The Daily Signal - INTERVIEW | Gentry Collins of American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce

Episode Date: October 11, 2022

American corporations are increasingly taking sides on political issues—and it seems they’re often embracing socialist ideas rather than the free market. That’s led former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and others to create the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce. The group launched earlier this year to put the focus back on pro-business policies and limited government—rather than woke ideas pushed by activists on the left. Gentry Collins, CEO of the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, comes to the job after serving as the national political director at both the Republican Governors Association and the Republican National Committee. He spoke to "The Daily Signal Podcast" about the organization. A lightly edited transcript is below.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We'd love to talk, business. This is the Daily Signal podcast for Tuesday, October 11th. I'm Virginia Allen. And I'm Rob Blewey. On today's show, I speak with Gentry Collins, CEO of the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce. We talk about how his new organization is filling a void as a passionate advocate for free markets and strong critic of wokenness that's infested too many American businesses. We also read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a police officer's

impact on a Seattle community. Now stay tuned for today's show after this. Today, news you can trust feels like a rarity. That's why the Daily Signal podcast releases a top news edition every weekday at 5 p.m. Whether driving home from work, fixing dinner, or picking the kids up from soccer practice, you can stay informed on the headlines you care about. Every show is quick and succinct, designed to keep you up to speed on the issues that actually matter. Catch our top news edition right here in your Daily Signal podcast feed

every evening or listen first thing in the morning before catching the day's interview. And be sure to subscribe on the Daily Signal podcast so you never miss an episode. American corporations are increasingly taking sides on political issues and it seems they're often embracing socialist ideas rather than the free market. That's led former Iowa governor Terry Brandstad and others to create the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce. The group launched earlier this year to put the focus back on pro-business policies and limited government. rather than woke ideas pushed by activists on the left. We're joined today by Gentry Collins.

He's the CEO of the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, and he comes to the job after serving as the National Political Director at both the Republican Governors Association and the Republican National Committee. Gentry, welcome to the Daily Scene of Podcast. Good to be with you. Thanks for having me. Well, we're very excited to learn more about your organization. What led Governor Brandstad and you to start the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce? One big idea, which is that free people and competitive markets have

solved more problems, achieved more big dreams, and created more progress and more prosperity than any other system in all of recorded history. And yet, despite those facts, we're losing a generational battle for the idea that this is the way of the future in America. And so we're committed to making sure that American free enterprise is something that every generation in America can embrace. And that while we're working on that, that today's small businesses maintain access to the marketplace where there are more threats than any time in living.

memory. You know, I'm so glad you talked about it in that context. As somebody like myself who has kids and sees the challenges that we're up against in terms of educating the next generation, why is it that so few people understand the truth about free enterprise and the success that it has led in terms of reducing poverty and hunger worldwide in so many countries that, you know, otherwise wouldn't be prospering if it weren't for the entrepreneurial spirit of the business community? You know, I think in part because my generation and older, maybe haven't done our jobs. We took it for granted. You know, Ronald Reagan famously said that freedom is never any more than one generation from extinction. It has to be fought for and defended and handed on to the next

generation. And I'm not sure that my generation has done that job. And so part of the mission of the American Free Enterprise is to change that and to put it back on track and to tell this story. You know, I would frequently say the most powerful secular story in all of human history is the story of American Free Enterprise. So think about this. Historical evidence shows us that from the beginning of recorded history all the way until 1900, that global human life expectancy was never more than a rounding air away from 30 years old. Okay, so for 5,000 years, global human life expectancy stuck at 30. Within those 30 years, every system, political economic system around the face of the globe,

led to deprivation and subjugation in its various forms. Until when? one single American century defined by the idea that we're all created equal, that the government drives its just power only from the consent of the governed, and that we all have an equal opportunity to access the marketplace, to compete, to demand better in our lives, that set of ideas more than doubled global human life expectancy in one single American century. And within the doubling of that life expectancy, we will now lose more of our poor, not our rich, we'll lose more of our poor for the first time in world history to diseases of excess than we will

diseases of deprivation, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and so forth. And as big a problem as those may be, that is one heck of an achievement. That is the fruit of American free enterprise. It's the fruit of this political and economic system. And we have not told next generation voters that. One more thought on it, if I may. During that American century that saw such a rise and shared progress and prosperity, never before seen. One ideology scaled three different times to compete with the American century, and it was socialism. First in Germany and then the Soviet Union and China. Combined, they murdered 100 million people during the American century.

