It was the fall of 1979, and dozens of conservative activists gathered at the storied Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. They were clearly excited about the presidential candidacy of their hero Ronald Reagan and upset that fellow conservative icon and Illinois Rep. Phil Crane might draw votes from him in the Republican primaries.
But that wasn’t the reason for the conservative conclave or the 1980 presidential contest. This was about a race for Congress five years early, in which Massachusetts lawyer and good-as-Goldwater conservative J. Alan MacKay waged an improbable race for Congress in the Bay State’s 12th District and was left in debt.
When MacKay died on Dec. 3, his candidacy, his conservatism, and his downright goodness were recalled by his legions of friends.
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