Annual Meeting of Conservative Policy Leaders, Activists Instructs and Inspired

Anarchism, socialism, drug use, and all the other massive historical failures embraced by the radical left in the 1960s are now corrupting every facet of American life. The Pennsylvania Leadership Conference (PLC), the annual gathering of the state’s leading conservative policymakers and community activists, held this past weekend in Camp Hill, is a must attend to acquire the tools to engage, educate, and advocate.

The annual event, hosted by PLC President and Chairman of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association (PMA), Lowman Henry, covered the spectrum of battlegrounds from the weaponization of government overreach, the taking of parental rights, the mass commercialization of recreational marijuana, to the George Soros-backed district attorneys who are turning criminals loose on the streets.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who won a crushing re-election bid last year in an otherwise largely weak Republican showing, addressed the societal damage caused many big city DAs supported by the progressive billionaire backer.

“There may be no issue that’s caused crime to spiral more out of control in certain cities such as Philadelphia than the election of progressive prosecutors funded by people like George Soros,” DeSantis told the audience of 700 during Saturday’s luncheon.

“These prosecutors go in with an ideological agenda,” DeSantis said. “They think it’s their role as a prosecutor to manipulate the law, to ignore the law, to pick and choose which laws they will enforce, all in service of politics and pursuing ideology.”

During a panel discussion on proposals to legalize recreational marijuana use, PMA President & CEO David N. Taylor said that “government greed” is behind the effort – the advocates just want another sin tax.

“We have drug abuse problem in society and the first thing to do is not make it worse,” Taylor said.

Taylor added that manufacturers, who by law must maintain a safe workplace, are already having a difficult time finding competent workers who can pass a drug test. Legalization of marijuana will only increase use, which will further narrow the field of available candidates and result in many missing out on careers and family sustaining jobs.

“Advocates for legalization say it will take business away from the cartels,” Taylor said. “It’s only likely to invite escalation from the criminal world.”

The annual get-together of conservatives began in 1989, but it was the support of past PMA Chairman Frederick W. Anton, III, as Henry noted during the conference, that kept it alive and allowed it to thrive.

Three years ago, the PLC began the “Frederick W. Anton, III Patriot of the Year Award” to honor the state’s leading conservatives; this year’s winner was the 100-year-old Pennsylvania Federation of Republican Women.

Past winners include John Gizzi of Newmax, who has attended PLC every year, save one, and former State Rep. Steve Freind (R-Delaware), one of the nation’s leading pro-life state lawmakers.

Panels included:

Empowering Parents & Students moderated by Michael Geer of the Pennsylvania Family Institute; Building A Hispanic Coalition moderated by Jaime Florez of the Republican National Committee; Playbook for Protecting Pennsylvania & Preserving Public Safety moderated by Ashley Klingensmith from Americans for Prosperity-PA; and Winning & Serving as a Liberty Conservative moderated by Justin Greiss from the Citizens Alliance of America

Additional speakers included:

Kellyanne Conway, former Senior Counselor to President Donald Trump, who was the Friday dinner speaker, John Gizzi of Newsmax, who headlined the conference breakfast, and a keynote interview with Fox News contributor Guy Benson.

Trent England from Save Our States; Frank Gamrat from the Allegheny Institute; Dustin Chambers of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University; Congressman Dan Meuser; State Senator Scott Martin; Mike Howell of the Heritage Foundation; Venezuelan freedom activist Daniel DiMartino; Rev. C.L. Bryant of FreedomWorks; Scott Parkinson from the Club for Growth; Victoria Coats of the Heritage Foundation and Charles Mitchell from the Commonwealth Foundation in speaking at the conference along with Congressman Scott Perry; Dr. Paul Kengor from Grove City College; Newsmax columnist Jeff Lord; and Colin Hanna from Let Freedom Ring, USA.

Judge Cheryl Lynn Allen from the Pennsylvania Family Institute; State Treasurer Stacy Garrity; Auditor General Tim DeFoor; Lynda McLaughlin of the Sean Hannity Show; Rose Tennent of Rose Unplugged; David McCormick author of Superpower in Peril; Marc Morano of Climate Depot, and Lourdes Ubieta of Americano Media.