The American Conservative

Last updated

The American Conservative
The American Conservative logo 2019.svg
Cover September October 2016 edition of The American Conservative.jpg
October 2016 issue
Executive DirectorCurt Mills [1]
CategoriesEditorial magazine
FrequencyOnce every two months
Circulation 5,000 [2]
PublisherThe American Ideas Institute [3]
Founder
First issueOctober 7, 2002;22 years ago (2002-10-07)
Country United States
Based in Washington, D.C., U.S.
Language English
Website theamericanconservative.com
ISSN 1540-966X

The American Conservative (TAC) is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has been published once every two months. [4]

Contents

The publication states that it exists to promote a conservatism that opposes unchecked power in government and business, promotes the concept of the nuclear family, free markets, and supports realism and restraint in foreign affairs based on America's national interests, otherwise known as paleoconservatism. [5]

History

The American Conservative was founded by Pat Buchanan, Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos [6] [7] in October 2002. [8] The magazine took a paleoconservative character, aiming to counter the neoconservative positions of the National Review and The Weekly Standard . It was critical of the Bush administration and in particular of its invasion of Iraq. [8]

In the first issue, dated 7 October 2002, the editorial by Buchanan and Taki stated that the new publication aimed "to ignite the conversations that conservatives ought to have engaged in since the end of the Cold War, but didn't." It continued that much of what then passed for conservatism was "wedded to a kind of radicalism – fantasies of global hegemony, the hubristic notion of America as a universal nation for all the world's peoples, a hyperglobal economy." [9] In the same issue, an article by Buchanan challenged the Iraq War, asking "What comes after all the celebratory gunfire when wicked Saddam is dead?" [6]

Until early 2005, Buchanan and Taki served as the magazine's editors, with McConnell as executive editor, while Taki was its publisher. [9] [10] Kara Hopkins was the next executive editor. [11]

In its early years, the magazine called for an amendment to the US Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. [9]

Before the 2006 midterm elections, The American Conservative urged its readers to vote for Democrats: "It should surprise few readers that we think a vote that is seen—in America and the world at large—as a decisive 'No' vote on the Bush presidency is the best outcome". [12]

Buchanan and Taki retired as editors, and Taki as publisher, in 2005, although Buchanan continued to write for it. [9] Ron Unz was the publisher as of 2007. [13] [14] In 2011, Wick Allison became the magazine's publisher, followed in 2013 by Jon Basil Utley, the current publisher. [3]

In 2010, Daniel McCarthy succeeded Hopkins as editor. In September 2011, the magazine introduced an editorial redesign of its print publication and in May 2012 a redesign of its website. In October 2014, Benjamin Schwarz, the former national and literary editor of The Atlantic , was named national editor of the magazine. [15]

In November 2016, Robert W. Merry succeeded McCarthy as editor, with Lewis McCrary and Kelley Beaucar Vlahos as Executive Editors. After Merry's retirement in July 2018, W. James Antle III was named editor. [16]

In April 2020, Johnny Burtka, executive director and acting editor of The American Conservative, said that the publication's ambition is to "become The Atlantic of the right" and said its online page views had "grown significantly" under the Trump administration. [17]

The American Conservative is a member of the advisory board of Project 2025, [18] a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive power should the Republican nominee win the 2024 presidential election. [19]

Reception

In 2004, Peter Carlson wrote in The Washington Post that for scathing attacks on Bush and the invasion of Iraq, The American Conservative might have the edge over The Nation , Mother Jones , and The Progressive . [20]

In 2009, Reihan Salam, National Review editor, wrote that the publication had "gained a devoted following as a sharp critic of the conservative mainstream". [21]

In 2012, David Brooks, columnist at The New York Times , called The American Conservative "one of the more dynamic spots on the political Web" and said its "writers like Rod Dreher and Daniel Larison tend to be suspicious of bigness: big corporations, big government, a big military, concentrated power and concentrated wealth." [22]

Contributors

Contributors to The American Conservative have included Helen Andrews, [23] Andrew Bacevich, [24] Doug Bandow, [25] Pat Buchanan, [26] Andrew Cockburn, [27] Rod Dreher, [28] Paul Gottfried, [29] Leon Hadar, [30] James Kurth, [31] Christopher Layne, [32] Michael Lind, [33] William S. Lind, [34] Douglas Macgregor, [35] Eric Margolis, [36] Scott McConnell, [37] Robert W. Merry, [38] Rand Paul, [39] Mark Perry, [40] Scott Ritter, [41] Steve Sailer, [42] Paul W. Schroeder, [43] Benjamin Schwarz, [44] Roger Scruton, [45] Taki Theodoracopulos, [46] and Ron Unz. [47]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Spectator</i> British weekly conservative magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs

The Spectator is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. The Spectator is politically conservative, and its principal subject areas are politics and culture. Alongside columns and features on current affairs, the magazine also contains arts pages on books, music, opera, film, and TV reviews. It had an average circulation of 107,812 as of December 2023, excluding Australia.

