Justin Raimondo
Encyclopedia
Justin Raimondo is an American
author
and the editorial director of the website Antiwar.com
. He describes himself as a "conservative-paleo-libertarian
."
before joining Young Americans for Freedom
. In the 1970s, he became active in the Libertarian Party. He "joined the party in 1974, and was active in the MacBride
for President campaign, the LP's second White House bid." With Eric Garris
, he organized a "Radical Caucus"
, which brought them to the attention of the libertarian theorist Murray Rothbard
. In 1983, after a schism in the Libertarian Party, Raimondo left and attempted to organize a libertarian faction in the Republican Party
known as the Libertarian Republican Organizing Committee. After 1989, Raimondo again began working with Rothbard in the anti-war
, paleoconservative John Randolph Club
.
Though raised a Roman Catholic
, Raimondo describes himself as "not a believer."
. Raimondo received 4,730 votes for 7.7% of the vote. In 1982, Raimondo ran for California's 5th district seat in the United States House of Representatives
as a Libertarian, against Democratic incumbent Phillip Burton
and Republican challenger Milton Marks. He received 14.2% of the vote. In the 1996 U.S. congressional elections, Raimondo ran as a Republican candidate in California's 8th district against Nancy Pelosi
. While he championed conservative and libertarian causes in general, the main emphasis of his campaign was his opposition to the deployment of U.S. troops in the Balkans
and, in particular, Pelosi's vote to that effect. Raimondo received 25,739 votes for 12.39 percent of the vote while Pelosi got 84.34 percent
During the 1992, 1996, and 2000 presidential elections, Raimondo supported the campaigns of Pat Buchanan
, both as a Republican and in the Reform Party. As he is openly
gay
, his support of the social conservative Buchanan attracted considerable attention.
In 1994, Raimondo was the San Francisco coordinator for the "Save our State" Proposition 187, which would have barred taxpayer funding of non-emergency services to illegal aliens
in California. The measure was passed by California voters, but later struck down by a federal court.
At the end of 1995 Raimondo and Garris launched Antiwar.com. In 1999, with the Clinton administration's military intervention in the Kosovo war
, the site became a full-time effort, providing a platform for their opposition to foreign intervention. Raimondo has been a vocal critic of the invasion of Iraq
and the ongoing occupation.
In 2004, he supported Ralph Nader
for President, and explained his reason for this in an article published in The American Conservative
.
In 2008, he frequently wrote admiringly of Ron Paul
's Presidential campaign
, and has also expressed support for Dennis Kucinich
,. He has also been critical of Barack Obama
's Cabinet choices as President. along with the President himself.
ideological roots. He strongly opposes what he considers to be the Israel
i occupation of Palestine
. He believes that initiatory war is wrong, immoral, and counterproductive, that a small group of neoconservatives in both major American political parties
have been responsible for "lying us into war" repeatedly, and that the ideals of the Old Right
conservative movement have been consistently sold out since around the time of the Vietnam War
, when neoconservatives united with religious conservatives
to pursue an expansive foreign policy, often in support of Israel.
Raimondo argued in a 2003 Antiwar.com column that Israel exerts a dominant force in the formulation of American foreign policy. Raimondo also believes the United States was led into World War II
through lies by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
and that the US provoked a war with Japan
deliberately through economic sanctions. Raimondo's views have been compared by Christopher Hitchens
to those of Charles Lindbergh
, whom Raimondo describes as an "American hero sprung from the heartland." Raimondo has also written that Israeli intelligence operating in the U.S. had advance knowledge of the September 11, 2001 attacks
.
Raimondo believes the government should refrain from adopting laws that would prohibit discrimination against gays. He also is against gay marriage, both mocking the idea that gays should adopt a heterosexual model of sexual and emotional relationships, and noting that as a libertarian he opposes "State incursion into such private matters." He also has written that after years of persecution by the state, gay rights activists want to "use the battering ram of government power" to actively intervene on behalf of homosexuals.
and Chronicles magazine. He also writes two columns a month for Taki's Top Drawer
.
