I recently spent two incredible days in Washington, D.C., for a series of very helpful and educational meetings.

My first visit was with Grover Norquist. Now if that name doesn’t ring any bells, you might want to check out his entry on Wikipedia. Grover is the president of Americans for Tax Reform. You may recall that I have signed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge.” It was great to stand in the ATR office and see the display of that pledge signed by President Reagan. Grover also was an architect of the Contract with America, and a leading force behind the Bush tax cuts which I would work to make permanent. More than all of that, he is a brilliant conservative who can speak (and did) on any issue of importance to conservatives. I listened intently as he moved rapid-fire through the most recent trends in the conservative movement. I came away honored to have met with a man of that caliber of intellect.

I also met with The Club for Growth. This meeting was quite different from the first. Instead of asking questions and soaking up answers like a student, I was responding to questions asked of me. As a recovering attorney, I am far more accustomed to cross-examining than to being cross-examined. It was a challenge, but a very beneficial one and one I truly enjoyed. I came away certain that those guys really know their stuff and happy that my fiscal views align with theirs.

I then got to meet with several people from the Family Research Council. This is a wonderful organization which “champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society. FRC shapes public debate and formulates public policy that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family. Believing that God is the author of life, liberty, and the family, FRC promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society.” That quote is from their website, www.frc.org, which I encourage you to visit. As an evangelical pastor who has championed these same life-affirming and family-friendly ideas for many years now, this particular visit held special meaning for me.

And I can’t forget visiting The Heritage Foundation. It is a conservative think tank which follows conservative public policy movements and proposes sound and well-reasoned initiatives to address those issues. We talked about everything from the looming economic problems when baby-boomers retire to the war in Iraq. It was a bit like trying to drink from an open fire hydrant, but so valuable to someone who really wants to understand the issues, not just develop made-for-TV sound bites.

As you might guess, all of these people gave me a lot to think about. And I’m doing that. I’m thinking deeply about how we can make our government friendlier to families, friendlier to businesses, and friendlier to taxpayers. I look forward to discussing some of these ideas with you in the coming weeks.