“Happy Warrior” John Berthoud Passes Away

September 28th, 2007 by Steve

Because we had attended so many events and meetings in common, I’m not sure when I first met John Berthoud. However, I fondly recall our last two encounters.

I was away from my computer most of yesterday, but I kept receiving phone calls and e-mails stating that John had died. I was finally able to get in contact with the Washington Times‘ Robert Stacy McCain, who verified the circumstances of John’s passing, so I’ll let him tell that part of the story.

Mr. Berthoud, who had headed NTU since 1997, was found in his Arlington home Thursday morning by two NTU employees after he failed to show up for work, a spokesman for the organization said. He appeared to have died of natural causes, said Pete Sepp, vice president for communications at NTU.

“He shaped our entire culture and mission at NTU,” Mr. Sepp said, reporting that NTU had received “hundreds of e-mails and telephone calls not only from the Washington area but from around the country” sending condolences on Mr. Berthoud’s passing.

Mr. Berthoud was a “great guy” who “stood up for taxpayers in a town that views taxpayers as chumps,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.

Mr. Berthoud served on the board of directors of the American Conservative Union. “I am in shock and unable to gather any thoughts other than John was a wonderful friend and conservative colleague,” said ACU Executive Vice President J. William Lauderback. “His absence from the conservative movement will be profoundly felt.”

John Berlau, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, noted that Mr. Berthoud worked closely with grassroots activists.

John was the happy warrior of fiscal conservatism,” said Mr. Berlau, who was a reporter for Insight magazine when he first met Mr. Berthoud. “He always made sure to take the message of low taxes and limited government beyond the Beltway. … He made networking with state policy groups a priority and influenced others to follow in his footsteps in this area. John will be sorely missed, but his positive influence will be long felt.”

Mr. Berthoud is survived by his mother and two brothers. Plans for a memorial service will be announced later, Mr. Sepp said.

Many others are saddened by John’s passing, too. Of some of my personal friends, Reason’s Radley Balko wrote, “He died way too soon, and he’ll be missed.”

Elizabeth Terrell wrote, “We have looked to him as a strong leader, compassionate friend, and a fierce fighter for freedom.”

At a Facebook page dedicated to John, Matthew Vadum called John “a great man and a good friend.”

Arin Sime noted, “I am grateful for all his work for liberty, and I’m so sorry to hear about his passing.”

Kevin Rollins, the creator of the Facebook group, asked, “Just two short weeks ago, I was laughing and joking with John at Matt’s Taco night. This is shocking. How do these things happen?”

The last two times I saw John, he was full of energy and his usual quiet good nature. I spoke with him quite a few times at the National Taxpayers Conference in June, an event we cosponsored. One conversation I recall was prior to the presidential straw poll. The Wall Street Journal’s John Fund had asked me about the impact of Ron Paul’s race on the Libertarian Party. Around this time, John Berthoud walked by and joined the conversation. As Fund left, the conversation shifted to speculation about how Ron Paul would perform in the NTU straw poll. While we disagreed about a few fundamental differences in Paul’s platform, John figured he would do fairly well considering that Paul was a speaker at the event. One thing I recall is that John didn’t spend his time criticizing Paul about their differences, but talked about the things they had in common. John Berthoud was always like that; the glass was always half filled.

4th1.jpgI was able to spend more time with John a few weeks later at a Fourth of July party. The party is held in Arlington, VA, where people grill and drink beer though the day, then take a long walk on hilly terrain towards the Potomac River to enjoy the fireworks. My wife and I walked with John and he seemed to be in great health, which is one reason I was as shocked as Kevin Rollins was at John’s sudden death.

We sat on a grassy knoll near the Pentagon to watch the national pyrotechnic show. From our vantage point, we had a great view of the fireworks exploding over downtown DC. We discussed things common to those who live in the beltway, such as traffic, housing, crime, local politics, etc. We also talked about Ron Paul’s campaign, again. John seemed to be delighted that the campaign was picking up steam and wished Ron Paul supporters luck. We talked about the 2003 tax victory in Alabama, and I thanked John for his assistance in that important win.

4th2.jpgFor most of our final conversation, John Berthoud talked about a bright American future, one with a smaller federal government and less bureaucratic intrusion in our lives. Several times when he would make such statements, a well-timed brilliant flash of light overhead would punctuate his comment. I remember the look of awe in his eye, but wasn’t sure if it was due to his vision of a freer America or the spectacular firework display. Perhaps it was both.

It seems fitting that I close this article with a couple of photographs taken on that grassy knoll that night, as they will forever remind me of John Berthoud’s vision for America.

Posted in Articles, National Politics




2 Responses to ““Happy Warrior” John Berthoud Passes Away”

  1. Maria Berthoud wrote on 09/28/07 at 5:09 pm :

    Beautiful article. I am glad he had you and your wife as friends. America has lost yet another hero. Thanks…Maria Berthoud

  2. Third Party Watch » Blog Archive » Senator Ron Paul? wrote on 12/1/07 at 5:10 pm :

    […] June, I spoke with the Wall Street Journal’s John Fund about the impact of Ron Paul’s presidential bid on […]

TrackBack URI

Leave a Reply

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>

« Older entry Newer entry »