Council for National Policy

Council for National Policy
AbbreviationCNP
Formation1981
TypePublic policy think tank
Websitecfnp.org

The Council for National Policy (CNP) is an umbrella organization and networking group for conservative and Republican activists in the United States. It was launched in 1981 during the Reagan administration by Tim LaHaye and the Christian right, to "bring more focus and force to conservative advocacy".[1][2][3] The membership list for September 2020 was later leaked, showing that members included prominent Republicans and conservatives, wealthy entrepreneurs, and media proprietors, together with anti-abortion and anti-Islamic extremists. Members are instructed not to reveal their membership or even name the group.[4]

The CNP has been described by The New York Times as "a little-known club 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.[5] 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".[6] The organization has been described by Anne Nelson as a "pluto-theocracy" (plutocracy/theocracy).[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference WaPo_OHarrow_20201014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (February 24, 2007). "Christian Right Labors to Find '08 Candidate". The New York Times. Washington, DC. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  3. ^ Nelson, Anne (2019). "Shadow Network". Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  4. ^ Wilson, Jason (30 September 2021). "Top Republicans rub shoulders with extremists in secretive rightwing group, leak reveals". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Kirkpatrick, David K. (August 28, 2004). "The 2004 Campaign: The Conservative; Club of the Most Powerful Gathers in Strictest Privacy". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Max Blumenthal, Secretive Right-Wing Group Vetted Palin Archived 2014-05-29 at the Wayback Machine thenation.com 09/01/2008
  7. ^ Nelson, Anne (2019). Shadow Network. Bloomsbury.