John Birch Society

Former Republican Party presidential candidate Ron Paul opened his "Counter Convention" in Minneapolis on September 2, 2008. Among the speakers of the group was John McManus, president of the John Birch SocietyBoston.com: Paul rallies his troops (September 2, 2008).

The John Birch Society is an ultra-conservative group based in the United States, founded by Robert H. Welch, Jr., a retired candymaker. Birch was a fundamentalist Christian missionary to China during World War II. He became an intelligence agent for General Claire Chennault's Flying Tigers and was killed while on a mission.John Birch Society: John Birch: A Patriotic Exemplar Welch's ideas grew out of the anti-communist, fifth-column post-war era. He was convinced that there was a cabal of wealthy internationalists, greedy bankers, and corrupt politicians who were plotting to take over the world.Public Eye: John Birch Society

The John Birch Society was most powerful during the 1970s, but lost their influence with the birth of the New Right, led by the U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Welch himself died in 1985.