Governor Reagan of California, whose state sheltered the core of the John Birch, came out squarely against the course.... And so symbolic had the course become for the extreme Right that they managed to pass on their “literature” about it to a right-wing group in Australia, then in opposition to the widespread adoption of the course there. (p. 194)
One would have to conclude from the above that the Center for Cognitive Studies was not
exactly a hotbed of conservative, anti-communist thinking. And it is interesting to note that when Frank Smith left the Center with his newly acquired Ph.D., he embarked on his career as a phonics-basher par excellence and was soon catapulted into the position of “expert” on reading and literacy by the look-say establishment.