Gary Bauer

Gary Bauer
In Concord, New Hampshire, campaigning for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination.
Born	Gary Lee Bauer (1946-05-04) May 4, 1946 (age 70) Covington, Kentucky, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician

Gary Lee Bauer (born May 4, 1946) is an American politician and activist.

Gary Bauer was born in Covington, Kentucky, and was raised in Newport, Kentucky, in a working-class family, the son of Elizabeth "Betty" (Gossett) and Stanley Rynolds Bauer, a laborer. He was raised in the Southern Baptist faith. Of his hometown, Bauer has said, "in the years I grew up there, the town was literally under the control of an organized crime syndicate out of Toledo, Ohio. And when I say under the control of it, literally the mayor, the city council, even the police department were all being paid handsomely." Bauer cited the community's efforts to oppose this corruption as a significant influence on his political conservatism.

Bauer received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky, in 1968 and a law degree from Georgetown University in 1973. While attending law school, he worked as the Assistant Director of Opposition Research at the Republican National Committee from 1969 to 1973. He then took a position as the director of government relations for the Direct Mail Marketing Association, from 1973 to 1980. He served as a Deputy Under Secretary for Planning and Budget in the United States Department of Education, from 1982 to 1987, and as an advisor on domestic policy from 1987 to 1988. While serving under Reagan, he was named Chairman of President Reagan's Special Working Group on the Family. His report, "The Family: Preserving America's Future," was presented to the President in December 1986.

Bauer served as the president of the Family Research Council from 1988 to 1999. He resigned from this position to run for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. He left the race after the primaries in February 2000. In 1996, he founded the Campaign for Working Families (CWF), a political action committee dedicated to electing "pro-family, pro-life and pro-free enterprise" candidates to federal and state offices. In addition to serving as the chairman of CWF, Bauer is also the president of American Values, a non-profit organization "committed to defending life, traditional marriage, and equipping our children with" conservative values. He also serves on the Executive Board of Christians United for Israel, a lobby group headed by John Hagee. Gary Bauer was one of the signers of the Statement of Principles of Project for the New American Century (PNAC) on June 3, 1997. He also serves on the board of the Emergency Committee for Israel.