An Open Letter to Our Friends at the Heritage Foundation

Yesterday afternoon, a good friend of mine received a broadcast letter from the Heritage Foundation about the recent events relating to Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and the defense of both by its president against what he called a “venomous coalition.” The letter came from Andy Olivastro, Heritage’s chief advancement officer, and it asked for the foundation’s “friends” to move past the scandal of this week while promising to have learned lessons from the outrage. 

My friend responded directly to the letter, and I also sent a response. Allow me to present Mr. Olivastro’s letter first in fairness, followed by my open letter in response. 

Dear Friends,

I hope you’ve had a chance to see Kevin Roberts’ recent video on X.

In it, he said: “Leadership requires owning the moments where we fall short—then using them to reset, refocus, and recommit.” That’s exactly what we intend to do, together with the help of every supporter.

As Kevin told our team, and many donors, friends and allies he has spoken with, he made a mistake in how he managed recent controversy—full stop. His choice of words in the video he recorded caused concern, especially among those who know how seriously Heritage has stood—and continues to stand—against the rise of antisemitism. The terms he used took attention away from the important work we’re doing, and we’re committed to restoring our focus on the issues that matter most.

I also recommend this powerful Letter to the Editor in the Wall Street Journal from my colleague, Victoria Coates, commenting on Kevin’s leadership and Heritage’s powerful record fighting the scourge of antisemitism.

As we move forward, we want to reaffirm our commitments:

• The Heritage Foundation is rooted in principles and policies, not personalities. We will not make the mistake of placing individuals—even friends—above the critical mission of the institution that all of us are entrusted to steward.
• We’re proud to work alongside movement partners who are committed to saving our Republic. Where any partner has concerns about our resolve or plans, we will take time and expend energy to address those concerns.
• We have zero tolerance for antisemitism. It is evil, and we will always confront it head-on.

We’re grateful for the overwhelming outpouring of support and friendship from all of you who know us so well.

Our focus now is to build and sustain a principled, serious, and morally grounded conservative coalition that can lead America toward renewal. That focus includes strengthening families, honoring work and free enterprise, defending national security, and restoring citizenship as a sacred trust. This work will continue with urgency and resolve.

As always, we invite you to join us for our upcoming series of discussions about confronting the spread of socialist economics, reining in unelected regulators, exposing the consequences of mass visa-driven labor importation, and countering China’s global ambitions.

I always enjoy hearing from you and receiving your counsel. I can be reached by reply to this email or at [redacted] if you prefer a discussion.

Your partnership matters very much to us all. We’re grateful for it.

Thank you for your support,

Andy

===

My response follows.

Mr. Olivastro,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. 

I must agree with my friend [redacted]. I have not only held the Heritage Foundation in high esteem for much of my life, but I have at times worked for Heritage, worked with Heritage, addressed audiences at Heritage, and have always looked to Heritage for moral and intellectual clarity and purpose in a political world filled with compromises and regrets. When guest-hosting on radio shows, and occasionally on my own podcasts, I have always looked first to Heritage for expert commentary on difficult and complex topics, because Heritage has always provided that clarity and expertise, not just on policy areas but also on what it means to be conservative.

And this is why I find this episode so incredibly disappointing, including the video you reference. Not only did Mr. Roberts admit to weighing in on a controversy involving the nature of conservatism without doing any personal due diligence to inform himself on the issues at hand, his first instinct was to attack the very people who have always relied on Heritage as an intellectual and moral compass while defending those who lack either. Mr. Roberts called those criticizing Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes for their anti-Semitic comments and positions, not to mention their affection for the Soviet and Nazi systems, a “venomous coalition.” The apology and explanation that were offered on Wednesday were entirely insufficient in regard to the impulse to attack Heritage’s allies on behalf of conservatism’s opponents. It was a betrayal, and Mr. Roberts’ speech did nothing to heal it. 

Even apart from that, Mr. Roberts’ general thrust was, essentially, that we should have no enemies to the Right. I would remind you that it was French revolutionaries who first posited the “no enemies to the Left” philosophy, and that Alexander Kerensky adopted it for the Mensheviks a century ago. And then I would remind you how that worked out for the French revolutionaries and Kerensky. 

The value of the Heritage Foundation is that it provides us with rich resources with which to defend and promote ordered liberty in the American sense, in which the true constitutional order constrains government in both law and subsidiarity through federalism in order to promote the flourishing of a free people. Those who sympathize with — or worse, promote — the ideals of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin are the opponents of liberty and federalism, no less so than those who sympathize with and promote the systems of China, Iran, and Russia today. Not only should we criticize those on the Left who espouse those positions, we should even more passionately oppose those who do so while claiming to be on the Right. That is the purpose of our intellectual institutions — to stand for principle rather than to shrink from debates. 

If the Heritage Foundation does not see that as its mission, it is difficult to understand what its mission actually is. Nothing that Mr. Roberts or the Heritage Foundation board has yet said gives any confidence that the organization can articulate it, other than as measured in vote counts rather than intellectual and moral clarity and rigor. 

Nonetheless, I certainly hope that the organization will recover its purpose and mission in the days ahead, and will find leadership that meets this moment. 

Cheers, 

Ed Morrissey

Note: I also noted that I would post this response today and offered to post their response, if any. I have yet to receive a response, but I will certainly post it here if and when I do. 

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