Biography of Howard Phillips
Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Phillips attended Boston Latin School and later Harvard College where he was the youngest elected President of the Harvard Student Council (1960-1962), a position to which he was twice elected. He was a leading participant in the 1960 conference in Sharon, Connecticut which created Young Americans for Freedom (YAF). During the 1960's and 1970's, YAF served as a training ground for many future conservative activists and leaders.
In 1964 Phillips was elected Chairman of the Boston Republican Committee. His focus on strong precinct organization was a foreshadowing of his later emphasis on national grass roots organizing.
Richard Schweiker hired Phillips to manage his successful 1968 campaign against Pennsylvania Senator Joe Clark. Phillips was then chosen by the Nixon administration to hold a series of positions, culminating in his appointment as acting director of the Office of Economic Opportunity. His effort to shut down OEO and end its subsidies to leftist advocacy groups was thwarted by a Democratic Congress, and Phillips resigned when Nixon reneged on a promise to veto funding for the agency.
Subsequently, Phillips sought a non-governmental mandate to oppose the high jacking of Federal tax dollars through Great Society programs. Phillips formed The Conservative Caucus (TCC) in 1974 to provide conservatives with a nationwide grass roots voice. He made "defunding the left" a priority cause for The Conservative Caucus (and The Conservative Caucus Foundation, founded in 1976), and by 1980 it had become a common battle cry of the conservative movement.
During the next few years, he held meetings in all 435 congressional districts, promoting in each the establishment of a local caucus of conservatives. TCC quickly became a leading organization in the fight for prayer in the schools and against the treaties to turn over the Panama Canal Zone and the U.S.-built Canal to Panama. Although the treaties narrowly passed in the face of public hostility, Phillips pointed to the political price paid by its supporters, many of whom were defeated in 1978 and 1980. He went on to lead a similar and successful campaign against President Carter's SALT II treaty, visiting all 50 states to turn public opinion against the treaty.
He played a key role in what became known as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Phillips promoted the necessity of developing a defense against nuclear missiles, and helped set in motion the events which led President Reagan to announce the beginning of SDI in March, 1983. Phillips then stepped up his campaign for the abrogation of the ABM Treaty, so that a missile-defense system could be legally deployed. That effort bore fruit when President George W. Bush abrogated the treaty and began deployment of the system which is now being used to protect the western United States against a possible attack from North Korea.
TCC's "Victory Over Communism" project included strong attempts to provide U.S. assistance to anti-Communist freedom fighters, especially in Afghanistan, Angola, and Nicaragua. A key victory was the repeal of the Clark Amendment, which had prohibited U.S. aid to the anti-Communist forces in Angola.
The Conservative Caucus was a key part of what became known as the New Right, along with Paul Weyrich's Committee for a Free Congress, Terry Dolan's National Conservative Political Action Committee, and the direct mail marketing of Richard Viguerie.
His determination to stand on principle was best shown by his willingness to oppose even popular Republican presidents when they chose to appease liberals. Phillips strongly opposed Reagan's nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court, and later was the only conservative to testify against the nomination of David Souter by George H. W. Bush. (Phillips correctly predicted that the long public record of support for legal abortion by both O'Connor and Souter would make them solid pro-abortion votes on the court.) In 1987, Phillips led the opposition to Reagan's Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
By 1990, Phillips became convinced that neither major party would ever enact truly conservative policies in Washington, and that a new political party was the necessary approach. He led in the formation and became the first presidential candidate of the U.S. Taxpayers Party (later renamed the Constitution Party) in 1992, and was nominated again in 1996 and 2000.
Phillips retired as Chairman of The Conservative Caucus in 2011 as his health deteriorated, but continued to pay close attention to political developments.
Phillips did not spend all his time on politics. He was a theater buff and passed his love of Broadway on to his children with frequent trips to New York. He was a lifetime fan of the Boston Braves, continuing to follow the team even when to moved to Milwaukee and later to Atlanta. He once attended a Braves game in Atlanta in seats provided by home run king Hank Aaron.
His love for his family was well-demonstrated, despite the demands of his jobs and political campaigns. He played an active role in educating his children, and participated in home-schooling not only his youngest son, Samuel, but also some of his grandchildren. Dinner time in the Phillips household was characterized by education as part of the dining process with challenges when the children were young (spelling bees and state capital competitions) to readings from great books as they matured.
He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Margaret, and his six children, Douglas, Amanda Lants, Bradford, Alexandra, Jennifer, and Samuel, as well as 18 grandchildren and his sister, Susan Phillips Bari.
Howard Phillips, RIP
by Christopher ManionFRONT ROYAL, VA -- With the passing of Howard Phillips on Saturday, April 20, America has lost a tireless champion of liberty. Since his youth, Howard blazed a trail that was a model for later generations of conservatives. His noble example of lifelong devotion to principle was a beacon to countless legions of patriots fighting in the trenches. Born and raised a Jew, he converted to Christianity and was a stalwart defender of life at every stage. In many ways he was more Catholic than many Catholics: his faith motivated his every act and thought, in a manner so energetic and disciplined that the news that he was ill – that Howard could be anything else than a permanent powerhouse of principle – came as a real shock.
