Paul Weyrich was one of the great figures of modern conservatism.

The late William F. Buckley, Jr. deserves credit for giving conservatism a high intellectual tone, and Barry Goldwater will always be remembered for courageously carrying the conservative banner into the political arena, but it was Paul–having known him for a quarter-century, I feel that I may use his first name, along, of course, with so many others–who synthesized the social and economic strands of conservatism into an effective fusion, starting in the early 70s.

His was a conservatism of Main Street, not K Street, or Wall Street.

Indeed, that decade, which was a bleak time for Republicans and for the cause of limited government and traditional values, was witness to the greatest flowering of Paul’s political creativity. Along with his longtime friend and ally Ed Feulner, Paul was a co-founder of the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C., which not only became a hub of conservative scholarship, but also ushered in a new style of “rapid response” in policy punditry; on any issue, old or new, Heritage could come up with a two-pager on the topic–to be followed up, if necessary, with a weighty tome. But it was that speedy response time of Heritage, and then many imitators, that has changed Washington.

Which is to say, Paul had a big hand in both the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and the coming of the Reagan Revolution during the course of the 80s.

But although Paul became a fixture in Washington, he was never really of Washington. He was always true to his roots in blue-collar Wisconsin; his was a conservatism of Main Street, not K Street, or Wall Street.

Paul’s real genius was organization: He could see a better way to do politics, keeping faith with his ideals, but also with the practical realities of getting things done. Back in the 70s, Paul was present at the creation of the Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress, which was one of the first ideologically minded political action committees. And he was also a driving force in the creation of the National Conservative Political Action Committee, and the Moral Majority, followed by, in the 80s, the Christian Coalition. All of these groups were controversial in their time, and some eventually went out of existence, but in each case, Paul’s emphasis was on creating nimble organizations that were faithful to conservative thinking.

Speaking of nimble, Paul was always interested in new technology. In the early 90s, he founded National Empowerment Television in his offices on Capitol Hill. NET, as it was called, was influential for a brief period, and helped a lot of conservatives come to see the power of creating their own new media.

One of the best of those new-media mavens today is Matt Lewis, who used a new tool, Twitter, to assemble quickly these words of praise for Paul Weyrich:

“The last 40 years of Washington politics is, in a sense, a series of footnotes to Paul Weyrich.” – George Will

“The north star of the conservative movement.” – Ken Blackwell

“No single person, other than Ronald Reagan, has done more to create the modern conservative movement than Paul Weyrich. … I’m not sure there could have been a ‘Contract With America’ without Paul Weyrich’s leadership.” – Newt Gingrich

“Next to Ronald Reagan, no single person has achieved more to advance the cause of American conservatism than Paul Weyrich. If there were a Mount Rushmore for conservative leaders, Paul’s face would have to be on it.”-Morton Blackwell

And here, worth repeating in full, are the words of former Arkansas governor-turned FOX News host Mike Huckabee, whose candidacy Weyrich endorsed in February, when the Republican presidential campaign was still in full swing. Paul had earlier endorsed Mitt Romney, but as he told me in several phone conversations (I was, for a time, a senior adviser on the Huckabee campaign), he regretted that endorsement, and so after Romney dropped out, he was glad to lend his support to Huckabee, who shared so much of the same “working stiff” orientation. Here’s what Huckabee posted on his Web site a little while ago:

I have learned today of the death of one of America’s truly great political minds, Paul Weyrich. He was not a household name to most Americans, but inside conservative circles, his name was a name of wisdom, authority, and true conviction. I first met him in 1979 when I was working as communications director for a large Texas based Christian ministry. Paul was one of the first leaders to realize the untapped potential of values voters, and his influence was instrumental in the launching of Jerry Falwell’s “Moral Majority,” Pat Robertson’s “Christian Coalition,” and other faith based movements. Paul was a deeply devout Christian gentleman who had clarity in his convictions. He was both an intellectual as well as a political tactician who understood that all the great ideas in the world were worthless if they weren’t put into motion through actual public policy. He was fearless and spoke the truth to power regardless. I spent hours listening to and being mentored by his speeches that I heard on cassette tape in the late 70’s and early 80’s while driving to speaking engagements and events. His influence on me was chronicled in my book, “Do the Right Thing,” and he was mentioned on the book jacket.

All true conservatives mourn the passing of this truly great leader.

Our prayers go forth to his dear family.

I can’t add much to all those testimonials, except to say this, borrowing from the words of St. Paul, in 2 Timothy 4: “You fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith.”

And now we will pray for your soul.