[6][7] With William Rusher and F. Clifton White, associates from the Young Republicans in the 1950s, Ashbrook was involved in the start-up of the Draft Goldwater Committee in 1961.

[8] In 1966, journalist Drew Pearson reported that Ashbrook was one of a group of four Congressmen who had received the "Statesman of the Republic" award from Liberty Lobby for their "right-wing activities".

On December 29, 1971 he announced that he would oppose Nixon in the Republican primaries as an alternative conservative candidate and received support from conservative figures like William F. Buckley Jr.[10][11][12][13] His slogan "No Left Turns" was illustrated by a mock traffic symbol of a left-turn arrow with a superimposed No symbol.

It was meant to symbolize the frustration of some conservatives with Nixon, whom they saw as having abandoned conservative principles and "turned left" on issues such as budget deficits, affirmative action, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, wage and price controls, and most of all, improving relations with the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China with his policy of détente.

[16] However, on April 24, 1982, he suffered a gastric hemorrhage at the offices of The Johnstown Independent, and died at Licking Memorial Hospital in Newark, Ohio, aged 53.

His patriotism and deep belief in the greatness of America never wavered and his articulate and passionate calls for a return to old-fashioned American values earned him the respect of all who knew him.