12, 1962, in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

 at Harvard College

Harvard College

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

. The name is a reference to Ripon, Wisconsin

Ripon, Wisconsin

Ripon is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,828. The City of Ripon's official website claims the city's current population to be 7,701. The city is surrounded by the Town of Ripon....

, the birthplace of the Republican Party.

One of the main goals of the Ripon Society is to promote ideas and principles that have contributed to the GOP's past success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is not just smaller, but smarter and more accountable to the people.

Lecture series

The Ripon Society hosts a series of lectures known as their "Policy & Politics Dialogue Series", which in 2011 has consisted of over 40 idea-based forums. Speakers have included: Speaker of the House John Boehner

John Boehner

John Andrew Boehner is the 61st and current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he is the U.S. Representative from , serving since 1991...

, Representatives Kevin Brady

Kevin Brady

Kevin Patrick Brady is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes a large swath of suburban and rural territory around Houston and Beaumont....

 and Greg Walden

Greg Walden

Gregory Paul Walden is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party.The district covers more than two-thirds of the state . He is the son of Paul E...

, Senators Rob Portman

Rob Portman

Robert Jones "Rob" Portman is the junior United States Senator from Ohio. He is a member of the Republican Party. He succeeded retiring Senator George Voinovich....

 and John McCain

John McCain

John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield, and Republican National Committee

Republican National Committee

The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...

 Chairman Reince Priebus

Reince Priebus

Reinhold Reince Priebus is the chairman of the Republican National Committee. He is also a previous chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin....

.

The Ripon Forum

The Ripon Forum examines current issues with essays in politics, business, and academia. The Forum is published quarterly and focuses on several topics per issue, working to frame and lead public policy debate. Recent issues include articles examining education in the 21st century, progressive tax policy, healthcare and information technology, and election reform.

Congressional Advisory Board

U.S. Senators

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...

:

• Pat Roberts
  Pat Roberts
  Charles Patrick "Pat" Roberts is the senior United States Senator from Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he has served since 1997...
  
  , Chairman
• Roy Blunt
  Roy Blunt
  Roy D. Blunt is the junior United States Senator from Missouri. He is a member of the Republican Party. His Senate seat was previously held by Republican Kit Bond, until his retirement....
  
  
• Richard Burr
  Richard Burr
  Richard Mauze Burr is the senior United States Senator from North Carolina and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, Burr represented North Carolina's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives....
  
  
• Susan M. Collins
• Orrin Hatch
  Orrin Hatch
  Orrin Grant Hatch is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1993 to 2005...
  
  
• Olympia J. Snowe

U.S. Representatives:

• Tom Petri
  Tom Petri
  Thomas Evert Petri is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1979. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes most of the east-central part of the state.-Early life, education, and early career:...
  
  , Co-Chairman
• Pat Tiberi
  Pat Tiberi
  Patrick Joseph "Pat" Tiberi is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party...
  
  , Co-Chairman
• Steve Austria
  Steve Austria
  Stephen Clement "Steve" Austria is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district stretches from Springfield to the southern suburbs of Columbus....
  
  
• Spencer Bachus
  Spencer Bachus
  Spencer Thomas Bachus III is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party and the senior member of the Alabama U. S. House delegation...
  
  
• Charles F. Bass
• Judy Biggert
  Judy Biggert
  Judith Borg "Judy" Biggert is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. She is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...
  
  
• Mary Bono Mack
• Charles Boustany
  Charles Boustany
  Charles William Boustany, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and medical career:...
  
  
• Vern Buchanan
  Vern Buchanan
  Vernon G. "Vern" Buchanan is the Congressman for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life and education:...
  
  
• Michael C. Burgess
  Michael C. Burgess
  Michael Clifton Burgess, is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003, and a member of the Tea Party Caucus.-Early life, education, and early career:...
  
  
• Ken Calvert
  Ken Calvert
  Kenneth Stanton "Ken" Calvert is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 43rd, serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is part of the Inland Empire and south Orange County areas of Southern California.-Early life, education and career:Calvert was born in...
  
  
• Dave Camp
• Eric Cantor
  Eric Cantor
  Eric Ivan Cantor is the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district, serving since 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he became House Majority Leader when the 112th Congress convened on January 3, 2011...
  
  
• Shelley Moore Capito
  Shelley Moore Capito
  Shelley Moore Capito is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. She is a member of the Republican Party...
  
