Paul Weyrich and Michael Lind
Paul Weyrich (1942-2008) , born in Wisconsin to a German immigrant father, was one of the most prolific activists of the New Right conservative movement over forty years of his lifetime.
He began as a worker in the Barry Goldwater presidential campaign of 1964, and over the years was instrumental in founding a host of right wing political organizations, including the Free Congress Foundation, the Committee on National Policy, the American Legislative Exchange Council and, his most successful, the Heritage Foundation. He was a highly controversial figure within the conservative movement, for his forceful advocacy of linking Christian religion with the state, defending cultural traditionalism, aggressive anti-communism, and opposition to a wide range of social issues such as abortion and gay rights.
Michael Lind (1962 – _) is a professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School at the University of Texas – Austin. An academic scholar and journalist, not a political activist, he has written a number of books advocating strengthening “democratic nationalism”, increasing the power of labor unions, and resisting populist impulses. The earliest was The Radical Center (2001) and the most recent is Land of Promise: Economic History of the United States (2012). He was also a founder and fellow of the New America Foundation.
The brief excerpt that follows is from Weyrich, Paul R. and William S. Lind, The Next Conservatism, The American Conservative, February 12, 2007. As such it is identified with both co-authors, but it seems likely that it is more in keeping with the writings of Lind than of Weyrich.