Citizens for Political Reform
PO Box 408 * Peabody, MA 01960
Phone: (508) 538-3900 * Fax: (508) 531-4374 * E-Mail: CPR98@aol.com
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*** UPDATE ***
Friday, January 10, 1997

Sheraton Hotel
Washington, DC

Greetings friends, and Happy New Year!

Barbara Anderson and I arrived safely in Washington DC last night after a somewhat harrowing 10-hour drive in which we converged with the winter snow & ice storm, stalking steadily up at us, about halfway down the New Jersey Turnpike. We arrived at our hotel and conference center just before the ice formed on all the highways around the greater DC area, closing many major highways and interstates until they could be salted. Other Massachusetts activists either arrived ahead of us (David Wilson and Sheldon Price) by air, or right after us (Norm & Joan Paley and Chip Faulkner) by car. We've also got a state rep. here with us, Rep. Jackie Lewis (R-Bridgewater) -- as an unexpected surprise; a total of 21 from Massachusetts out of the some-300 in attendance.

Some who knew in advance that we'd be here have asked me to keep them informed on what we're finding out as it happens or as soon thereafter. I expect this conference might well be covered by C-SPAN, for those of you who get it and are interested in watching.

We're here over the weekend with other citizens grassroots organizations from across the country (and some from the International Taxpayers Association, citizen-activists from Sweden, Finland, Australia, Canada, Bavaria, Canada and the Netherlands) to participate in the National Taxpayers Conference `97, sponsored by:

National Taxpayers Union
Iowans for Tax Relief
The American Specator
American Tax Reduction Movement
Americans for Tax Reform
Citizens Against Government Waste
Citizens for a Sound Economy
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Taxpayers for Common Sense
U.S. Term Limits

We've got a busy agenda all weekend, starting at 8:30 this morning with an address by U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), U.S. Reps Charlie Stenholm (D-TX), Bob Livingston (R-LA), Susan Molinari (R-NY) and Gary Condit (R-CA), Arrianna Huffington, Lamar Alexander, Steve Forbes, John Fund (chief ediorial writer of the Wall Street Journal), Jack Anderson, and the Bay State's own Secretary of Administration & Finance, Charles Baker.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the get-together tonight after the work's done at the home of Grover Norquist, leader of the "Leave Us Alone Coalition" of which CLT&G is a member-organization!

Stay tuned -- more to follow . . .

Chip Ford

Chairman

Saturday, January 11, 1997

Grueling is the best word to describe this conference -- non-stop and exhausting starting at 8:30 AM. But the speakers have been great, the ideas challenging and inspirational, and the camaradarie most encouraging.

C-SPAN is here and covering the event gavel-to-gavel, so you might be catching it there back home if you've tuned in.

Today's speakers include U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Larry Craig (R-ID) -- and our own Barbara Anderson.

It's so invigorating to be surrounded by so many like-minded people from across the country -- from around the planet, actually! -- who think so very much like we do, like Thomas Jefferson did when he said "the government which governs least, governs best."

Grover Norquist's house party last night gave us our first opportunity to stop, sit, and get to really know each other, to just converse and exchange ideas, strategies, and goals on a one-on-one basis. We are not alone in the grassroots fight to take back our government from the special interests -- and that awareness helps to recharge the batteries.

Gotta run -- the endurance contest begins anew! I'll try to write more to you tomorrow morning, so stay tuned.

Chip --