Weyrich’s passing a blow to conservatism
Conservative leader Paul Weyrich, who died Thursday, was a man of clear principles who uniquely understood politics and its imperfect practitioners in Washington, D.C. One of the founders of the Moral Majority, Weyrich, 66, was a North Star for social conservatives. Through his written commentaries, radio and television shows and the non-profit Free Congress Foundation, Weyrich helped guide conservative policy formation for more than three decades, usually from the grassroots up. His weekly, off-the-record policy luncheon was attended by members of Congress — Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, has represented Senate Republicans there for a number of years — and presidential administrations alike. There, the holders of governmental power sounded out key constituencies on items ranging from taxes and spending to conscience issues. Weyrich was a sharp analyst who had little patience with wishy-washy politicians or the horse-trading that typifies business in the nation’s capital. He was about political activism and fighting for principle — which he did to the end, authoring an op-ed column on conservatism’s future course the day before his death. Paul Weyrich’s passing leaves a large void in the conservative movement.
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Forget “conservatism,” please. It has been Godless and thus irrelevant. As Stonewall Jackson’s Chief of Staff R.L. Dabney said of such a humanistic belief more than 100 years ago:
“[Secular conservatism] is a party which never conserves anything. Its history has been that it demurs to each aggression of the progressive party, and aims to save its credit by a respectable amount of growling, but always acquiesces at last in the innovation. What was the resisted novelty of yesterday is today .one of the accepted principles of conservatism; it is now conservative only in affecting to resist the next innovation, which will tomorrow be forced upon its timidity and will be succeeded by some third revolution; to be denounced and then adopted in its turn. American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward towards perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader. This pretended salt bath utterly lost its savor: wherewith shall it be salted? Its impotency is not hard, indeed, to explain. It .is worthless because it is the conservatism of expediency only, and not of sturdy principle. It intends to risk nothing serious for the sake of the truth.”
Our country is collapsing because we have turned our back on God (Psalm 9:17) and refused to kiss His Son (Psalm 2).
John Lofton, Editor, TheAmericanView.com
Recovering Republican
JLof@aol.com