Lawson R. Bader served as president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute from 2012 to 2015. Bader expanded CEI’s outreach by launching a new radio show, RealClear Radio Hour with Bill Frezza, and streamlined the organization's policy efforts by emphasizing legal strategies to attack economic regulation and executive branch overreach.
Before joining CEI, Bader served as vice president of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University for 16 years. He was also formerly the manager of government relations at SRI International, a legislative analyst with the D.C. law firm Pierson, Semmes and Finley, and a special assistant at the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Bader earned degrees from Wheaton College in Illinois and The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Authored by Lawson Bader
Blog
Farewell and Toast to CEI’s Future
- By: Lawson Bader
When in the course of social discourse I am asked, “And why did you ever leave California?” the response I give is often not the…
William Faulkner Said it Best: “Civilization Begins with Distillation”
- By: Lawson Bader
"Making whiskey is but one piece of the Great Story of Spirits. The Big Picture is the story of incremental progress, of continual innovation by…
In Memoriam: Gordon Tullock
- By: Lawson Bader
I write this Tuesday night as TV pundits drone on in the background. The Republicans may win control of the Senate, though races are too…
Op-Eds/Articles
Fox News
Whisky: A living testament to the human spirit
- By: Lawson Bader
Spartan mothers reputedly would tell their sons as they went off to war: "Come home with your shield, or on it!" I did not impart…
Human Events
The Most Transparent Administration… Oh, Wait…
- By: Lawson Bader
It’s “Deja-vu all over again.” Yogi Berra’s famous quip well describes the controversy over Hillary Clinton’s private email account. It’s no surprise she would be…
Human Events
Why Capitalist Virtue Beats Cronyist Sin
At a breakout session during the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, one of us posed a question to the audience: What do members of the…
Studies
Passing the Torch at CEI
- By: Lawson Bader
Those of us who direct “free-market” groups should remember that our leadership is not given by birthright, but is a transfer of a precious inheritance.
Citations
Washington Times
Analysis Tracks Costly Path of 3,541 New Federal Regulations, Provides Antidote for Congress
The Washington Times heavily cites CEI's Agenda for Congress and regulatory cost calculations. The frugal but liberty-minded analysts at the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Denver Post
Robert Reich: Income inequality the defining issue for U.S.
- By: Lawson Bader
Lawson Bader, president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, doesn't disagree that the U.S. economy is performing at a subpar level. But he said Reich's answers…
Washington Post
Fred Smith passes the torch at CEI
Most think tanks are earnest places — and then there’s the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “People say, ‘CEI has fun people, but some of them are…