n Important Message to Supporters of the Mackinac Center:
Every so often an opportunity comes along that screams “drop everything!” The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is staring one of those in the face right now.
I just spent a whirlwind 24 hours in New York taping radio and television interviews with commentator Glenn Beck about his new novel, “The Overton Window.” It’s a fictional thriller about good guys and bad guys but, more importantly, it takes a Mackinac Center concept and puts it right in the middle of a guaranteed best-selling book.
That concept is “The Overton Window,” a model of change first developed by Joseph Overton, my good friend and the late vice president of the Mackinac Center. It describes the way ideas take hold, first among individuals, then in society, and finally among politicians who turn those ideas into public policy.
I told Glenn Beck’s audience that the Mackinac Center and other freedom-loving organizations work every day to shift that “window of possibility” toward greater freedom.
The tentative schedule for my TV appearances is below, plus
a link to the radio interview, but right now I want to get to the point of this message:
Love him or hate him, Glenn Beck is introducing millions of people to the Mackinac Center through his television and radio broadcasts, and through the release of his book on Tuesday, June 15. Thousands of his followers are going to contact us. They will call. They will e-mail. They will write. More than 4,000 people visited our new Overton Window website on the day of my live radio interview.
Why? Because people want to learn more about what I said to Glenn: that change begins with ideas, and that if you can change ideas, you can change the course of history. That’s the whole concept behind the Overton Window.
I have a request. As someone who understands our core mission, I am asking you today to help the Mackinac Center respond to this tidal wave of attention. We have an unparalleled opportunity to show people that, in the war of ideas, organizations like the Mackinac Center are essential to nourish and promote the ideas that bring greater liberty to us all.
I know that many of you have already made gifts to the Mackinac Center this year, including a generous response to our economic modeling project, but I’m asking you to consider helping us again because guest appearances on national television just aren’t something we include in our annual budget.
Our friends in other organizations who have had similar national exposure tell us that it’s worth every penny we invest in responding to this opportunity. A donation from you today, in any amount, would significantly help us to follow up quickly and completely with every single person who contacts us, educating them through our literature, encouraging their commitment to liberty and inviting them to become supporters.
And we’ll help our sister organizations, too. We’ve already arranged to link people who contact us from outside Michigan with the free-market organizations in their home states so we can grow the movement nationally.
Internally, we’ve beefed up our computer and telephone systems, purchased Web advertising and hired temporary staff so that we can respond quickly and personally to calls and e-mails. We developed a new website,
www.TheOvertonWindow.com, to explain the “Overton Window of Political Possibility” and tell people more about the Mackinac Center and the power of ideas.
Please help us capture this momentum by making a donation through our online contribution page. Or, you can mail a check, payable to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, to this address: Mackinac Center for Public Policy, 140 West Main Street, P.O. Box 568, Midland, MI 48640-0568. (Please write “Overton Window” in the memo.)
This has been a long message, but it’s one of the most exciting developments I’ve been privileged to share with you. I am grateful for your continued support.
Onward,
Joseph G. Lehman
President
Mackinac Center for Public Policy
P.S. My day on Wednesday began with a live appearance on the Glenn Beck radio show. You can listen to it or watch the in-studio video at
www.mackinac.org/12948. I spent the rest of Wednesday taping segments for his television show, which currently are scheduled for broadcast next week. The Glenn Beck show airs at 5 p.m. (EDT) on the Fox News Channel. (I’ve learned that things change rapidly in the world of television, so please continue to check our website at
www.mackinac.org for the latest information.)
Out in Sept or Oct. Can't give details now but several people on these forums have agreed to help me with editing.
