Has Jack Kemp been in Washington too long? In his Townhall column from Monday, he criticizes think tanks for being afraid to challenge conventional wisdom among their elected allies.

It’s time to rejuvenate conservative think tanks so that scholars can
have a safe haven in which to think and work and the freedom to
generate new ideas – yes, even if those ideas don’t comport with the
conventional wisdom of the conservative politicians in power. 
Conservatism needs to restore the raw intellectual spirits that made
the movement great – independent thinking and the fierce defense of
those ideas, no matter whom they offend or who is in office.

This isn’t much of a concern for the Locke Foundation. Despite the
trail of Abramoff slime around DC, I’m not sure that I agree with Kemp
on this point either. Regardless, state think tanks like this one may
offer an appropriate balance — showing again the genius of the federal
system.

HT: Catallaxy