Weyrich on Mike Huckabee

On April 5th, World Magazine published an article about the disunity the religious right displayed during the Republican presidential primary.

Paul Weyrich—a founder of the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority, and the Council for National Policy (CNP)—raised his hand to speak. Weyrich is a man whose mortality is plain to see... Weyrich, a Romney supporter... steered his wheelchair to the front of the room and slowly turned to face his compatriots. In a voice barely above a whisper, he said, "Friends, before all of you and before almighty God, I want to say I was wrong."

In a quiet, brief, but passionate speech, Weyrich essentially confessed that he and the other leaders should have backed Huckabee, a candidate who shared their values more fully than any other candidate in a generation. He agreed with Farris that many conservative leaders had blown it. By chasing other candidates with greater visibility, they failed to see what many of their supporters in the trenches saw clearly: Huckabee was their guy.

On Sunday Paul Weyrich was buried. I pray that the clarity he displayed was passed on to the "leaders" of the "religious right." We need leaders who will value principle over pragmatism, and access to power. Paul Weyrich was one of the few religious leaders who clearly understood the political situation last spring. We will miss him.