  
• Howard Coble
  Howard Coble
  John Howard Coble is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1985. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and pre-political career:Coble was born in Greensboro, North Carolina...
  
  
• Ander Crenshaw
  Ander Crenshaw
  Ander Crenshaw is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...
  
  
• Geoff Davis
  Geoff Davis
  Geoffrey C. "Geoff" Davis is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party....
  
  
• Charlie Dent
  Charlie Dent
  Charles "Charlie" Dent is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party.The district includes all of Northampton County, most of Lehigh County, and small parts of Berks and Montgomery Counties....
  
  
• Renee Ellmers
  Renee Ellmers
  Renee Jacisin Ellmers is the U.S. Representative for . She is a member of the Republican Party. Ellmers defeated seven-term Democratic incumbent Bob Etheridge by 1,489 votes, confirmed after a recount....
  
  
• Jo Ann Emerson
  Jo Ann Emerson
  Jo Ann Emerson is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1996. The district consists of Southeast and South Central Missouri and includes the Bootheel, the Lead Belt and the Ozarks. Emerson is a member of the Republican Party....
  
  
• Rodney Frelinghuysen
  Rodney Frelinghuysen
  Rodney P. Frelinghuysen is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...
  
  
• Jim Gerlach
  Jim Gerlach
  James "Jim" Gerlach is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.- Early life, education and career :...
  
  
• Kay Granger
  Kay Granger
  Kay Granger , a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Texas, currently represents the 12th congressional district in the U.S...
  
  
• Sam Graves
  Sam Graves
  Samuel B. Graves, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district consists of Northwest Missouri and includes the portion of Kansas City north of the Missouri River and many northern suburbs.-Early life, education and career:Graves is a...
  
  
• Nan Hayworth
  Nan Hayworth
  Nan Alison Sutter Hayworth is the U.S. Representative for . She is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and nursing career:...
  
  
• Wally Herger
  Wally Herger
  Walter William "Wally" Herger, Jr. , American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1987, representing the California's 2nd congressional district. The second district is physically large...
  
  
• Darrell Issa
  Darrell Issa
  Darrell Edward Issa is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 48th, serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was formerly a CEO of Directed Electronics, the Vista, California-based manufacturer of automobile security and convenience products...
  
  
• Walter Jones
  Walter B. Jones
  Walter Beaman Jones, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district encompasses the Outer Banks and areas near the Pamlico Sound. Jones' father was Walter B. Jones, Sr., a Democratic Party congressman from the neighboring 1st district...
  
  
• Leonard Lance
  Leonard Lance
  Leonard Lance is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the New Jersey Senate and the New Jersey General Assembly....
  
  
• Steven LaTourette
• Jerry Lewis
• Kevin McCarthy
• Thaddeus McCotter
• Candice Miller
  Candice Miller
  Candice S. Miller is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. She is a member of the Republican Party.The district includes Michigan's Huron, Macomb, and Sanilac counties, plus portions of Lapeer and Oakland counties....
  
  
• Randy Neugebauer
  Randy Neugebauer
  Robert Randolph "Randy" Neugebauer is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes a large swath of West Texas, including Lubbock and Abilene...
  
  
• Todd Russell Platts
  Todd Russell Platts
  Todd Russell Platts is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party.The district is located in south-central Pennsylvania, encompassing all of York and Adams Counties, and a large portion of Cumberland County...
  
  
• Dennis Rehberg
• Jim Renacci
  Jim Renacci
  James B. "Jim" Renacci is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party. He is an Ohio entrepreneur and former mayor of Wadsworth, Ohio.-Early life and education:...
  
  
• Peter Roskam
  Peter Roskam
  Peter James Roskam is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party and Chief Deputy Whip in the 112th Congress, ranking fourth among house Republican leaders; also served in the Illinois Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives.-Early life,...
  
  
• Aaron Schock
  Aaron Schock
  Aaron Schock is the United States Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Peoria and includes part of Springfield. At the age of , Schock is currently the youngest U.S. representative and the first member of the U.S. Congress born...
  
  
• John Shimkus
  John Shimkus
  John Mondy Shimkus is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party....
  
  
• Bill Shuster
  Bill Shuster
  William Shuster is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a son of former Congressman Bud Shuster.-Early life, education and career:...
  
  
• Lamar Smith
  Lamar S. Smith
  Lamar Seeligson Smith is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1987. The district includes most of the wealthier sections of San Antonio and Austin, as well as nearly all of the Texas Hill Country...
  
