Origins

Welcome to our blog, Rightside Project. The purpose of this venture is to provide political and social commentary from the right side of the political spectrum. To get started, I thought it would be best to describe the origins of this endeavor.

Approximately 14 years ago, Chas Richardson, Craig Boals and I were employees of Arthur Andersen & Co. (yes, the same Arthur Andersen that met its maker due to the Enron case). The three of us would have weekly lunches at Perry’s Deli in downtown Chicago. The conversations usually centered around conservative politics and the misdeeds of the Clinton Administration. Shortly thereafter, Ned Hedley, then an associate at Mayer Brown & Platt, joined the group with additional insight and straight talk. Several years later, my friends, Todd Chalem and Stu Cohn joined us with similar insights. Finally, via email, Jon Knouse, also joined the witty repertoire.

Our lunches at Perry's continue on an almost weekly basis. Needless to say, the most recent election season provided us with a lot of material and concerns.

Each one of us will post on a regular basis and although we will post on many topics, we each have various specialties. I will concentrate on national security, foreign affairs and politics. Todd and Chas will concentrate on economics. Craig will concentrate on economics, foreign affairs and politics. Ned will concentrate on economics, legal issues (as a former federal prosecutor), foreign affairs and politics. Stu will concetrate on foreign affairs, national security and politics. Jon will concentrate on pop culture, sports and politics.

This blog has been discussed for a long time and with the encouragement of noted investigative journalist and author, Bethany McLean, we finally decided to make it happen. Bethany has indicated that she will occasionally post for this blog, which should add to our credibility.

We hope you enjoy our work. We are looking forward to providing you with entertaining and insightful commentary on the world around us.