Eagle Forum's Phyllis Schlafly Leaves A Legacy Tied to Conspiracy Theories
Phyllis Schlafly, the ultra-conservative movement matriarch who was responsible for derailing the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and went on to oppose gay rights and promote antigovernment conspiracy theories, has died. She was 92.
Schlafly became 鈥渙ne of the most-polarizing figures in American public life, a self-described housewife who displayed a moral ferocity reminiscent of the ax-wielding prohibitionist,鈥� the wrote.
She cut her teeth, like many early-day ultraconservatives, by publicly denouncing international Communism in the 1950s after earlier studying at the conservative think tank, American Enterprise Association. She opposed limiting nuclear testing and called for a constitutional amendment to prevent the president from negotiating international treaties.
Schlafly and her late husband, Fred, started the Mindszenty Foundation in 1958, targeting Catholics about the 鈥渄angers of Communism.鈥� Many of the Mindszenty Foundation members also belonged to the antigovernment John Birch Society, but Schlafly and her husband denied belonging to the JBS, the Times 谤别辫辞谤迟别诲.听
Historical documents, however, suggest that鈥檚 not true.
In 1959, Birch Society founder Robert Welch toured the United States, attempting to recruit 鈥減atriotic Americans鈥� at a series of meetings, including one in Chicago attended by Schlafly and her husband, historical documents reveal.
鈥淭he John Birch Society is doing a wonderful work, and my husband and I both joined promptly after the Chicago meeting,鈥� Phyllis Schlafly wrote in a to , a Wisconsin journalist and political activist who became a member of the Willis Carto鈥檚 Liberty Lobby, a conservative, anti-Communist group known for its advocacy of both white supremacy and anti-Semitism.
In the same letter, Schlafly thanks Kaub for information about McGuffey Readers, a set of primary grade textbooks viewed as anti-Semitic by critics.
Her letter, part of the Kaub collection at the , was discovered by who has spent the last 35 years researching 鈥渆xtreme right鈥� groups and individuals.听 He recently turned his vast collection, including FBI documents and various historical documents, over to the .
Schlafly鈥檚 involvement with the John Birch Society is further documented in the organization鈥檚 Feb. 29, 1960, issue of the JBS Bulletin. The publication reprinted a Schlafly letter initially published in the National Review, with JBS founder Welch calling Phyllis Schlafly 鈥渁 very loyal member of the John Birch Society.鈥�
It was the women鈥檚 rights movement that stirred Schlafly, apparently running counter to her Roman Catholic beliefs, while launching her as a popular, albeit controversial, figure in the national spotlight. Her popularity, however, was insufficient in two attempts to get elected to Congress.
When the U.S. Supreme Court banned state-sponsored prayer in public schools in 1962, Schlafly mobilized a grass-roots following 鈥撯�� primarily composed of Christian women 鈥撯�� that opposed feminism, modern liberalism and cultural changes in Western society. She argued that the equal rights amendment would take away a woman鈥檚 right to raise their own children in their home.
In response, Schlafly founded a volunteer organization called 鈥淪top ERA鈥� in 1972, explaining that 鈥淪TOP鈥� stood for 鈥渟top taking our privileges.鈥� Three years later 鈥淪top ERA鈥� became the Eagle Forum, an Illinois-based organization that went on to espouse assorted conspiracy theories including that same sex marriage advocates are trying to destroy Christianity and that there is a secret plan to unite Canada, Mexico and the United States into the 鈥淣orth American Union.鈥澨�
Schlafly demanded the release of what she believed were secret U.S. documents about the 鈥淣orth American Union.鈥� When that went nowhere, she called for a congressional investigation, but that also tanked. But the Eagle Forum and Schlafly didn鈥檛 stop there.听
Her group was among the first on the anti-immigrant, fear-mongering bandwagon, preaching that if the flow of immigrants into the United States wasn鈥檛 controlled, Islamic 鈥淪haria Law鈥� would replace the nation鈥檚 form of constitutional law.
In 2005, the Eagle Forum became part of the 鈥淪ecure Borders Coalition,鈥� an alliance of Christian Right groups, including Accuracy in Media, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. The coalition issued a statement attacking all amnesty and guest-worker proposals for immigrants and vowed to oppose any political candidate backing those concepts.
Things between the Eagle Forum and Schlafly got rocky earlier this year when she decided to endorse the presidential bid of Donald Trump. A half dozen of the Eagle Forum board members, including her own daughter, Anne (Schlafly) Cori, didn鈥檛 think Trump measured up to the conservative standards of the organization.听
With her passing, the forum鈥檚 future direction is unclear at this point.
The last of 20 books that Schlafly wrote or co-authored is about Trump, whom she called the leader of the latest grass-roots uprising.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been following the losers for so long 鈥� now we鈥檝e got a guy who鈥檚 going to lead us to victory,鈥� Schlafly said in one of her last public statements.
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