But for the various forms of socialism on the face of the planet last century, we might have been at 83 for global life expectancy instead of 73. We have not told next generation American voters and consumers the story of the past. power of American free enterprise, and we've got to change that. Oh, I wholeheartedly agree. Now, as a Chamber of Commerce, tell us a little bit about how you're organized, what you're doing, and who some of the members are that are supporting you. Yeah, so we're organized as a 501C6, a trade association that is open to any American business, and our pricing reflects that, right? Where 99 bucks a year, anybody can afford to join. Anybody who shares our values and wants to fight for free enterprise and equal access to the marketplace, maintaining equal access to the market,

at a time when there are real threats to that in our economy. And so American businesses of all sizes, but priced in a way that any business can play on a level playing field. Many other trade associations have a very complicated pricing model, right, where the big guys get to come in and write a big check and then dictate to the rest of the membership what we believe. And we've turned that around. Our model is 180 degrees from that. We've come out with a free enterprise bill of rights.

We've made very clear to our members and the public in general what we believe are the foundational principles of American Free Enterprise. What does it mean to open the possibility of another American century? We've promised our members that we'll fight for those things and only those things. And it's on that basis that we've built our membership. Now, I'm glad you mentioned the Bill of Rights. You have 10 principles that are part of it. You don't have to go through all 10. But what are some of the key things that you have identified for your members and some of the things that you'll be out there advocating for?

So there are a variety, just from a foundational perspective, the right to fail, the right to succeed, the right to operate your business without onerous level of either taxation or regulation, a fair playing field, right? One set of rules for all of us, foundational to American Free Enterprise, and something that not only have we been migrating away from for years, but that migration away from that one set of rules for all of us seems to have increased in the COVID period. a fair and sound banking system and a whole variety of others. But those are some of the foundational principles that we've laid out for our members. And of course, it's available on your website. We'll be sure to include a link in the transcript and the show notes. Now, some of the stories that I've read about your organization have painted a contrast between it and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Can you talk about some of the differences, maybe not only with that group, but others that may be in the same kind of marketplace?

Yeah, so look, we're in the business of advocating for American Free Enterprise. and we're not built to compete with any one other organization. I will say broadly, though, that there are a number of organizations that are based here in Washington, D.C., that seem to have been more concerned with what their biggest members writing very big checks think about issues rather than foundational principles. And so we are built specifically to be in a place where foundational principles are what we maintain fidelity to, starting not just with an ideological belief in those principles, but with an operational structure that doesn't incentivize us to take a look at our big members and say, well, we're going to follow you on an issue, even though it compromises on our principles a little bit, right?

At $99 per year per member, not only can anybody afford to participate, but we're not giving people an opportunity, financially speaking, to sort of compromise on our principles. Now, speaking of some of those big corporations, we have seen, in, you know, in the, you not the too distant past, several of them take steps that I think some conservatives and those who believe in the free market have been concerned about, whether that's the embrace of ESG and environmental social governance or woke policies, you know, diversity, equity, inclusion. You can go down the list of acronyms that the left has embraced. What's your position on those issues?

And what do you say to those big corporations that may be taking more of a socialist track as opposed to the free market? Yeah, look, our position is. is that everybody ought to be free to compete on a level playing field. And to the extent that ESG and other approaches like it are in the way of a free, fair, open marketplace, then those are things that we've got to deal with. And so we're working aggressively to deal with them.

I want to be careful here. We are not in the business of telling any business how to operate. But what we are very much in the business of is saying that you can't stand in the way of smaller entrance to the marketplace. And I think a lot of this ESG agenda, among other things, is designed to crowd out new sort of innovative upstarts that may do it a little better, a little faster, a little cheaper. And I think some of the big guys are using ESG as a way to crowd out the small competitors. Yeah, it certainly seems like that's the case.

And as we know, as history teaches us, you know, some of those small competitors will themselves become big giant corporations that disrupt the market. And we want to help him disrupt the market, right? And so let's remove the barriers, the artificial barriers that some of the legacy players are trying to put up. Yeah. Now, China obviously poses a significant threat to the United States. I've seen you mention that in some of your materials. How are you approaching some of the challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party?

Well, so number one, by calling them out publicly. Number two, by tying some of what the big banks are doing on ESG to this very question, right? to transition our energy economy to something that relies on rare earth, for example, among other examples, by the way, but we'll highlight that for a moment, really is short-sighted, not only for all of the other reasons that you might talk about on ESG, but in this case, because it empowers the Chinese communists, people who have not contributed to the global economy what we have, who have subjugated their own people, continue to subjugate their own people, who steal intellectual property from American businesses,

who crowd us out of the marketplace unfairly. Those are practices that we call out every day. By the way, as you may know, our chairman, Terry Branstad, former U.S. ambassador to China, who saw this and lived it firsthand, as is true of anybody who's been around a communist regime, the closer you've seen it, the more convinced you are that it is the wrong pathway. And so our chairman himself is very committed to calling this out.

