Richard Viguerie,ConservativeHQ.com
On Saturday,Bill Rusher,a friend,a mentor,and a founding father of the conservative movement,died.
In fact,Bill was the last of a relatively small group of conservatives whose intellect,energy,work,sacrifices,and passion for freedom came together in the 1940s and 1950s to launch,build,and nurture a cause that,in the 1940s,did not even have a name.
In addition to Bill Rusher,these giants on whose shoulders all who love freedom stand today included Bill Buckley,Jr.,Russell Kirk,Frank Meyer,James Burnham,Ronald Reagan,Whittaker Chambers,Barry Goldwater,Henry Regnery,Cliff White,John Ashbrook,Vic Milione,Clarence Manion and a few others.
Most conservatives today would not know of even a third of these men. But without them,there would have been no conservative movement in the 1960s,certainly no Goldwater presidential campaign,and probably no Governor or President Ronald Reagan.