R Street Institute
| Motto | Free markets. Real solutions. |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2012 |
| Type | Public Policy Think Tank |
| Headquarters | 1050 17th Street NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20001 |
| Location | |
|
President
|
Eli Lehrer |
|
Revenue (2015)
|
$4,164,948 |
| Expenses (2015) | $3,471,241 |
| Website | www |
The R Street Institute is an American conservative and libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.. The Institute's stated mission is to “engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government.” R Street was established in 2012 when its founders split from the Heartland Institute out of disagreement with Heartland's public denial of the scientific opinion on climate change. In addition to its Washington headquarters, R Street has branch offices in Tallahassee, Florida; Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Sacramento, CA; and Round Rock, TX.
On May 4, 2012, the Heartland Institute launched a digital billboard ad campaign in the Chicago area featuring a photo of Ted Kaczynski, (the "Unabomber"), and asking the question, “I still believe in global warming, do you?” The Institute planned for the campaign to later feature cult leader Charles Manson, communist leader Fidel Castro and perhaps Osama bin Laden, asking the same question. In a statement, the Institute justified the billboards saying "the most prominent advocates of global warming aren’t scientists. They are murderers, tyrants, and madmen." Facing public backlash to the billboards, Heartland canceled the campaign within 24 hours.
Leadership of Heartland’s Washington-based Center on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, whose work often had been entwined with environmental policies, were quoted in the wake of the billboard campaign noting that they only learned of the campaign from an emailed press release and that it reflected poorly on the center. On May 11, 2012, Heartland announced that the center would spin off into a separate organization, effective May 31.
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Wikipedia