1.  "Stimulus" bill will make charities the pawns of government.

The "stimulus" bill contains a dire threat of which most Americans are unaware, Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, said.  "The bill could destroy the independence of America's nonprofit sector."

Under the legislation, Viguerie said, "Our country's vast network of nonprofit organizations-groups that serve our spiritual needs, help mitigate poverty, care for seniors and disabled veterans, and work to cure disease-would become increasingly dependent on the government, and increasingly subject to the whims of the party in power."

Viguerie told a reporter, "In these difficult economic times, many/most charities will want some ‘free money.'  Once they take the bait, the Obama government owns them.  If Obama and the Congressional Democrats can co-opt or silence the nonprofit sector, they have gone a long way toward making America a one-party country."

In a memorandum posted on the ConservativeHQ.com website at http://conservativehq.com/uploads/File/nonprofitreport.pdf

Viguerie outlined:

• How the political establishment takes advantage of conservatives' generous natures, and uses it against those with whom they disagree.
• How the provision of legitimate social services is used as a cover for political organizing-and even for attempts to subvert the democratic process.
• How legitimate charities get corrupted by government money and by relationships with politicians.
• How taking resources from the government makes you obligated to the government.  The rule is: Take government money, and the government owns you.
• How the independence of groups such as nonprofits is what separates us from totalitarian countries.
• How America has been hurt by previous efforts to turn charities into cogs in the left-wing machine.

"Every member of Congress must understand," Viguerie said, "that his or her vote on this issue will not be forgotten.  If you support this scheme, it will come back to haunt you in the years to come.  If you take a courageous stand against it, your grassroots constituents will thank you."

2.  Richard Viguerie responds to political analyst Charlie Cook's column advising Republicans to become more liberal.

The February 7 National Journal printed Richard Viguerie's letter refuting Charlie Cook's January 17 Journal column, "Self-Destructive Conservatism," advising the GOP to move to the Left it wants to win elections.

While Viguerie's letter is not in the online version of National Journal, it has been posted on the ConservativeHQ.com website at http://conservativehq.com/blog_post/show/104.

Other National Journal articles are online at http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/,