I will soon be taking down this website. In this final message I am reporting on new developments in the freedom fight, and explaining why a new thrust is essential if this great country is to be saved.
Several years ago I set up the “donfoth.com” website for the purpose of urging council members of the John Birch Society to: 1) Restore the monolithic structure and 2) Reinstate the Executive Committee as it was prior to the takeover. The Robert Welch method of appointment was more than a mere formality, it was the glue that held us intact and kept us on track for nearly half a century.
Few members of the council saw fit to answer my pleadings, nor did they seem to realize the fatal consequences of dumping the unique system created by Mr. Welch.
This surprised me because I think they are good men dedicated to saving the country; therefore I can only presume they never really understood the organizational structure or the wisdom behind it. Moreover, I grant the council another excuse: They must have had no first-hand knowledge of the poor work record of those who carried out the takeover.
The council apparently assumed the rebels were trying to save their country, never realizing they were merely saving their jobs. The least productive men, those who organized the coup, now run the Society – the ultimate irony.
In their effort to save their hides, the new team fired half of the field staff and hired two public relations experts. This left many chapters at a standstill while creating the illusion of a better public image. Consequently the vigor of the JBS has been reduced to appearances at the expense of fighting the enemy. Yes, The New American looks great, but have you seen the word Conspiracy in its pages lately?
Can a chapterless JBS recruit men and women for the struggle ahead? Not likely. Chapters are the main resource that recruits new “pullers at the oars,” and the only organized opposition that threatens the highly organized Conspiracy. Mr. Welch taught us that when the action is limited to a headquarters staff – even with thousands of such organizations – very little is accomplished. For this reason he founded the JBS where concerted chapter action brings results.
After nearly three years of smiles, hearts, and flowers, veteran JBS members must be wondering who on earth remains to name and engage the world’s most deadly enemy. In my opinion, the dynamics for such a task are not likely to come from those who took over the Society. That’s because the focus on recruitment is lax, chapter building is nil, and the damage done to the succession structure will prevent new leaders with backbone from rising to the top.
Look at the JBS today. Where is the recruitment of young new members, with the potential to become volunteer leaders, staff and even council members? Look at the head table at a Council Dinner. Most of the “new” council appointees – Lloyd Bailey, Bunker Hunt, Paul Leithart, Dom Odorizzi, and Hid Welch – are at least as old as I am (81)! We sort of grew up together, but at least I am grown up enough to know a trench coat from a tuxedo.
Robert Welch often said, “We mean business every step of the way.” Don’t you think he would be appalled by what is now happening? While the freedom battle rages, members of the organization he founded seem to be content with belonging to a nostalgia society (the 50th anniversary, notwithstanding).
If exposing the Conspiracy is not our first objective, the country will never be saved. Those who lead the JBS seem to place a priority on garnering personal influence among prominent “respectable” conservatives. Those with that mindset will never have the backbone to name the enemy, take the gaff, or lead us to victory.
This whole ordeal has been hard for me. I value highly the friends and members with whom I have worked for many years. It’s with no small degree of hurt that some of my best friends have turned against me. It has been a high price for me to pay – a painful choice between principle and personality.
But despite an amazing barrage of bitterness coming from the least expected quarters, I honestly hold no ill will – disappointment? yes – but no bad feelings for those who have unfairly judged me or spoken evil of me. I knew what steps had to be taken, I took those steps, and I am at peace with my Maker.
And I am not yet finished with the fight for freedom. As an old man I am blessed with a little experience in the business of defending our Constitution, and the Lord has kept me alive, I think, to work for my country many more years than I had anticipated.
Please understand that I did not leave the John Birch Society – the Society left me. The organization died the day it lied. The field staff lost its way when it undermined the one man whose only sin was to require more of them. I feel certain that many members of the council now realize they have been had, for the incompetents in whom they put their trust can no longer blame their failures on their leaders – they are the leaders!
As I have said, I will soon be shutting down this website. This signals not the end, but the beginning of great new things. The former executives of the JBS are alive and resolute. Vance Smith, Tom Gow, Wayne Rickert, Walt Ruckel, and Keith Van Buskirk are the most principled, hard-working patriots the Society has seen since Robert Welch. They stand firmly behind the lessons of liberty espoused by that 20th century genius. And on that proven platform they have dug in their heels and launched the Freedom First Society (FFS), a no-nonsense dagger in the heart of the Conspiracy.
We are organized to restore, under a new name, the structure and focus that gave force to the former JBS. It is a singular honor for me to stand with the former CEO, Vice President, and key members of the former Executive Committee in this reconstructed, monolithic, strictly Robert Welch-style organization.
I urge you to visit our new website, www.freedomfirstsociety.org, then obtain a copy of our powerful new book Organize for Victory!, in which its authors Vance Smith and Tom Gow have brilliantly summarized the cause and cure of our nation’s ills.
If you are looking for experienced leaders, clear objectives, and hope for America – and if you are serious about getting down to business – please accept this invitation to come on line and get on board.
May the Lord bless each of you and help us save this (still) wonderful United States.
Don Fotheringham
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