[citation needed] Defending the South's position in the Civil War was a common theme of his writings,[6] in which he frequently used Confederate anecdotes as illustrations.
He was a member of the National Rifle Association of America, a staunch defender of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and a critic of gun control.
In 2000, U.S. Representative John Duncan, Jr., a Tennessee Republican, entered Reese's column into the Congressional Record, in opposition to the actions taken by Janet Reno's Justice Department in the Elian Gonzalez affair.
[11] More recently, Congressman Duncan cited Reese in multiple speeches on the House floor to support his view that the Iraq War violates conservative principles.
After leaving the Orlando Sentinel, in 2001, Reese wrote for the Washington Report on Middle Eastern Affairs; he continued to publish columns for King Features Syndicate until 2008.
Congress Is Good Place To Start" was widely read and distributed in modified form via e-mail during the 2008 United States presidential campaign under the title "The 545 People Responsible for America's Woes".
[13] The article commonly forwarded in 2008 was slightly modified from the 1980s version, substituting Nancy Pelosi for Tip O'Neil and adding a reference to Iraq.
Quote from the original 1985 article:One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices – 545 human beings out of the 235 million – are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
"[16] This quote gained widespread popularity via social media during the 2012–2013 gun control debate after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
[18] At the end of each calendar year, Reese wrote his annual "conflict of interest" column, in which he disclosed his sources of income, his political affiliation and the organizations of which he was a dues-paying member.