Richard Viguerie is known as "the funding father" of conservatives for his pioneering use of computerized direct-mail fundraising campaigns. Lately, he's become a strong critic of the Republican Party, saying that they deserved to lose Congress after casting off any pretense to being the party of limited government. A strong Ron Paul supporter during the 2008 election season, Viguerie also runs the popular site Conservative HQ.
A former secretary of Young Americans for Freedom, Viguerie continues to challenge his long-held beliefs, writing an anti-death penalty story for the liberal religious journal Sojourners this past summer.
Viguerie sat down with Reason magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch at Freedom Fest in July to discuss what went wrong during the Bush years and what's going wrong under President Barack Obama.