Phyllis Schlafly -- "Teaching conservatives they can win"

By Aussiegirl

Let us celebrate one of the most pivotal women in the modern conservative movement. The Republican party forgets the lessons she taught us at their own peril. Good tribute to Phyllis Schlafly, whose Eagle Forum, by the way, does not support the nomination of Harriet Miers.

Conservatives' first lady sparked pro-family effort -- The Washington TimesFew living Americans have done as much to shape the nation's direction as Phyllis Schlafly, who is arguably the most important woman in American political history.

She is the suburban housewife turned best-selling author who heralded conservative Sen. Barry Goldwater's 1964 Republican presidential campaign as "A Choice, Not an Echo," followed up by becoming an authority on nuclear-missile defense and then, in a stunning upset, led the forces that defeated the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

When asked about her greatest accomplishments, however, Mrs. Schlafly takes care to mention perhaps the most important lesson of her long career -- "teaching conservatives that we can win."

Along the way, she helped arouse the slumbering giant of American politics -- millions of socially conservative but previously apolitical churchgoers. She saw their potential and figured out how to turn them into a separate force on the political right.

What Mrs. Schlafly calls the "pro-family movement" helped elect Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush to the White House and establish Republicans' decadelong dominance in Congress.