<i>National Review</i> American editorial magazine

National Review is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich Lowry, and its editor is Ramesh Ponnuru.

Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and a paternalistic strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, traditionalist conservatism, and non-interventionism. Paleoconservatism's concerns overlap with those of the Old Right that opposed the New Deal in the 1930s and 1940s as well as with paleolibertarianism. By the start of the 21st century, the movement had begun to focus more on issues of race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Gottfried</span> American political philosopher (born 1941)

Paul Edward Gottfried is an American paleoconservative political philosopher, historian, and writer. He is a former Professor of Humanities at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. He is editor-in-chief of the paleoconservative magazine Chronicles. He is an associated scholar at the Mises Institute, a libertarian think tank, and the US correspondent of Nouvelle École, a Nouvelle Droite journal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lew Rockwell</span> American libertarian author, editor, and political consultant (born 1944)

Llewellyn Harrison Rockwell Jr. is an American author, editor, and political consultant. A libertarian and a self-professed anarcho-capitalist, he founded and is the chairman of the Mises Institute, a non-profit promoting the Austrian School of economics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taki Theodoracopulos</span> Greek writer and publisher

Panagiotis "Taki" Theodoracopulos is a Greek writer and publisher who founded Taki's Magazine and co-founded The American Conservative. His column "High Life" appeared in British weekly The Spectator from 1977 to 2023. He has lived in New York City, London, and Gstaad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Sobran</span> American political commentator (1946–2010)

Michael Joseph Sobran Jr., also known as M. J. Sobran, was an American paleoconservative journalist and syndicated columnist. He wrote for the National Review magazine from 1972 to 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antiwar.com</span> Online non-interventionism magazine

Antiwar.com is an American political website founded in 1995 that describes itself as devoted to non-interventionism and as opposing imperialism and war. It has a right-wing libertarian perspective and is a project of the Randolph Bourne Institute. The website states that it is "fighting the next information war”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Bandow</span> American political writer (born 1957)

Douglas Bandow is an American political writer working as a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. In 2005, Bandow was forced to resign from the Cato Institute after it was revealed that for over ten years, he accepted payments in exchange for publishing articles favorable to various clients. Bandow referred to the activities as "a lapse of judgment" and said that he accepted payments for "between 12 and 24 articles," each article costing approximately $2,000. Bandow was subsequently allowed to return to the Cato Institute.

Scott McConnell is an American journalist best known as a founding editor of The American Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Kauffman</span> American journalist

Bill Kauffman is an American political writer generally aligned with the localist movement. He was born in Batavia, New York, and currently resides in Elba, New York, with his wife and daughter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Unz</span> American computer businessman and anti-establishment activist (born 1961)

Ronald Keeva Unz is an American technology entrepreneur, political activist, writer, and publisher. A former businessman, Unz became a financial software multi-millionaire before entering politics. He unsuccessfully ran for governor as a Republican in the 1994 California gubernatorial election and for U.S. Senator in 2016. He has sponsored multiple ballot propositions promoting structured English immersion education as well as campaign finance reform and minimum wage increases.

The Rockford Institute was an American conservative think-tank associated with paleoconservatism, based in Rockford, Illinois. Founded in 1976, it ran the John Randolph Club and published the magazine Chronicles. In 2018 the Rockford Institute merged with the Charlemagne Institute, which became the new publisher of Chronicles. The Charlemagne Institute describes itself as "leading a cultural movement to defend and advance Western Civilization, the foundation of our American republic."

Jewish World Review is a politically conservative, online magazine updated Monday through Friday, which seeks to appeal to "people of faith and those interested in learning more about contemporary Judaism from Jews who take their religion seriously.”

Taki's Magazine, called Takimag for short, is an online magazine of politics and culture published by the Greek paleoconservative commentator and socialite Taki Theodoracopulos and edited by his daughter Mandolyna Theodoracopulos. It has published articles by far-right figures such as Gavin McInnes and the white supremacist Jared Taylor; the white supremacist Richard Spencer was an early Taki's editor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republican and conservative support for Barack Obama in 2008</span>

United States President Barack Obama, a member of the Democratic Party, was endorsed or supported by some members of the Republican Party and by some political figures holding conservative views in the 2008 election. Although the vast majority of Obama's support came from liberal constituencies, some conservatives identified in him shared priorities or other positive attributes. As in any election, voters can and sometimes do cross party lines to vote for the other party's nominee. Republican and conservative Obama supporters were often referred to as "Obama Republicans", "Obamacans" or "Obamacons".

