Contact: Bob Sturm, 703-396-6974; after 6 PM Eastern & on weekends, Bob Sturm, 703-307-8176; Vi Shields, 703-906-6542; ConservativeHQ.com  

CHANTILLY, Va., March 19 /Christian Newswire/ -- In a speech to a conference on the nature of the Tea Party Movement, sponsored by the Virginia-based Restore the Founders Vision, Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, expressed hope that the Tea Party movement would re-vitalize the conservative movement and make the Republican Party more responsive to grassroots citizens.

"The populist Tea Party activists add an important fourth leg of the conservative coalition, to go with the social, economic, and defense components. But it will do that in a way that breaks from the self-destructive patterns of the recent past," Viguerie said. "The Tea Party people are unfettered to the political establishment and are not part of the old network of lobbyists and special interests."

Viguerie said the biggest mistake conservatives made in the past was to become an arm of the Republican Party.

"When the interests of the GOP became more important than principles, a lot of conservatives embraced the big government polices of George Bush, Tom DeLay, Bill Frist, and others. At best, conservatives kept quiet when federal spending went way up and deficits skyrocketed. Even today, some prominent GOP legislators embrace earmarks for pork barrel spending," he said.

But Tea Party enthusiasts are not part of the establishment, big-government status quo and don't care whether conservative principles hurt some Republican incumbents, Viguerie said.

Viguerie expressed belief that within the next six years, principled conservatives will have an opportunity to govern America for the first time since the 1920s.

"The Tea Party movement is a revolt of frightened and angry middle class voters against the leaders of both political parties who have lied and betrayed them," he said.

He said that when Republicans regain control of Congress and the White House, it will be significantly different from the last time. "It will be a new and better day for America," Viguerie said.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called "one of the creators of the modern conservative movement" (The Nation magazine) and one of the "conservatives of the century" (The Washington Times). He is the author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause.