Lincoln Institute launches ‘Pennsylvania’s Marketplace of Ideas’

The Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc. has spearheaded development of a new web site unifying public policy research conducted by a wide range of free market organizations throughout the state into one site on the worldwide web.

Patterned after the Heritage Foundation’s highly successful www.townhall.com site indexing national organizations, www.patownhall.com presents the current work of Pennsylvania-based groups. Policy papers, polls and surveys, opinion columns, and news releases from member groups are available on www.patownhall.com.

“The Internet has become the tool of choice for researchers, public policy makers, journalists, political operatives, and citizen activists,” said Lowman S. Henry, Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute. “Our new web site www.patownhall.com makes the job of finding the latest state-level free market policy, polling, and opinion materials easy to find by consolidating it on one site.

Among the organizations whose work is posted on www.patownhall.com are the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives, Pennsylvanians for Right to Work, the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, the Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy, the Shenango Institute for Public Policy, the Pennsylvania Family Institute, the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc. and Citizens Against Higher Taxes. More member organizations will be added over the coming months.

In addition to participating organizations, www.patownhall.com carries opinion columns by a number of conservative authors including: “Somedays” commentaries by Al Paschall, Lowman Henry’s “Keystone Commentary,” regular columns by Ralph Reiland of Robert Morris College, education columns by David Kirkpatrick of the U.S. Freedom Foundation, and opinion columns by WILK Newradio talk show host Barrie Singer.

The web site also provides hot links to audio of the Lincoln Institute’s weekly public affairs radio program, Lincoln Journal; a link to video of Behind the Headlines, a weekly public affairs television program produced by the Susquehanna Valley Center and the Commonwealth Foundation; a link to the PMA Bulletin which is published each week the state legislature is in session; and a link to the Insider, a political newsletter written by veteran journalist Al Neri.

The web site includes a regular weekly reader poll, Al Bienstock’s Right Wing Limericks, and book reviews by Leslie Carbone. There are also hot links on www.patownhall.com to a wide range of other web sites of interest.

“This new web site is yet another way for those involved in protecting our free market liberties in Pennsylvania to reach out to a broader audience,” Henry concluded. “It is our hope that www.patownhall.com becomes one of those ‘favorite sites’ people check every day.”