Contact: Bob Sturm, 703-396-6974; after 6 PM Eastern, Vi Shields or Bob Sturm, 703-906-6542, 703-307-8176

LAS VEGAS, July 11 /Christian Newswire/ -- Conservatives are so depressed over the state of the McCain campaign--particularly its failure to include and enthuse the Republican base--that they are preparing themselves for a monumental GOP defeat in November, Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, said in a speech to FreedomFest.

"You even have some conservatives who are considering voting for Barack Obama, because they fear McCain as president would destroy what's left of the Republican brand and would finish off the conservative movement," said Viguerie. "Their mood is that of the fatally ill patient who says 'Let's get this over with'."

"John McCain has had the Republican nomination sewn up for five months and has done little to convince conservatives they should come off the sidelines and fight for him," he said.

Viguerie said, "Personnel is policy and if Senator McCain won't surround himself with conservatives during this campaign, when he desperately needs them, why should we think that he will have conservatives making critical decisions in his administration?

"Senator McCain has never been a conservative, is not one now, and will not govern as one. From McCain-Feingold to cap-and-trade, he is a supporter of one Big Government scheme after another. History shows that, in the Oval Office, where almost all the political pressure comes from supporters of Big Government, he would only get worse."

Viguerie has also called for the resignation of the Republican leadership in Congress.

"After this year's expected blood bath in the November elections, the voters will bring about a massive housecleaning of GOP leaders in favor of principled conservatives," he said.

Freedom Fest, at which Viguerie spoke, is a gathering of prominent advocates for free markets. Other speakers this year include Steve Forbes, George Gilder, Bob Barr, Dinesh D'Souza, Christopher Hitchens, and Congressman Ron Paul.

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). His latest book is Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause (Bonus Books), which, Jerome Corsi wrote in WorldNetDaily, is "destined to become a classic of conservative thinking" and "may be the most important conservative book written in the last quarter century."