HUMAN EVENTS
December 4, 1998

Conservative Spotlight - Ohio Roundtable
By Joseph A. D'Agostino

“The conservative movement is as addicted to centralization and Washington-based thinking as any liberal,” asserts David Zanotti, president of the Ohio Rnudtable. “We’re out in the states because we choose to be here, not because we couldn't rent office space in Washington. This is where the victories are won or lost.”

So far, the Roundtable has won a good number of them. “We’ve been to the ballot more often than any other group in the past 20 years,” Zanotti said. “And by God’s grace, we’ve never lost a battle.” Ohio Roundtable successes have included efforts for term limits and campaign finance reform, and against gambling.

The Roundtable’s eight full-time staff members and four consultants - a large crew for a state-based, nonprofit public policy group - work toward a straightforward and, until 30 years ago, uncontroversial goal: “To restore traditional Judeo-Christian principles to American public policy.”

“America was founded on a set of ideas,” Zanotti said. “Liberty is not a coincidence. Liberty is the result of a set of principles.” He said that the fundamental battle we face is for the soul of the country: “The Judeo-Christian set of ideas versus modern relativistic ideas.”

To help the right side win, the Ohio Roundtable pursues an educational mission in addition to ballot initiatives. The Public Square radio program is heard “in 100% of the state and in all neighboring states,” said Zanotti. The Roundtable hopes to take the show, in daily two- and five-minute formats, national. The Roundtable works with 4,000 churches - Catholic, Protestant, “across the board” - around the state “to keep them informed about public policy,” said Zanotti. Ohio Decision voter information guides go out by the hundreds of thousands. Zanotti runs another group, called the Ohio Freedom Forum, which does not have the same nonprofit status and so is able to support and oppose state legislation.

The Roundtable and the Freedom Forum were heavily involved in promoting Cleveland’s school choice program, along with Milwaukee’s, the most-watched in the country. “An industrialist named David Brennan of Akron really brought school choice to Ohio,” Zanotti said. Brennan founded the Ohio Scholarship Plan and received a Leadership in Government Award from the Roundtable, which has also given one to Gov. George Voinovich (R.).

Begun in 1980, the Roundtable reaches millions of Ohioans by distributing pamphlets explaining public policy questions in language the average person can understand. In communicating effectively any message to the public, said Zanotti, there must be two elements: brevity and understanding. “Our nation can only proceed by the consent of the governed. It is our goal to win the public debate,” Zanotti said. “People must willingly choose. We believe these principles work for all men and women. These principles work.” And brevity: This is “an era when people are used to the idea that the entire crisis of western civilization can be resolved in 30 minutes,” said Zanotti.

Through TPS Productions, Zanotti’s groups produce their own shows. “For too many years,” he said, “conservatives have complained ahout the liberal media. We compete with them.” Roundtable literature says TPS Productions has “a state of the art radio and video production studio designed to produce the finest broadcast quality radio, video, and television available. TPS is the production facility for the Public Square as well as all other programming for Roundtable and Freedom Forum. TPS also produces a wide array of corporate and commercial videos for companies across the country.”

Zanotti believes that there is long struggle ahead for conservatives. “This is categorically a marathon.” he said. “It’s too soon to tell if we will win or lose.” He complained that “the left has institutionalized its grassroots. They’re all dependent on the government, not just people who are in poverty programs, but government employees, trade unions,” and so on. But “the conservative movement is woefully weak at the grassroots,” he said.

To remind people of the principles at the heart of America’s founding, the Ohio Roundtable set up the “Council of 56” for its large donors. The name comes from the 56 Americans who signed the Declaration of Independence. “What were the chances that a nation could begin with only 56 original investors?” asks the Roundtable’s pitch for the group. “History proves that great works can be accomplished by only a few, dedicated to the truth and truly committed to their cause.”