  
• Lee Terry
  Lee Terry
  Lee Raymond Terry is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party.A lifelong Nebraskan, Congressman Lee Terry has worked continually to empower the people of the Second District. Terry has been a leader for Nebraska, advocating American energy...
  
  
• Mac Thornberry
  Mac Thornberry
  William McClellan "Mac" Thornberry is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party....
  
  
• Mike Turner
  Mike Turner
  Michael R. Turner is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.The district covers most of the city of Dayton and includes most of Montgomery County, much of Warren County, and is home to all of Highland and Clinton Counties.-Early life, education...
  
  
• Fred Upton
  Fred Upton
  Frederick Stephen Upton is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1987. He is a member of the Republican Party and Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The district, based in Kalamazoo, stretches along the Michigan-Indiana border in the southwestern part of the state.-Early life,...
  
  
• Greg Walden
  Greg Walden
  Gregory Paul Walden is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party.The district covers more than two-thirds of the state . He is the son of Paul E...
  
  
• Edward Whitfield

Members of Congress (Retired):

• Bill Frenzel
  Bill Frenzel
  William Eldridge "Bill" Frenzel is a former Republican Congressman from Minnesota, representing Minnesota's Third District, which included the southern and western suburbs of Minneapolis.- Early life and career :...
  
  , Chairman Emeritus
• Bill Archer
  William Reynolds Archer, Jr.
  William Reynolds “Bill” Archer, Jr. is a former American lawyer and politician. Archer served two terms, from 1967 to 1971, in the Texas House of Representatives — changing from the Democratic to the Republican party in 1969 — and later represented Texas in the United States House as a Republican...
  
  
• Henry Bonilla
  Henry Bonilla
  Henry Bonilla is a former congressman who represented Texas's 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Ciro Davis Rodriguez, a former Democratic member of Congress, in a special election runoff held on December 12, 2006...
  
  
• Mike Ferguson
• J. Dennis Hastert
• David Hobson
  Dave Hobson
  David Lee Hobson is an American politician of the Republican Party who served as a U.S. representative from the seventh congressional district of Ohio.Hobson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from Withrow High School in 1954...
  
  
• Nancy Johnson
• Sue Kelly
• Scott Klug
• Bob Livingston
  Bob Livingston
  Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...
  
  
• Jim McCrery
  Jim McCrery
  James Otis "Jim" McCrery, III , is an American lawyer who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1988 to 2009; he represented the 4th District of Louisiana, based in the northwestern quadrant of the state.McCrery was a ranking member on the House Ways and...
  
  
• Robert H. Michel
  Robert H. Michel
  Robert Henry "Bob" Michel is an American Republican Party politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 38 years. He represented central Illinois' 18th congressional district, and was the GOP leader in Congress, serving as Minority Leader for 14 years during an era...
  
  
• Susan Molinari
  Susan Molinari
  Susan Molinari is a politician, journalist, and lobbyist from New York. She was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms.-Early life and family:...
  
  
• 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:...
  
  
• Michael G. Oxley
• Bill Paxon
  Bill Paxon
  L. William Paxon , known as Bill Paxon, is a lobbyist and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York.-Early life:...
  
  
• Deborah Pryce
  Deborah Pryce
  Deborah D. Pryce is an American politician from Ohio and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Ohio's 15th congressional district, which includes the western half of Columbus and the surrounding suburbs.She is divorced from Randy Walker and now lives in Upper...
  
  
• Tom Reynolds
  Thomas M. Reynolds
  Thomas M. Reynolds , commonly known as Tom Reynolds, is a politician from the U.S. state of New York, formerly representing the state's 26th Congressional district in the United States House of Representatives...
  
  
• Tom Ridge
  Tom Ridge
  Thomas Joseph "Tom" Ridge is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives , the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania , Assistant to the President for Homeland Security , and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security...
  
  
• E. Clay Shaw
• Gordon H. Smith
• Don Sundquist
  Don Sundquist
  Donald Kenneth Sundquist is a former governor and congressman from Tennessee. A Republican, he served as the 47th Governor of Tennessee from 1995 to 2003...
  
  
• Tom Tauke
  Tom Tauke
  Thomas Joseph "Tom" Tauke is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Tauke represented the northeast corner of the state of Iowa as a Republican from 1979 to 1991, entering Congress as one of the youngest members. Tauke left active politics in 1991 following an unsuccessful bid to...
  
  
• Robert S. Walker