Spring Break
The Bush think tank: A giant Trojan horse among the Ponies?
Andrew Weaver and George Crawford, Contributing Writers
Issue date: 1/18/07 Section: Opinion
A large number of faculty, loyal alumni and United Methodist Church members are deeply concerned about the proposed package that includes the Bush Library and think tank at SMU. According to President Gerald Turner's Jan. 5 letter, the operation of the think tank will not be accountable to SMU or the United Methodist Church that owns the University. It will report to the Bush Foundation.
There needs to be an open debate about the project, both on the campus and among the 11 million members of The United Methodist Church. SMU is the only university among the 123 educational institutions that are related to the UMC that has the Methodist name in it. What the university chooses to do will reflect on the church that founded the university.
According to the New York Daily News, "President Bush and his truest believers are about to launch their final campaign-an eye-popping, half-billion-dollar drive for the Bush presidential library" (1-2). Bush loyalists have already identified wealthy heirs, Arab nations and captains of industry as potential "mega" donors who can give $10 to $20 million each, and they are pressing for a formal site announcement expected early this year (1-2).
The President's allies believe they need enormous funds to shape how history views Bush's legacy. A Bush insider said, "The more [money] you have, the more influence [on history] you can exert." Much of the funding will be used to build a "legacy-polishing" think tank, which several Bush insiders have called the Institute for Democracy. Bush's institute will hire neo-conservative scholars and "give them money to write papers and books favorable to the President's policies" (1-2).
Former senior vice president at the Heritage Foundation Burton Yale Pines has called think tanks like the one proposed at SMU "the shock troops of the conservative revolution" (3). Think tanks are like universities minus the systems of peer review and other mechanisms that academia uses to promote diversity of thought and honest intellectual debate. Ethical academics are expected to conduct their research first and draw their conclusions second, but this process is often reversed at free-standing think tanks. In general, research from think tanks is ideologically driven in accordance with the interests of its wealthy benefactors, in this case "mega" donor Bush loyalists.
There needs to be an open debate about the project, both on the campus and among the 11 million members of The United Methodist Church. SMU is the only university among the 123 educational institutions that are related to the UMC that has the Methodist name in it. What the university chooses to do will reflect on the church that founded the university.
According to the New York Daily News, "President Bush and his truest believers are about to launch their final campaign-an eye-popping, half-billion-dollar drive for the Bush presidential library" (1-2). Bush loyalists have already identified wealthy heirs, Arab nations and captains of industry as potential "mega" donors who can give $10 to $20 million each, and they are pressing for a formal site announcement expected early this year (1-2).
The President's allies believe they need enormous funds to shape how history views Bush's legacy. A Bush insider said, "The more [money] you have, the more influence [on history] you can exert." Much of the funding will be used to build a "legacy-polishing" think tank, which several Bush insiders have called the Institute for Democracy. Bush's institute will hire neo-conservative scholars and "give them money to write papers and books favorable to the President's policies" (1-2).
Former senior vice president at the Heritage Foundation Burton Yale Pines has called think tanks like the one proposed at SMU "the shock troops of the conservative revolution" (3). Think tanks are like universities minus the systems of peer review and other mechanisms that academia uses to promote diversity of thought and honest intellectual debate. Ethical academics are expected to conduct their research first and draw their conclusions second, but this process is often reversed at free-standing think tanks. In general, research from think tanks is ideologically driven in accordance with the interests of its wealthy benefactors, in this case "mega" donor Bush loyalists.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 13
Andrew Baker
posted 1/18/07 @ 11:56 AM CST
So...you agree with SMU's dedication to academic freedom just as long as it is not based in conservative thought? Hmm...interesting.
Suzanne Quillian
posted 1/18/07 @ 1:58 PM CST
On the matter of the proposed Bush Library, I feel I can rather accurately reflect the opinion of former Perkin's dean Joseph Quillian, were he alive today, for we often spoke of the responsibilities of leadership and the crucial need for honesty and integrity among our leaders. (Continued…)
Tom Wrenn
posted 1/18/07 @ 2:56 PM CST
Bushie, as my family call him, has let down both his family and extended Conservative base across the country. This administration is in serious decline and really has been since the declared war on Saddam or Sad Sack Hussein. (Continued…)
Al
posted 1/18/07 @ 11:42 PM CST
The city of Dallas should be embarassed if this plan follows through. They will not only be known as the city that assinated a president but now the city foolish enough to build a $500 million terrorist target in the center of it. (Continued…)
Jeff Kaye
posted 1/19/07 @ 8:19 AM CST
Freedom of Speech?? Only if it reflects kindly on Liberals! Hypocrits!! As an alum, I want the library and think tank.
Jacquelyn Harrison
posted 1/19/07 @ 2:44 PM CST
Truly conservative thinking for an American is not dishonest contortion of facts for personal aggrandizement, nor obliteration of opposing views to claim attention or prominence. (Continued…)
g
posted 1/19/07 @ 4:35 PM CST
Not only will the $500M fiasco called the Bush Library be a terrorist target, but the house he is building in the middle of Highland Park will also be a target. (Continued…)
Steve Savage
posted 4/25/07 @ 1:17 PM CST
I for one am frustrated that these so-called "Think Tanks" are plopped on college campuses in a cynical bid to give them some sort of legitimacy. Why not have them build their Ministry of Truth on its own land and affiliate it proudly with its donors, mostly wealthy Saudis, neoconservative hacks, and political pundits. (Continued…)
William H. Mee
William H. Mee
posted 4/11/08 @ 4:44 AM CST
A nationwide class action lawsuit should be started to seek an injunction from breaking ground and spending any money from the Bush Foundation. The funds should then seized to compensate families of GIs that have lost children in the internationally illegal Iraq War started by G. (Continued…)
Vince Gonzales
posted 5/10/08 @ 9:32 AM CST
Mr. Mee, I agree with ost of your statements, HOWEVER, Southern Methodist University is located in Dallas, not College Station. It is an affront of near equal proportions to place us in the home of the Texas Aggies as it is to place the Bush Library at this campus. (Continued…)
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