Happy Birthday Phyllis Schlafly
Conservative legend still making headlines at 92

The story of her life is the story of the movement.

Her 1964 book “A Choice Not An Echo” explained the grassroots Republican resistance to the Eastern Establishment and was a historic manifesto for American conservatism.

Against all odds, she rallied Americans around the country, especially women, to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment and deal feminism one of the greatest defeats in its history.

The Eagle Forum, the group she founded and leads, is arguably the most effective and famous conservative activist organization in the country. And from Beltway insiders to precinct captains, from grassroots organizers to ordinary voters, anyone even remotely involved in politics hangs on her every word.

Phyllis Schlafly, the legendary conservative activist, WND columnist, and author of several books including “Who Killed The American Family?” turned 92 years old on Monday.

And she’s not slowing down with age. Indeed, the 2016 election is showing Schlafly has more importance and relevance than ever.

Schlafly was one of the earliest and most prominent backers of Republican nominee Donald Trump during the 2016 primaries. She called the New York real estate tycoon the “last hope for America” in an exclusive interview with WND.

She also helped rally conservative opposition to Marco Rubio when she called attention to the Florida senator’s “betrayal” on immigration.

Schlafly has also been one of the leading critics of Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and a vocal champion of Trump’s “America First” positions. And she’s been a firm opponent of illegal immigration, quick to criticize any Republicans tempted to back “amnesty.”

When Phyllis Schlafly speaks, conservatives listen. Check out what the pioneer of modern conservatism has to say in WND’s Superstore.

Yet these stands have not come without controversy. Schlafly’s had to fight to retain control of her Eagle Forum organization after being attacked by board members angered by her endorsement of Trump.

She also been criticized for her consistent opposition to a new constitutional convention, the “Con-Con” movement.

But if there’s one thing Schlafly’s opponents on both the left and right have learned over the last few decades, it’s that she’s a fighter. No other single activist has had such an impact on the country over so long a period of time.

WND Founder and Editor-in-Chief Joseph Farah said of Schlafly: “I can’t even tell you how important Phyllis Schlafly was in helping me figure out what’s really happening in the world and in our country…Toward the end of Reagan’s presidency, I saw Phyllis as the natural person to succeed him. If she had, the nation and the world would be a lot better off. I always thought of Phyllis as our Maggie Thatcher. There’s not much room for compromising in Phyllis’s world – and that’s what I love about her.”

Brent Bozell, the founder and president of the Media Research Center, once said if Phyllis Schlafly didn’t exist, “the war would be over and we would have lost.”

He credited her defense of the traditional family as one of her most important contributions.

“Imagine a movement without Phyllis,” he said. “You would not have the bedrock of support and devotion to the traditional family.”

Schlafly has also been noted for her strong support for the pro-life movement and her constant attention to the Republican platform.

It is largely thanks to her efforts the Republican Party is firmly pro-life, with an anti-abortion plank a consistent part of the platform every four years. As she proudly told the Washington Times last year, “You can hardly run for office as a Republican without at least saying you’re pro-life.”

She first came to national attention when “A Choice Not An Echo” sold more than three million copies with its fiery call to action against the Republican “Kingmakers.”

Schlafly’s powerful prose became an indispensable weapon for activists backing Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater as the conservative champion in 1964.

Goldwater managed to win the Republican nomination in what is seen as the first significant victory of the modern American conservative movement. Though Goldwater went down to defeat that year, the networks and organizations created because of that campaign eventually paved the way for the great conservative triumph of 1980, when Ronald Reagan was elected. “A Choice Not An Echo” isn’t just an important work for any self-respecting conservative, but a must-have for anyone even casually interested in modern American history.

Schlafly is also well-known as perhaps the country’s most stalwart defender of the traditional family. Besides the historic triumph she scored when she practically single-handedly defeated the Equal Rights Amendment, Schlafly has also been outlining the intellectual case against feminism and secularism in a series of hard-hitting books.

In “Who Killed The American Family?,” Schlafly reveals the concerted assault on the American nuclear family by many forces: feminists, judges, lawmakers, psychologists, school districts, college professors, politicians offering incentives and more.

Though each group has their own reasons for their opposition to the traditional family, the consequences are dire for everyone. The wreckage of the family makes it impossible for Americans to have limited government. The state steps in to take over the kinds of jobs once done by an intact family. The result is a nation that is less moral, less free and less happy.

Schlafly also penned “The Flipside of Feminism,” a subversive volume which highlights the inconvenient truth of how feminism has actually made modern women unhappy. Schlafly painstakingly and relentlessly assembles the hard data showing feminism has betrayed women, leaving them worse off by almost every measure. She presents a way to end the war between the sexes by abandoning extreme feminism and working together to rebuild the family unit.

Finally, Schlafly has also been an outspoken voice on the issue of religious freedom. In “No Higher Power: Obama’s War On Religious Freedom,” Schlafly argues the Obama administration’s secularist policies represent nothing less than the greatest government directed assault on religious freedom in American history. With detailed research and skillfully assembled evidence Schlafly and co-author George Neumayr reveal the shocking extent of Obama’s antipathy towards religion – and his war against Americans of faith.

For almost anyone else in America fortunate enough to reach that age, the 90s are a time to relax and enjoy the fruits of a life well spent. Phyllis Schlafly has arguably had a greater positive impact on the conservative movement – and America – than anyone now living. She has long since earned a peaceful retirement. But she continues to work and struggle to help make America great again. And as long as Phyllis Schlafly is still in the fight, no conservative can afford to ignore anything she says, writes or does.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2016/08/happy-birthda...REBbuxsoMb2E.99

Phyllis was born August 15, 1924

Quote: Cincinnatus wrote in post #3

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Phyllis's “A Choice Not An Echo”, along with "Conscience of a Conservative" and "Atlas Shrugged", helped form my political consciousness when but a teen, and I have never looked back. I wish Phyllis a most happy birthday. She's a remarkable woman.

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