He has been dubbed the "funding father" of modern conservative strategy.[2][3] Viguerie worked for the Christian evangelist Billy James Hargis in his early career. In an autobiographical note, Viguerie wrote that in 1961 he became executive secretary of the conservative youth group, Young Americans for Freedom. "Since 1965, owner of direct marketing/advertising companies such as American Target Advertising. Political/campaign strategist, activist and conservative spokesman and writer," he wrote.[1] Viguerie founded Conservative Digest magazine in 1975 and served as its publisher for ten years. Opposing President Gerald Ford's election, Viguerie in 1976 unsuccessfully sought the presidential nomination of the American Independent Party (that had been formed eight years earlier by George Wallace). [1] In 1977 he worked on a project to raise money for Sun Myung Moon's Children's Relief Fund, which reportedly only received 6.3% of the $1,508,256 raised. $920,000 went to Viguerie according to New York State charity auditors.[4][5] Viguerie sought the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor of Virginia in 1985, but did not receive the nomination at the GOP state convention. Asked by Campaigns and Elections in May 2000 what his immediate goals were Viguerie answered "To use the Internet to involve Americans in the political process, to help conservatives gain an advantage over the left. To fight against government's use of power, to fight for individual rights and responsibilities, and to fight to extend the blessings of liberty throughout the world."[1] THIS NUT DOESN'T BELONG ON PAGE WITH T. J. OR DOUGLAS Writing in The Nation, David Corn noted that Viguerie "raised money for Judicial Watch" and is associated with Larry Klayman, conservative lawyer and activist and Republican candidate for the US Senate from Florida in 2004.[6] Viguerie has long been associated with conservative activist Howard Phillips through creation of the Moral Majority in 1979.