FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 6, 2008
Contacts: Annie Patnaude (202) 349-5880 or annie@afphq.org

1,800 Free-Market Grassroots Activists to Gather in Nation’s Capital
23 Days Before Crucial Election, Against Backdrop of Market Uncertainty

WASHINGTON – Just 23 days out from a crucial election and against the backdrop of new economic concerns, more than 1,800 grassroots free-market advocates from 38 states around the country will gather for Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s (AFPF’s) 2nd annual Defending the American Dream Summit at the Crystal City Gateway Marriott on October 10-11. The event is the largest gathering in the nation of free-market activists and leaders who want to transform the policy landscape on issues such as taxes, spending, and pro-growth economic principles. Visit www.DefendingtheDream.org for a full agenda.

“Even as candidates and elected officials are busy blaming economic uncertainty on ‘Wall Street greed’ and deregulation, our members are looking forward to sending a powerful message that free markets and pro-growth economic policies work,” said AFPF President Tim Phillips. “We are gathering to defend the free-market against class-warfare attacks and with our large turnout, send a compelling reminder to policymakers of the belief in lower taxes and more limited government shared by citizens around the country.”

The 2008 Defending the American Dream Summit is the perfect event to take the pulse of free-market conservatives – including hundreds from key swing states like Virginia – just barely three weeks before November’s election. Last year the Summit drew more than 1,600 citizens from 38 states around the nation and every major GOP presidential candidate addressed the crowd.

“This event is a call to action for citizens who want to defend the American Dream from high taxes, out-of-control spending, and the stranglehold of government regulation,” said Phillips. “Attendees will get the training and education they need to become even better advocates for limited government ideas.”

The Summit will feature radio and bloggers row, as well as panels on grassroots organization, market-based solutions to emerging challenges such as energy, and intensive new media training as part of AFPF’s RightOnline initiative, which aims to establish a conservative counter-weight to the Left’s web 2.0 community. Additionally, the program includes state delegation briefings for Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Oklahoma.

Confirmed speakers at the Defending the American Dream Summit include columnist George Will, best-selling author Dinesh D’Souza, U.S. Senator James Inhofe (Okla.), former Attorney General Ed Meese, Dr. James Miller, President Reagan’s budget director, ABC 20/20 Co-Anchor John Stossel, the Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes, Steve Moore and John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, U.S. Representative Tom Price (Ga.), and AFPF President Tim Phillips.

The Virginia delegation briefing will feature Attorney General Bob McDonnell, House Speaker Bill Howell, former Governor Jim Gilmore, and Delegates Brenda Pogge and Ben Cline. The Maryland and Oklahoma delegation briefings will feature former Governor Bob Ehrlich and former Congressman Ernest Istook, respectively. 

Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) is the nation’s premier grassroots organization committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFPF believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFPF educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org

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