Colin Hanna

There are many occasions on which Phyllis Schlafly made an especially deep impression on me but two stand out as particularly memorable.

The first was in the summer of 1995 when I was running for public office in Pennsylvania and was targeted by pro-abortion forces within the Republican Party for my pro-life views. I was invited to attend an Eagles fly-in event with Phyllis and Colleen Porro in Washington at which I clarified and reconfirmed not only my views but also how to present them in an effective manner to those who were inclined to support me on every other issue but who were intensely opposed to me on abortion. That weekend of message-shaping equipped me to defuse the opposition without diluting my position.

The second especially memorable occasion was during the 2006 immigration debate. Some Republican senators, most notably Senator Arlen Specter, were wavering on the matter of improving border security. Phyllis approached me with a request for my organization to pay for the travel and hotel expenses of several of her Eagle Forum state leaders, who would then accompany Phyllis to hearings being held by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Phyllis said that she and her Eagles would "glare" at Senator Specter and his wobbly colleagues. I was able to raise the money for the trip, and the project was successful. The intentional and focused glares of Phyllis Schlafly and her Eagles showed themselves to be a force of nature which the targeted senators could neither ignore nor resist.

Over the last twenty years or so, your mother has become a treasured friend as well as an admired ally in the fight to preserve liberty in this great Republic. It is a real privilege to be invited to salute her on this important milestone in her life.

Let Freedom Ring!

by Colin A. Hanna, President of Let Freedom Ring