<i>We Are Doomed</i> 2009 book by John Derbyshire

We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism is a 2009 non-fiction book by British-American writer John Derbyshire. He draws upon classical conservatism thinking to argue that modern Western civilization is dying and will eventually fail completely. He blames what he sees as a collectivist and Utopian mindset among the political left as well as an irrational optimism and faith in the future on the political right. It was published by Crown Forum.

Derek Turner is a journalist and author of several novels.

<i>Hillbilly Elegy</i> 2016 memoir by JD Vance

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis is a 2016 memoir by JD Vance about the Appalachian values of his family from Kentucky and the socioeconomic problems of his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, where his mother's parents moved when they were young. It was adapted into the 2020 film Hillbilly Elegy, directed by Ron Howard and starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reihan Salam</span> American journalist

Reihan Morshed Salam is an American conservative political commentator, columnist and author who, since 2019, has been president of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. He was previously executive editor of National Review, a columnist for Slate, a contributing editor at National Affairs, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, an interviewer for VICE and a fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.

References

  1. ↑ "Curt Mills", The American Conservative, accessed 15 June 2024
  2. ↑ Frank, T.A. (January 25, 2018). "Welcome to the Golden Age of Conservative Magazines". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Masthead".
  4. ↑ "Archive". The American Conservative. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  5. ↑ "About Us". The American Conservative. February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Gregory L. Schneider, The Conservative Century: From Reaction to Revolution (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009), p. 212
  7. ↑ "Patrick J. Buchanan Papers, White House Special Files, 01/21/1969 - 12/31/1972", Online Archive of California, accessed 14 February 2023
  8. 1 2 Marcus M. Witcher, Getting Right with Reagan: The Struggle for True Conservatism, 1980–2016 (University Press of Kansas, 2019), p. 230
  9. 1 2 3 4 Jeremy Beer, "American Conservative", in Bruce Frohnen, ed., American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia (2014), pp. 1,914–1,915
  10. ↑ Andrej Kreutz, Russia's Place in the World (Algora Publishing, 2015), p. 188
  11. ↑ News Media Yellow Book (2006), p. 600
  12. ↑ "GOP Must Go". The American Conservative. November 20, 2006.
  13. ↑ Sixsmith, Ben (September 15, 2018). "The curious case of Ron Unz". The Spectator. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  14. ↑ "California Anti-Bilingual Proposition King Ron Unz to be Next Publisher of The American Conservative". The Washington Note. March 19, 2007. Archived from the original on March 28, 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
  15. ↑ "The American Conservative Names Benjamin Schwarz National Editor". The American Conservative. October 15, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  16. ↑ McConnell, Scott (October 15, 2018). "James Antle is New Editor of The American Conservative". The American Conservative. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  17. ↑ Ecarma, Caleb (April 27, 2020). ""Call It the Tucker Carlson Wing of the GOP": The American Conservative Wants to Be the Atlantic of the Right". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Advisory Board". The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  19. ↑ Mascaro, Lisa (August 29, 2023). "Conservative Groups Draw Up Plan to Dismantle the US Government and Replace It with Trump's Vision". Associated Press News . Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  20. ↑ Alexander Konetzki, "The American Conservative Crackup: Why I quit Pat Buchanan’s magazine", The Washington Monthly , accessed June 15, 2004
  21. ↑ Salam, Reihan (March 13, 2009). "The Mark Sanford Revolution?". The Atlantic .
  22. ↑ Brooks, David (November 19, 2012). "The Conservative Future". The New York Times .
  23. ↑ "Helen Andrews". The American Conservative.
  24. ↑ "Andrew J. Bacevich". The American Conservative. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Doug Bandow". The American Conservative. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Patrick J. Buchanan". The American Conservative. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Andrew Cockburn". The American Conservative. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Rod Dreher". The American Conservative. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Paul Gottfried". The American Conservative.
  30. ↑ "Leon Hadar". The American Conservative.
  31. ↑ "James Kurth". The American Conservative.
  32. ↑ "Christopher Layne". The American Conservative.
  33. ↑ "Michael Lind". The American Conservative.
  34. ↑ "William S. Lind". The American Conservative.
  35. ↑ "Douglas Macgregor". The American Conservative.
  36. ↑ "Eric S. Margolis". The American Conservative.
  37. ↑ "Scott McConnell". The American Conservative.
  38. ↑ "Robert W. Merry". The American Conservative.
  39. ↑ "Rand Paul". The American Conservative.
  40. ↑ "Mark Perry". The American Conservative.
  41. ↑ "Scott Ritter". The American Conservative.
  42. ↑ "Steve Sailer". The American Conservative.
  43. ↑ "Paul W. Schroeder". The American Conservative.
  44. ↑ "Benjamin Schwarz". The American Conservative.
  45. ↑ "Roger Scruton". The American Conservative.
  46. ↑ "Taki". The American Conservative.
  47. ↑ "Ron Unz". The American Conservative.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.