Doug Ducey: The Right’s New Free-Market Champion – The American Spectator

Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has been out of office for less than a year, but he is already making headlines on his next political endeavor. To the disappointment of many conservative supporters, Ducey will not be running for the Senate or the presidency. Instead, he will lead Citizens for Free Enterprise, a national grassroots organization focused on registering and informing voters about the benefits of free markets and how to fight against bureaucratic overreach. 

Before becoming a pro–free market group, Citizens for Free Enterprise existed primarily as a super PAC, supporting the GOP in elections. OpenSecrets reveals that more than $5.73 million was spent opposing congressional Democrats and $1.17 million supporting Republicans. Joe Ricketts, co-founder of TD Ameritrade and father of Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts, contributed more than $9 million over the past two years and, according to Axios, is still looking to be involved as a primary donor.

Ducey’s vision for the organization is to create a grassroots network spanning all 50 states with the intent to educate on and counteract threats to America’s free-enterprise system — threats that include the epidemics of failing schools and rising crime in urban communities. He wants to build for the GOP an equivalent to failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight Action.

Ducey’s Success in Arizona

Before entering politics, Ducey was CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, and he understands economics better than most politicians. It’s also his passion: In a recent letter describing the future of Citizens for Free Enterprise — reprinted in Axios — he wrote, “I believe [the free enterprise system is] what lifts people out of poverty, provides new generations a shot at the American Dream and paves the way for opportunity for all.”

While serving two consecutive terms as Arizona’s governor, Ducey was elected head of the Republican Governors Association and raised record-setting amounts of donor cash for candidates nationwide. Arizona became the epicenter of fiscal conservative reform during his eight years as governor. 

Ducey’s tenure saw a 2.5 percent flat income tax rate passed into law — the lowest in the country. The state also witnessed immense growth: Not only did the GDP rise around 50 percent, but, according to Dominic Pino at National Review, the “budget deficit [turned] into a surplus” and the number of government employees was reduced. Ducey’s policy portfolio is coupled with a history of social conservative reform, like his bans on abortions after 15 weeks and transgender athletes participating in girls sports.

Late last year, conservative columnist George Will heralded Ducey as the “most successful 21st-century governor.” Even the Associated Press, not known to praise Republicans, gave credence to Ducey’s tenure, saying, “At a time when the conservative movement is almost singularly oriented around ‘owning the libs,’ Ducey spent his two terms outmaneuvering Democrats to advance Republican priorities, reshaping his state in a decisively conservative direction.”

Ducey’s New Battle: Fighting Anti-Free-Market Republicans

Much of Ducey’s new role will involve combating the anti-market sentiments emanating from the progressive left. Recently, however, there has been a strain of anti-market economics appearing on the right. Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley recently appeared to speak against the Citizens v. United ruling, proclaiming that “corporations are not people” and that government should do more to stop big tech and big business. 

BREAKING: JOSH HAWLEY COMES OUT AGAINST CITIZENS UNITED

“Let’s get one thing straight. Corporations are NOT people. And there is no reason why corporate America should control this country.”pic.twitter.com/IaXdtaZr6T

— T in KC (@guardianogeloso) June 23, 2023

Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance has worked with progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren to strip executive pay from failed banks. Even the Heritage Foundation, known for its free-market policy solutions, has promoted the idea of protecting workers from “free markets.” The rhetoric sounds closer to Noam Chomsky than Milton Friedman.

Before leaving office, Ducey cautioned that “a dangerous strain of big-government activism has taken hold” of the Republican Party and that the conservative movement is substituting talking points for proven results. Most true believers in limited government come from the states rather than D.C. populists touting national conservatism. It explains why there has been a mass exodus from blue to red states, and why congressional and Senate politicians have such low approval ratings.

Ducey knows better than most what it takes to create a sound economy based on the free market and limited government principles — he did it in Arizona. Citizens for Free Enterprise provides hope in the conservative fight: While much of the country is divided between right-wing populism and left-wing progressivism, a new generation of voters can be reached by rallying them to the cause of classical liberalism and free-market economics.

Alex Adkins is a graduate of Benedictine University who has written for the Washington Examiner, the Daily Caller, the American Thinker, the Federalist, and the Western Journal.