I was attracted to the John Birch Society at the end of the 1960's because of their solid conservative principles and their unabashed anti-Communism--bold colors, as Ronald Reagan would say. But I soon noticed that they always seemed to oppose more optimistic voices. In the 1970's, I was an enthusiastic supporter of Ronald Reagan, but the Birchers were dead set against him. That, and their silly notion that a "Master Conspiracy" is behind all the bad things that are happening in the world disillusioned me.
The Birchers went on to be perhaps the only ones on the right to oppose Proposition 13, California's property tax limitation initiative. In the 1980's, they opposed supporting the Nicaraguan Contras, and in the 1990's, they opposed Newt Gingrich in his efforts to fulfill his Contract With America.
It's a safe bet that the Birchers will be going all out to sandbag Ted Cruz and Scott Walker in the upcoming presidential race.
There has always been something about the John Birch Society that seemed a bit wacko to me - the idea of “Help, the paranoids are after me.”
Having said that, I find that among conservatives in general and fair contingent here at FR, there’ a much greater emphasis on what is wrong than on pushing for a positive agenda to make things right. Like an old bad habit of cursing the darkness instead of lighting a light or getting on board with those that do.