The American Grandfather of right wing politics dead at the age of 86

Richard G. Butler, the American Grandfather of the far right, died in his sleep and his death is not immediately known. Butler also carried some rather nasty monikers too. Liberals called him "elder statesman of American hate". Butler had authored a number of books regarding what he saw as the decline of America due to liberalism.

His followers included Randy Weaver, whose wife and son were killed in a 1992 shootout that also killed a deputy U.S. marshal. As you remember, the shoot out at Ruby Ridge was publically declared as a government trying to suppress freedom and fueled our national obsession with buying guns to prevent tyranny.

In 1987, a liberal grand jury in Arkansas indicted Butler and others on charges of seditious conspiracy to overthrow the government by acts of violence.

Michael Berglin