Mr. Joseph G. Lehman

Introducing the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation

Nov. 16, 2009 General Article

Lawrence W. Reed Inducted Into JA Hall of Fame

Nov. 3, 2009 General Article

Political Anatomy 101

Oct. 27, 2009 Michigan Capitol Confidential

A review and analysis of important state legislative policy issues that do not always receive attention from the general media. Michigan Capitol Confidential will make it easier to keep tabs on your elected representatives in Lansing.

Turning Michigan Around

Oct. 16, 2009 General Article

Political Anatomy 101 (Viewpoint)

Oct. 5, 2009 Viewpoint on Public Issues

Political Anatomy 101

Sept. 25, 2009 General Article

Political Anatomy 101

Sept. 23, 2009 General Article

Confidence in government breeds complacency in politics. When people think government is handling things tolerably well, they see no reason to pay much attention to politics. When confidence sinks from low to lower, grass-roots political energy spikes upward. That’s why people are now leaping off the sidelines and into TEA parties and raucous town hall meetings to protest sky-high taxes, exploding deficits and the government’s attempt to take over health care. Smart politicians can seize this opportunity by exercising an oft-neglected part of the political anatomy: the spine.

Heat of the Battle

Aug. 11, 2009 General Article

A Legislator’s Model Apology

July 30, 2009 General Article

TEA Party Activists Can Keep Their Momentum

June 18, 2009 General Article

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Joseph G. Lehman is president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, an independent, nonprofit research and educational institute based in Michigan. The Mackinac Center is the largest of more than 40 affiliated think tanks that focus primarily on state economic policy.

Mr. Lehman joined the Mackinac Center in 1995 to direct its publications and media outreach. He later became vice president for communications at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. In 2000 he returned to the Mackinac Center as its executive vice president. He succeeded Lawrence W. Reed as president in September 2008.

Mr. Lehman is the author of numerous public policy articles and is a commentator on free-market policies. His remarks have been broadcast by National Public Radio and published in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Journal, National Review, Investor's Business Daily, Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, and nearly every daily Michigan newspaper.

He has addressed audiences at the National Conference of State Legislatures annual meeting, the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual Mackinac Conference, the Asian Resource Bank meeting in Hong Kong, and the African Leadership Conference in Nairobi.

Through the Mackinac Center's biannual Leadership Conference, he has trained more than 540 think tank executives from 46 states and 44 countries in strategic planning, communications, and fundraising.

He is a director of the Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance, the Legislative Education Action Drive Foundation which studies school choice, and USA Votes, a firm that provides public access to legislative data.

Prior to his public policy career, Mr. Lehman was an engineer and project manager for nine years at the Dow Chemical Company. He is an engineering graduate from the University of Illinois and a registered professional engineer.

Mr. Lehman and his wife, Karen, are the founders of Midland County Habitat for Humanity. He twice received the Dow Chemical Vice President's Award for Community Service. He is an ordained deacon in the Presbyterian Church in America.