Certainly, Governor Brandstad has significant experience with China and so hopefully a great asset to your organization. You mentioned earlier a lot of the organizations, trade associations that are based here in Washington, D.C. You've purposely organized in the Midwest, in Iowa specifically. Why is that important? Look, the middle of the country is overlooked and ignored too often in this town. I love Washington. I lived and worked here for more than a decade. You know, there are a lot of things to love about it.

But it has a way of drawing people into a certain kind of group think to a sort of an establishment way of thinking that doesn't understand and then overlooks and downplays the contribution of the great middle of the country. And I don't just mean Iowa, my home state or the Midwest. I mean the middle in the broadest possible way. The middle geographically, the middle economically, the middle ideologically in many ways. And so we have very intentionally not come to D.C. to form this organization, but stayed at home in Iowa. to be close to the middle of the country, to understand, to be in the midst of that every day, to understand their concerns, their hopes, their dreams, and what stands in the way of achieving those hopes and dreams?

And so our view is that by being in Des Moines, we're a little bit closer, we've got a finger on the pulse in a way that is hard to do here in Washington. And do you expect to be engaging, not just in those national issues that we're debating here in Washington, but also in state capitals? We expect to engage anywhere barriers to entry to the marketplace. emerge. And so I think right now the biggest threats are coming from Washington, D.C., but certainly they come from the states as well, or say that more positively. I think there are some states where we've got more forward-looking elected leadership that may go on offense on some of these

issues rather than just being on defense. So certainly we expect to be active in the states as well. What kind of reaction have you received from Capitol Hill to the creation of the organization? You know, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly with leadership that has been looking for an alternative. An active but principled voice for American small businesses has been missing from the debate, and it's been welcomed with open arms. That's great. And Gentry, tell us a little bit more about your team. You've recently brought on some big hires, some people with significant experience not only here in Washington, but who have a vast policy background. Who are some of them?

And what do you have playing in the short term? Yeah, so look, our organization is small and lean. Our overhead is very small. We've kept it very small and intended to do that. Everybody that's joined us to help with policy and policy advocacy maintain their own practices, right? So people come to our operation because they believe in the cause. They believe in the principles that we've laid out. They see the need for better advocacy for American Free Enterprise and small businesses in particular. But we've been gratified by the response. There are a lot of folks that have been around national policymaking that see this as a problem and want to contribute to a solution. So we've been very pleased to have a number of them join us. But again, they're joining us not on the basis of coming into a full-time salary or being paid a big number, but rather on the basis of belief in the mission and being ready to roll up their sleeves and help. That's great. Weeks before the election, obviously, we don't know what the ultimate outcome is going to be and what the makeup of the next Congress will look like,

but there could be a potential opportunity to put forward a pro-growth, a pro-business agenda, particularly in the U.S. House, possibly the U.S. Senate. Any particular policies that you're looking at at the national level that you think could really supercharge our economy again and get us out of this situation where we're experiencing record at levels of inflation and, you know, pain on the American people each and every day. Yeah, so let me answer that in a couple of ways. One, there are very clearly policy priorities that can help put us back on track, whether it's recommitting ourselves to American Energy Independence, whether it is dealing with the weaponization

of the federal government in several agencies, including the SEC and the FDC, probably most notably, weaponized to enforce an ESG agenda that could not pass at the ballot box, that wouldn't even pass in the normal course of things in the economy, pushing back on those. things in a variety of ways from a policy perspective, I think are important objectives. But let me just say that if we have a conservative majority in one or even both chambers of the Congress, we'll still be dealing with an administration that has been responsible for weaponizing the federal government to enforce ESG priorities. And so I think it's important for free marketeers, for conservatives to be looking at how do we use

a new majority in the Congress to raise these issues in a way that's relevant in the lives of everyday Americans. How do we how do we make clear in the public discourse that the rise of ESG and weaponizing the federal government to enforce ESG priorities is directly responsible for the pain that they're feeling at the grocery store and at the pump and at the bank and in a whole variety of other ways economically in their lives? I don't think we've done that job fully. And I think that will be part of the job of a new conservative majority. Sure. And imagine a group like yours will be helping to do that. I think it's so important, the storytelling aspect, as you indicated, of connecting the dots and helping the American people

see how the policies that are enacted here in Washington, D.C., or some cases, but the administrative state in Washington, D.C., and the regulatory state affects the lives of everyday Americans. Finally, Gentry, share a little bit more about how an organization or a business could become a member of the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce and some of the benefits they get as a result? Yes, easy.mfreychamber.com. Amfreychamber.com, you can sign up there. It's $99 a year. And there are a whole variety of benefits. Since we've been talking about issue advocacy and policy, we'll start there. One principled advocacy, as you indicated earlier, our 10-point free enterprise bill of rights is right there on the website so you know exactly what we're for and why. And so our