Howard was a natural leader. He was forceful, articulate, and boasted a stellar classical education (Boston Latin School and Harvard). He was gifted with the rare combination of a photographic memory and a brilliant mind. I once laughed when he told me that he had been elected president of the student council at Harvard. Well, Howie explained how he had prepared the ground: his junior year, he volunteered to direct a campus-wide charity campaign that received tremendous support from the entire student body. When the campaign for student council president came along, Howie already had his grass-roots team firmly in place.
He won twice. Yes, winning was unusual for Howie. But he never quit.
Personal Reflections on Howard Phillips
by Fran Griffin
Howard Phillips
Visionary, Founder of the New Right,
and Supporter of the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation
Please pray for the repose of the soul of my good friend, Howard Phillips, the founder and chairman emeritus of The Conservative Caucus, and former candidate for U.S. President. He died on Saturday, April 20, of complications from various ailments. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Peggy, six grown children, 18 grandchildren, and a sister, Susan Phillips Bari. He was 72. (See funeral arrangements below.)
He was a strong supporter and frequent speaker for the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation.
See his official biographical sketch on the right of this page.
Here is a tribute by Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio, a friend of Howard's.
Gary North's article about Howard.
Jack McManus writing at The New American.
Richard Viguerie writing at ConservativeHQ.com.
It is hard to summarize my 35+ year friendship with this great man, dating back to when I was in graduate school at the University of Chicago and volunteered to be a Conservative Caucus district coordinator for the First Congressional District of Illinois. Before that, a number of my friends had gone to work for Howard when he had been tasked by President Nixon to dissolve the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO).
In 1979, when I was working on Capitol Hill, I was on a memorable week-long trip to Taiwan with Howard and other conservatives, and had many enjoyable moments. Later, after I formed Griffin Communications, I worked on a number of projects for Howard and the Caucus. One involved going to Atlanta to protest Chevron's support of the Marxists in Angola. Howard arranged for a Fidel Castro look-alike to land by helicopter near the hotel where the meeting was going on, and for "Cuban paratroopers" to surround the hotel where the Chevron Oil board meeting was occurring. It was quite a scene.
And it was because Howard brought me to Atlanta, that Jonas Savimbi's Free Angola Information Service became one of my clients. I edited their monthly newsletter, Kwacha News, for five years and helped with visits of Jonas Savimbi to the U.S.
Another time Howard hired me to set up and organize the Caucus' annual Andrew Jackson "Champion of Liberty" awards dinner. That year, 1994, the award was being given to Joe Sobran. One happy result of this successful event was that Joe Sobran asked me to help get a newsletter of his writing started. I became publisher of SOBRAN'S: THE REAL NEWS OF THE MONTH, a journal that continued for 13 years.
In 2000, Sobran became a Vice-Presidental candidate for the Constitution Party when Howard was running for President.
Howard's TV show, The Conservative Roundtable, appeared on many stations around the country. You can see many of the shows on YouTube.
He interviewed me twice for the program, and once when he had laryngitis, I became the guest host for four shows being taped that day.
He was a tremendous speaker. He could give a concise sound bite on almost any topic. He loved the theatre, too. He spoke a number of times for the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation. Here he is speaking at a tribute to Joe Sobran in December 2009:
Howard lived life to the fullest. He had a tremendous drive to accomplish as much as he could to promote freedom and liberty. He was a convert to Christianity from Judaism and a man of strong faith and convictions. He was pro-life, pro-family, and adamantly opposed to so-call "same-sex marriage." As his bio states, he was a strong proponent of constitutional limited government, individual liberties, and family values.
He had a great sense of humor, and a booming laugh. I saw him and Peggy frequently as I live near the Caucus office in Vienna. Many times over the years they would invite me to dinner, which always included lively discussion, fascinating dinner guests, and much fun. Attending their youngest son, Sam's wedding was also very memorable and enjoyable.
Howard had a tremendous impact on my life, as well as on the lives of countless others. It is a great personal loss that my good friend is no longer with us. I already miss him very much. May God have mercy on his soul and may he rest in peace.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fran Griffin
President, Fitzgerald Griffin FoundationP.S. The viewing will be at:
Money & King Funeral Home
171 Maple Ave. West
Vienna, VA 22180, on
Saturday April 27, from 3 to 5 p.m.
& Sunday, April 28 from 3 to 7 p.m.Chuck Baldwin will officiate at the funeral service, which will be held on Monday, April 29, at 11 a.m. at McLean Bible Church, 8925 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22182. Interment will follow the service at St. John the Apostle Cemetery, 101 Oakcrest Manor Drive, Leesburg, VA.
© 2013 Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation