A Thinker for the Reagan Administration - Edwin J. Feulner, 1941-2025

 

“It seems long ago, but Republicans were once the party of ideas. One of the leaders of that era was Edwin Feulner, who died Friday at age 83.

 

In 1973 Ed Feulner and his friend Paul Weyrich co-founded the Heritage Foundation, the think tank that nurtured and spread many of the policies that informed the Reagan Administration.

 

Its "Mandate for Leadership" policy compendium in 1980 became a guide for the Reaganauts out to change Washington.

 

Under Feulner, the think tank also became known for short, fast policy summaries delivered to Members of Congress and staff in anticipation of votes. Turnover on Capitol Hill is rapid, and Heritage's missives were influential guides to policies developed on the right over many years.

 

Like many Reagan-era conservatives, Feulner believed in a coalition built on the three-legged stool of free markets and a smaller government, strong national defense, and traditional views on social policy.

 

He welcomed all factions of what was once called the "conservative movement," from libertarians to Russell Kirk traditionalists to neocons.

 

For many years, the Journal worked with Heritage on the annual Index of Economic Freedom. The volume ranked countries around the world on various measures of economic liberty. Feulner was notable for believing in a strong U.S. presence in the world, and he was especially close to leaders in Taiwan and South Korea. As recently as the mid-2000s we can recall a delegation of Heritage scholars making the case to us that U.S. defense spending should be 5% of gross domestic product. Today it's closer to 3%, and heading lower under President Trump.

 

Born outside Chicago in a German-American Catholic family, Feulner attended Regis College in Denver where he discovered conservative ideas. Barry Goldwater was an early political influence.

 

"You have to choose between liberty and equality," Feulner told John Miller of National Review. "I picked liberty."

 

Each year he published an essay by thinkers who defined conservative principles.

 

Feulner was Heritage president for 37 years and remained a trustee in retirement.

 

The think tank has taken a sharp turn toward Trumpian populism in recent years. It opposes free trade and leans toward an isolationist foreign policy. It focuses less on ideas and more on supporting whatever President Trump does.

 

Feulner wasn't always happy with Heritage's new direction, but he kept his misgivings private out of loyalty to the institution.

 

As the years advance, it's clear that the late 1970s through the 1980s and 1990s was a unique period of conservative intellectual ambition. Ed Feulner's motto was "onward, always," reflecting his optimism about the durability of America's founding ideals. The young Republicans in Washington may not know it, but they are spending down the intellectual capital stockpiled by Ed Feulner and his generation.” [1]

 

1. A Thinker for the Reagan Administration - Edwin J. Feulner, 1941-2025. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 21 July 2025: A16.