advocacy will be built around those principles and only around those principles. Outside of the advocacy realm, there are a number of business tools that are available to our members, from banking services for those who have faced various kinds of debanking issues to merchant payment processing where, you know, there's been, I'll say, a small epidemic of businesses that have been de-platformed from merchant payment processing services over the last number of years. not only can we help remedy that for legally operating businesses in America, but we can compete on rates as well. I think most small businesses that become members find that even if they don't face a deplatforming threat, there is a competitive advantage to the rate structure that we can offer small businesses.

When you aggregate a number of small businesses, the purchasing power turns out is pretty significant. And so we're able to save small businesses quite a lot of money on those as well as providing a sort of a principled approach. to public policy. That's great. We've been talking to Gentry Collins, the CEO of American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce. Again, the website is amfreychamber.com. Amfreychamber.com. We'll be sure to include a link in the transcript and the show notes. Gentry, thanks so much for joining us today. Thanks, Rob. Conservative women. Conservative feminists. It's true. We do exist. I'm Virginia Allen. And every Thursday morning on problematic women, Lauren Evans and I sort through the news to bring

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Thanks for sending us your letters to the editor. Each week we feature our favorites on this show. Virginia, who's up first? In response to Rachel Gressler's piece about unions titled Railroad Strike, threat shows how unions rigid rules often hurt workers, Marian Daniels Price writes this, Dear Daily Signal, maybe unions need to wake up and smell the coffee. unions had their day and time, but that time has now expired.

Unions close up shop and let the free market rain. Workers will be happier, production will increase, and prices will come down. And in response to Mary Margaret Olahan's reporting on Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitts, signing a bill to block funding of children's gender transition services, Patty has this to say. I live in Oklahoma, and I am proud to support our governor for taking swift action to shut down this dangerous procedure. The liberals are so deranged these days, we should be protecting our children, not mutilating them, loving them, not making a profit off of them. Sadly, our schools are being infiltrated with teachers and administrators who promote these radical ideas. Parents must wake up, visit your child's

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Visit heritage.org slash oversight to learn more. There's no time to waste. Virginia, you have a good news story to share with us today. Over to you. Thanks so much, Rob. If you are traveling to the South Rainier Valley of Seattle anytime soon, you might see a chessboard park. Well, that giant chessboard has a story behind it. And more importantly, it has a community hero behind it. Denise Bolden goes by the name of Detective

Cookie. She has served on the Seattle Police Force for 43 years. Today, she works as a community outreach officer. Eric Johnson from Seattle's KOMO News spent some time with Detective Cookie recently and saw firsthand what exactly it means to be a community outreach officer. Everywhere she goes, people know her from her time patrolling the streets, but they also know her through the game of chess. Back in 2005, Detective Cookie wanted to find a way to help and connect with the young people of her community, as she told Eric Johnson. They just want to be accepted.

They want somebody to pay attention to them, and basically they want something to do, something that's, Not illegal. Give them something to do. If you don't, somebody else will. The kids ask if they could have a chess tournament. But it soon became apparent that the kids needed some help learning how to play the game.

So Detective Cookie started a chess club, a club that has become a pillar in the community. The kids, young and old, are still coming. And it's a little challenging, so it's exciting and fun. It's like a sport for your kids. mind. Even as the chess club was taking off and instructors were teaching the kids how to master the game, Detective Cookie herself didn't know how to play chess. Her childhood growing up in the projects of Chicago had been a hard one. As she told Johnson, she really struggled as an adult

to believe she was intelligent. I never knew that I could play chess. I thought I wasn't smart enough. And I would brainwash myself in for years that I'm not smart enough for chess. Chess is for smart people. Detective Cookie did eventually learn to play. Today, she takes on members of her chess club teaching kids like eight-year-old DeJohn Parks what they can learn from the game of chess and how to apply those lessons to the challenges in their own lives. Just like in the real life, somebody might put something to you, want you to try it, want you to do it. You have to think about it, just like you did on the chessboard. of Detective Cookies' years of influence in her Seattle community, there now stands a chess park

named after Detective Cookie in Seattle's Rainier Valley. Detective Cookie's life and her simple act of starting a chess club is a sweet reminder that the simplest of gestures can transform communities. They sure can, Virginia. Thanks so much for sharing that story today. We're going to leave it there for the Daily Signal podcast. You can find our show on the Rurkishay Audio Network. All of our shows are available at DailySignal.com.

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