The American Conservative

This article is about the magazine. For the concept, see Conservativism in the United States.

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.^[3]

The American Conservative

October 2016 issue
Editor	Emile Doak
Categories	Editorial magazine
Frequency	Once every two months
Circulation	5,000^[1]
Publisher	Jon Basil Utley^[2]
Founder	Pat Buchanan Scott McConnell Taki Theodoracopulos
First issue	October 7, 2002; 21 years ago (2002-10-07)
Country	United States
Based in	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Language	English
Website	theamericanconservative.com
ISSN	1540-966X

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.^[4]

History

The American Conservative was founded by Pat Buchanan, Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos in 2002^[5] in opposition to the Iraq War.^{[third-party source needed]}

McConnell served as the magazine's first editor,^[6] followed by executive editor Kara Hopkins.^[7]

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".^[8]

As of 2007, Buchanan and Theodoracopulos ceased to be involved with the editorial operations of The American Conservative, although Buchanan continues to contribute columns.^[9] Ron Unz was named publisher in 2007.^[10][11] In 2011, Wick Allison became the magazine's publisher, followed in 2013 by Jon Basil Utley, the current publisher.^[2]

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.^[12]

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.^[13]

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.^[14]

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".^[15]

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."^[16]

Contributors

Contributors to The American Conservative have included Helen Andrews,^[17] Andrew Bacevich,^[18] Doug Bandow,^[19] Pat Buchanan,^[20] Andrew Cockburn,^[21] Rod Dreher,^[22] Paul Gottfried,^[23] Leon Hadar,^[24] James Kurth,^[25] Christopher Layne,^[26] Michael Lind,^[27] William S. Lind,^[28] Douglas Macgregor,^[29] Eric Margolis,^[30] Scott McConnell,^[31] Robert W. Merry,^[32] Rand Paul,^[33] Mark Perry,^[34]Scott Ritter,^[35] Steve Sailer,^[36] Paul W. Schroeder,^[37] Benjamin Schwarz,^[38] Roger Scruton,^[39]Taki Theodoracopulos,^[40] and Ron Unz.^[41]

See also

• Classical liberalism
• Communitarianism
• Conservatism in the United States
• Libertarianism
• List of United States magazines
• Natural Law
• Neoconservatism
• Realism (international relations)
• Religion in the United States
• Tory
• Traditionalist conservatism

References

1. Frank, T.A. (January 25, 2018). "Welcome to the Golden Age of Conservative Magazines". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
2. "Masthead".
3. "Archive". The American Conservative. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
4. "About Us". The American Conservative. February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
5. "Patrick J. Buchanan Papers, White House Special Files, 01/21/1969 - 12/31/1972", Online Archive of California, accessed 14 February 2023
6. Andrej Kreutz, Russia's Place in the World (Algora Publishing, 2015), p. 188
7. News Media Yellow Book (2006), p. 600
8. "GOP Must Go". The American Conservative. November 20, 2006.
9. "Patrick J. Buchanan".
10. Sixsmith, Ben (September 15, 2018). "The curious case of Ron Unz". The Spectator. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
11. . The Washington Note. March 19, 2007. Archived from the original on March 28, 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
12. "The American Conservative Names Benjamin Schwarz National Editor". The American Conservative. October 15, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
13. McConnell, Scott (October 15, 2018). "James Antle is New Editor of The American Conservative". The American Conservative. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
14. 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.
15. Salam, Reihan (March 13, 2009). "The Mark Sanford Revolution?". The Atlantic.
16. Brooks, David (November 19, 2012). "The Conservative Future". The New York Times.
17. "Helen Andrews". The American Conservative.
18. "Andrew J. Bacevich". The American Conservative. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
19. "Doug Bandow". The American Conservative. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
20. "Patrick J. Buchanan". The American Conservative. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
21. "Andrew Cockburn". The American Conservative. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
22. "Rod Dreher". The American Conservative. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
23. "Paul Gottfried". The American Conservative.
24. "Leon Hadar". The American Conservative.
25. "James Kurth". The American Conservative.
26. "Christopher Layne". The American Conservative.
27. "Michael Lind". The American Conservative.
28. "William S. Lind". The American Conservative.
29. "Douglas Macgregor". The American Conservative.
30. "Eric S. Margolis". The American Conservative.
31. "Scott McConnell". The American Conservative.
32. "Robert W. Merry". The American Conservative.
33. "Rand Paul". The American Conservative.
34. "Mark Perry". The American Conservative.
35. "Scott Ritter". The American Conservative.
36. "Steve Sailer". The American Conservative.
37. "Paul W. Schroeder". The American Conservative.
38. "Benjamin Schwarz". The American Conservative.
39. "Roger Scruton". The American Conservative.
40. "Taki". The American Conservative.
41. "Ron Unz". The American Conservative.

External links

• Official website  
• by Murray Polner, Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2003.
• "Paleocon's Revenge" by Whitney Joiner. Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, September 1, 2002.
• by Alexander Konetzki, The Washington Monthly
• The American Conservative by J. Bradford DeLong, May 15, 2012.