Welcome to Reformed Conservatism
It has become difficult to ascertain what conservatism actually consists of since the turn of the century. By some Political Scientists’ count there are anywhere between 4-12 different strains of conservatism spanning the globe. It is my hope to unify these strands, to bridge the gaps and find the common ground between all forms of conservatism. C.S. Lewis attempted the same with Mere Christianity and I plan on attempting the same over the next year. To find the common ground and reassert the classic foundation of conservatism as envisioned by Kirk, Russell, Reagan, Buckley, and others. I’ll even explore more of the Libertarian thought as well, through Mises and Hayek.
My name is Daniel Vaughan, I am the author of this blog and curator of the ideas being presented. My degree is in Political Science with an emphasis in Law from Middle Tennessee State University. I will be attending Law School in the not so distant future. In a few months I will graduate from both the college of Liberal Arts and the University Honors College. I completed and defended my Honors Thesis entitled: First Amendment Religious Freedom: The Opinions and Writings of Michael W. McConnell. Michael McConnell was on former President Bush’s short list for the Supreme Court and a leading scholar on the First Amendment. It is currently on display in the University Honors College. I’ve defended the thesis as well as presented it at the University Honors Lecture Series and the Tennessee Collegiate Honors Conference that was held in Memphis.
I have extensive work with campaigns. The three largest campaigns I’ve worked on have been Ralph Reed’s campaign for Lt. Governor in 2006, Ed Bryant’s bid for the US Senate in 2006, and the David Hall for State Senate campaign where I was in charge of opposition research as well as campaign strategy and anything else I could get my hands on. Rounding these experiences out is the classwork and study I did under Kent Syler, Bart Gordon’s chief of staff on campaigns. Undoubtedly, this list will grow as time goes on, but this gives a cursory idea of my experience in campaigns.
Aside from those experiences, I’m also the former President of the MTSU Mock Trial Society and Captain of MTSU’s top team for the past three years. My teams have regularly placed in the top three spots in Regional Competition and been in the top 50 (out of 550+) teams in the nation. Along the way I’ve won individual awards for being an All-National Attorney and All-Regional Witness. MTSU competes through the American Mock Trial Association.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask or send me a message.
