American Principles Project

The American Principles Project (APP) is a 501(c)(3) think tank founded in 2009 by Robert George, Jeff Bell, and Frank Cannon. APP promotes a combination of libertarian and social conservative policies. It is chaired by Sean Fieler.

While opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage, APP largely focuses on promoting immigration reform, opposing the Common Core curriculum, and defending religious liberty. They have also advocated for monetary reform by suggesting a return to the gold standard.

Following the Republican Party's post-2012 election review, in which the GOP suggested de-emphasizing social issues, a conservative advocacy group affiliated with the American Principles Project published a report detailing the importance of social issues to the Republican Party. The report pointed out that Republicans ran almost exclusively on economic issues during the 2012 election to lackluster effect.CNN has described the American Principles Project as "a unique Republican group that bridges the ideas of social conservatives and libertarians."

The American Principles Project describes its education initiative as an effort to “promote policies and actions that protect children and secure their future.” It has been critical of the Common Core education initiative, and some of the APP's most well-known work has been produced in the fight against Common Core.

In 2012, Jane Robbins, Senior Fellow at the American Principles Project, and Emmett McGroarty, Executive Director of APP Education, co-authored a report for the APP and the Pioneer Institute called Controlling Education From The Top: Why Common Core Is Bad For America. This report has influenced the national Common Core discussion. Both McGroarty and Robbins have published numerous articles discussing what they perceive as flaws in Common Core, both in its contents and in the way it was enacted. APP has also sent experts to testify to state legislatures, encouraging states to withdraw from the Common Core standards. APP argued that the Republican Party would suffer in the 2016 presidential election if it fielded a pro-Common Core candidate.