The Dismissal of Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker - A special report by Cong. Morris K. Udall

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27. More on Walker and Hargis

This is fascinating stuff, and there's too much here for brief excerpts to do it justice. I hadn't known, for example, that Richard Viguerie -- the evil genius of direct mail solicitation who in many ways was the inventor of movement conservatism -- had done his thing for Hargis before he became the first executive director of Young Americans for Freedom. Or that racism wasn't a staple of the religious right until Hargis picked it up through his association with Walker. The roots of much that is worst in our country today can be found right here.


http://thislandpress.com/11/02/2012/the-strange-love-of-dr-billy-james-hargis/?read=complete

Hargis’ crusade found many allies, but it was his collaboration with one man that proved to be a catalyst for the formation of America’s religious right. . . . Before the integration of Little Rock, Walker was a garden-variety anti-communist, but when the incident at Little Rock propelled him into the political spotlight, he became radicalized. . . .

Established as an official U.S. Army project in January of 1961, the Pro Blue Program was the result of Walker’s fear and paranoia about communism; the official plan was turgid with reprogramming techniques. Under the Pro Blue Program, troops of the 24th Division were required to participate in a series of indoctrination methods that included publications from the John Birch Society and supplied by Hargis. . . .

Throughout 1950s and early ‘60s, Hargis’ Christian Crusade built momentum. During that period, Hargis hired a promising young Texan named Richard Viguerie. Armed with a keen understanding of databases, Viguerie devised mass mailings targeting donors who were likely to be fundamentalist separatists—the kind of people who would respond to antics like Hargis’ balloon drops. With Viguerie’s genius, Hargis reached a widening audience, but the Christian Crusade still needed an overall strategy that would propel it toward success. . . .

It wasn’t until Hargis joined forces with former Major General Edwin Walker, however, that racial bigotry became a common characteristic of the religious right. Shortly after his resignation from the military, Edwin Walker began forging a friendship with fellow John Birch Society member Billy James Hargis. They agreed to go on a speaking tour of the U.S. together; Hargis would sermonize on the perils of communism at the national level and Walker would expound on the international threat. Walker parlayed these early lectures into political gain. He soon decided to run for governor of Texas and enjoyed the support of Dallas oilman H.L. Hunt. Walker ran under the Southern Democratic (Dixiecrat) ticket, though, and ended up in last place in the Democratic primary of February 1962.