The Conservative Revolution Begins

America’s Right Turn
by Richard Viguerie and David Franke (2004)

Part 2: The Conservative Revolution Begins

Chapter 4. 1955: A Liberal Hegemony over America

"Before our assortment of conservatives and libertarians could think of themselves as a distinct political movement, they had to have a center of gravity, some focal point, that addressed them as members of a movement and taught them, in Lenin's words, what is to be done. That giant step was taken in November of our year of 1955 with the founding of National Review magazine, edited by the charismatic young William F. Buckley Jr."

During the 1950s:

* Liberal media gatekeepers decided what was and wasn't news
* The National Review taught its audience to think of themselves as a movement and to adopt a long-term, strategic outlook
* William F. Buckley Jr. became the first media superstar of the new movement

Chapter 5. The Birth of a Movement

In their epochal best-seller, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Al Ries and Jack Trout present as the #1 marketing law: "The Law of Leadership: It's better to be first than it is to be better." [see chapter 1]

"The key to the Buckley phenomenon of this period is that he was, first and foremost, a debater. …no one could verbally best the young Bill Buckley on the debate podium or printed page."
Anti-communism was the "glue" that held the broadest array of prospective members of a new movement
Most intellectuals and writers who were communists or socialists in their youth were activist intellectuals and writers, and that predisposition remained strong even after they changed sides.

Why was there no libertarian movement?

* Something "new" is almost always more appealing than something "old." [see chapter 1. Also, it has to do with marketing or packaging. The word "conservative" was new, that is, it was "without historical baggage of failure.."]
* Conservatives brought together, as the core of their appeal, two of the strongest motivators in America-religion and patriotism. … "The libertarians and Old Rightists never put together a comprehensive policy program for action on this [the communist issue], the gut issue of the day; the conservatives at National Review did."
* Libertarians were more at home in academic pursuits; conservatives were more at home in political activism. … Conservatives had mastered the art of compromise; libertarians have a real problem with any compromise, which is one reason they fare better as academics than as politicians.
* [lack of "Ecumenism"] Conservatives also mastered the art of discipline-of being able to purge elements from the movement that might hinder it, yet continuing to forge ahead.
* Libertarians had no charismatic leader comparable to the conservatives' William F. Buckley Jr.
* While money initially was scarce in both camps, the conservatives quickly outperformed the libertarians in learning how to raise the cash necessary for creating a movement. "One major lesson in fundraising is to turn repeatedly to the people who have already contributed to your cause."

All elements of movement-building work in synergy with the others: funding, charismatic leadership, broad public appeal.

Chapter 6. This is What Happens when the Other Side Controls the Mass Media

Liberal media attack against conservatives took three forms:
1. Simply labeling conservatives as Nazis or fascists
2. Looking desperately for some nut who had attached himself to a specific event or organization and spotlighting that barnacle to besmirch the whole group or event
3. Ignoring mainstream conservatives in favor of spotlighting the most extreme groups, and then leading the reader or viewer to make the desired association between conservatives and extremists.

"The more we were attacked as fascists, the harder we worked."

"Sometimes the most obvious results are not the most enduring ones."

Chapter 7. Conservatives Test a New Secret Weapon

Direct mail: One of the great advantages of direct mail is that it allows you to test what you "know" to be true. (e.g., sending out different versions or appeals to see which is more successful). See: The Solid Gold Mailbox, written by Walter H. Weintz, the direct mail guru for Reader's Digest.

Richard Viguerie: "my interest in direct mail began…partly because of my shyness in asking people face to face or phone to phone… Plenty of conservatives were boning up on conservative philosophy, and many others were studying the techniques of political organization. Nobody, as far as I could tell, was studying how to sell conservatism to the American people. I knew I was never going to be a conservative intellectual, so for a period of a few years I didn't read the growing number of conservative books that were being published, and I barely looked at National Review or Human Events. Time was too precious. I decided to spend every spare moment intensively studying commercial direct mail, so I could apply those techniques to political nonprofit groups."

Viguerie learned:

* Stick to your brand.
* The importance of the image your potential customers or donors have of you.
* "I also learned the ins and outs of getting celebrity signers for your letters."
* [targeted mailing lists] "lists are the lifeblood of direct marketing."
* "List exchanges and rentals…were the way to create an ever-larger movement and enrich everyone's organizations"

List Exchanges:

* "It had the effect politically that free trade has economically--it made for easy market access across borders (in this case organizational borders), since Viguerie was, in effect, the NAFTA framework governing conservative lists."
* "I kept adding to my list of conservative donor names. My contract with any client would give both the client and me access to donors' names, which was critical in expanding the base of the conservative movement. …"
* "If the donors to group A would also be likely to contribute to group B, group B had easier access to a 'ready made' prospect file of conservative activists. Group B obviously would benefit from the additional donors, but this helped groups A as well, since it would be just a matter of time before group A would get access to the expanded groups B list, not to mention the lists of new organizations C, D, and E."

The nature of The Viguerie Company and its clients:

* Viguerie financed the mailings for the client, but then both Viguerie and the client had access to the list of respondents.
* This list access was critical in expanding the base of the conservative movement
* By centralizing access to many conservative supporters, conservative organizations were able to prospect at less expense, not to mention faster and with greater precision.
* It made the movement more efficient as well, because it was easier to target supporters who were shown to be predisposed to conservative issues.