The American Conservative

"American conservative" redirects here. For American conservatism in general, see Conservatism in the United States.

The American Conservative

Editor	Robert W. Merry
Categories	Editorial magazine
Frequency	Bi-monthly
Publisher	Jon Basil Utley
Founder	Scott McConnell, Patrick Buchanan, and Taki Theodoracopulos
First issue	October 7, 2002 (2002-10-07)
Country	United States
Based in	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Language	English
Website	http://www.theamericanconservative.com/
ISSN	1540-966X

The American Conservative (TAC) is a bi-monthly journal of opinion published by the American Ideas Institute. It reflects traditional American conservatism that has argued vigorously against American interventionism, against a debt-based fiscal policy used to finance adventurism abroad and government growth at home, and against the intrusions on Americans’ private lives by state security apparatus. In general, TAC represents an anti-war and paleoconservative voice against the dominance of what it sees as a neoconservative strain on the Right.

The magazine's stated editorial position is "that true conservatism has a predisposition for the institutions and mores that exist and the wisdom that underlies them. So much of what passes for contemporary conservatism is 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, economic theories that are utopian and ruinous, and an eagerness to substitute diatribe for debate. We believe in the conservatism of our forefathers: prudent, adaptive, humble, and grateful."

In 2011 and 2012, the magazine expanded its website, adding as daily columnists Rod Dreher, Daniel Larison, and Noah Millman, with additional contributions by Scott Galupo, Kelley Vlahos, Philip Giraldi, Samuel Goldman, and Jordan Bloom.

History

In 2002 The American Conservative was founded by Scott McConnell, Patrick Buchanan, and Taki Theodoracopulos in opposition to the Iraq War. "The idea of The American Conservative was that there were enough who disagreed with mainstream conservatism—libertarians, paleoconservatives, and civil libertarian conservatives, among other dissenters—to warrant such a publication. While other conservative magazines like National Review and The Weekly Standard marched more or less in lockstep with the Bush Administration, The American Conservative argued for a different course—sometimes with greater ferocity than the major political magazines on the left."

Scott McConnell served as the magazine's first editor, followed by managing editor Kara Hopkins.

Before the 2006 midterm elections, The American Conservative urged its readers to vote for Democrats, saying, "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."

As of 2007, Buchanan and Taki ceased to be involved with the editorial operations of The American Conservative, although Buchanan remains on the board of its parent, the American Ideas Institute, and both continue to contribute columns. Ron Unz was named publisher in 2007. Some paleoconservatives regard him as a proponent of mass immigration. Unz has since published two major investigations for the magazine, one on the allegedly low incidence of Hispanic crime and one on China's growth. In 2011, Wick Allison became the magazine's publisher.

In its April 20, 2009, issue TAC announced that "[t]he economic crisis is exacting a toll on the publishing world, and The American Conservative has not been spared" and that without "a major new infusion of capital", it would print its final edition on May 7, 2009. It subsequently returned to publication, but as a monthly.

In 2010, Daniel McCarthy succeeded Kara Hopkins as editor. In June 2011, Wick Allison, a former publisher of National Review and owner of D Magazine in Dallas, was named president and CEO of the American Ideas Institute, the magazine's publisher. 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.

In November 2016, Robert W. Merry succeeded Daniel McCarthy as editor, with Lewis McCrary and Kelley Beaucar Vlahos as Executive Editors.

Reception

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

In 2012 David Brooks, columnist at The New York Times, wrote:

The American Conservative has become one of the more dynamic spots on the political Web. 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. Writers at that Web site, and at the temperamentally aligned Front Porch Republic, treasure tight communities and local bonds. They’re alert to the ways capitalism can erode community. Dispositionally, they are more Walker Percy than Pat Robertson.

At an event at the University of New Orleans in March 2017, Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance shared, “I did this interview with Rod [Dreher] at The American Conservative magazine…and then the book [Hillbilly Elegy]…exploded!”

Notable contributors

• Andrew Bacevich
• Doug Bandow
• James Bovard
• Patrick Buchanan
• Patrick Deneen
• Philip Giraldi
• Paul Gottfried
• Leon Hadar
• Peter Hitchens
• Samuel P. Huntington
• Jon Huntsman, Jr.

• Philip Jenkins
• Bill Kauffman
• Christopher Layne
• William S. Lind
• John Lukacs
• Eric Margolis
• John Mearsheimer
• Rand Paul
• James Pinkerton
• Justin Raimondo
• Fred Reed

• Stuart Reid
• Claes G. Ryn
• Steve Sailer
• R. J. Stove
• Ron Unz
• Alexander Waugh
• Jim Webb
• Philip Weiss
• Geoffrey Wheatcroft
• Thomas Woods

External links

• The American Conservative website
• The American Conservative on Twitter

Selected articles

• "Death of Manufacturing", by Patrick J. Buchanan, August 11, 2003.
• "Whose War?", by Patrick J. Buchanan, March 24, 2003.
• "Conservative Crack-Up" by W. James Antle III, November 17, 2003.
• "Big Brother Watches Britain", by Peter Hitchens, May 8, 2006.
• "End of the Rainbow", by Roger D. McGrath, December 19, 2005.
• "Among the Neocons", by Scott McConnell, April 11, 2003.
• "Americans First", by Steve Sailer, February 13, 2006.
• "America the Abstraction", by J. P. Zmirak, January 13, 2003.
• "The Islamic Way of War", by Andrew J. Bacevich, September 11, 2006.
• "In Defense of Freedom" by Daniel McCarthy, March 14, 2005.
• "What is Left? What is Right? (Does it Matter?)", by various authors.
• "Back to Burke", by Daniel McCarthy, August 30, 2011.

Articles about The American Conservative

• "Paleocon's Revenge" by Whitney Joiner. Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, 1 September 2002.
• "Buchanan's Takeoff" by Murray Polner, Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2003.
• The American Conservative Crackup: Why I quit Pat Buchanan’s magazine by Alexander Konetzki, The Washington Monthly, 2007.
• The American Conservative by J. Bradford DeLong, May 15, 2012.