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

MANASSAS, Va., Feb. 17 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is a comment by Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, regarding the signing of the Mount Vernon Statement:

"Because today is my 48th wedding anniversary, I'm not able to be at the Conservative Action Project (CAP) in Alexandria.

"However, I am pleased to be a signer of the Mount Vernon Statement.

"I feel it's a good first step, and I applaud those conservatives who have provided the leadership to produce this statement of conservative principles.

"In the coming weeks, I look forward to working with all principled conservatives, including the newest branch of the small-limited government coalition, the Tea Partiers, to take the steps necessary to maximize our victories in 2010 and beyond.

"For years, I've said the number one problem for the cause of limited government is that many conservatives became an appendage of the GOP.

"The GOP lost control of Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008, not because of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama, but because of George Bush, Karl Rove, Tom DeLay, Denny Hastert, Bill Frist, and other big-government Republicans.

"Hopefully, the Mount Vernon Statement will draw a line to clearly separate the principled conservatives from the majority of Washington politicians (Republican and Democratic) who want to continue to expand the reach, power, control, and influence of government at all levels."

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.