David Freddoso writing in the Washington Examiner, “One thing conservatives have done very well,” highlights the important role State Policy Network and the 65 state think tanks will play in national and state policy over the coming four years.

Citing the recent Wall Street Journal article by Kyle Peterson, “The Spoils of the Republican Conquest,” Freddoso says:

These local think tanks, for which the Journal notes there is really no left-wing counterpart, also have ideas for softening negative effects of Obamacare repeal at the state level. And in the states that Republicans now control anew, they will be in a position to help conservative lawmakers craft initiatives that can improve their states’ business climates (right to work, tax reform), educational performance (charter schools), and long-term state fiscal viability (pension reform).

So yes, conservatives lost their grip on the GOP presidential nomination. One could even say they were proven a paper tiger during this year’s Republican primaries. But thanks to the infrastructure they’ve developed over the last 35 years, they’ve never had more influence for making and influencing both state and federal policy than they do now.

Read Freddoso’s full commentary.

Authored by: James Pinedo

Marketing Manager · State Policy Network