He is the author of several books:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and the editorial director of the website Antiwar.com
Antiwar.com
Antiwar.com is a website devoted to opposing aggressive war, imperialism, and assaults on freedom associated with both. The editors describe their politics as libertarian. Their stated motiviation is, "to show how the imperialistic tendencies of the American government lead to a loss of civil...
. He describes himself as a "conservative-paleo-libertarian
Paleolibertarianism
Paleolibertarianism is a school of thought within American libertarianism associated with the late economist Murray Rothbard, and the Ludwig von Mises Institute. It is based on a combination of right-libertarianism in politics and cultural conservatism in social thought...
."
Background
While a teenager, Raimondo took a brief interest in ObjectivismObjectivism (Ayn Rand)
Objectivism is a philosophy created by the Russian-American philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand . Objectivism holds that reality exists independent of consciousness, that human beings have direct contact with reality through sense perception, that one can attain objective knowledge from perception...
before joining Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom is a 501 non-profit organization and is now a project of Young America's Foundation. YAF is an ideologically conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960, as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians...
. In the 1970s, he became active in the Libertarian Party. He "joined the party in 1974, and was active in the MacBride
Roger MacBride
Roger Lea MacBride was an American lawyer, political figure, and television producer. He was the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1976 election....
for President campaign, the LP's second White House bid." With Eric Garris
Eric Garris
Eric Garris is an activist in the libertarian movement in the United States, known as the founding webmaster of two prominent libertarian websites.-Background:...
, he organized a "Radical Caucus"
LPRadicals
LPRadicals is a caucus formed in 2006 within the United States Libertarian Party by Susan Hogarth and other party members who opposed removal of much of the material in the party platform during the 2006 national party convention...
, which brought them to the attention of the libertarian theorist Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
. In 1983, after a schism in the Libertarian Party, Raimondo left and attempted to organize a libertarian faction in the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
known as the Libertarian Republican Organizing Committee. After 1989, Raimondo again began working with Rothbard in the anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
, paleoconservative John Randolph Club
John Randolph Club
The John Randolph Club is a paleoconservative social and political organization founded in the 1980s and operated by the Rockford Institute. It is named after John Randolph of Roanoke , a 19th century U.S...
.
Though raised a Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Raimondo describes himself as "not a believer."
Political views and activities
In 1980 Raimondo ran for public office for the first time. Running as a Libertarian candidate for the 16th district seat in the California State AssemblyCalifornia State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
. Raimondo received 4,730 votes for 7.7% of the vote. In 1982, Raimondo ran for California's 5th district seat in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
as a Libertarian, against Democratic incumbent Phillip Burton
Phillip Burton
Phillip Burton was a United States Representative from California. A Democrat, he was instrumental in creating the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Burton was one of the first members of Congress to acknowledge the need for AIDS research and introduce an AIDS bill. He was the brother of...
and Republican challenger Milton Marks. He received 14.2% of the vote. In the 1996 U.S. congressional elections, Raimondo ran as a Republican candidate in California's 8th district against Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
. While he championed conservative and libertarian causes in general, the main emphasis of his campaign was his opposition to the deployment of U.S. troops in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and, in particular, Pelosi's vote to that effect. Raimondo received 25,739 votes for 12.39 percent of the vote while Pelosi got 84.34 percent
During the 1992, 1996, and 2000 presidential elections, Raimondo supported the campaigns of Pat Buchanan
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought...
, both as a Republican and in the Reform Party. As he is openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, his support of the social conservative Buchanan attracted considerable attention.
In 1994, Raimondo was the San Francisco coordinator for the "Save our State" Proposition 187, which would have barred taxpayer funding of non-emergency services to illegal aliens
Illegal Aliens
Illegal Aliens is a 2007 film starring Anna Nicole Smith and Joanie Laurer. This comedy/science-fiction film is made in the mold of classic 1980s B-movies. Hitting stores on May 1, 2007, the release of the movie was pushed back following the death of Smith in February 2007 and it is her final film...
in California. The measure was passed by California voters, but later struck down by a federal court.
At the end of 1995 Raimondo and Garris launched Antiwar.com. In 1999, with the Clinton administration's military intervention in the Kosovo war
1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
, the site became a full-time effort, providing a platform for their opposition to foreign intervention. Raimondo has been a vocal critic of the invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
and the ongoing occupation.
In 2004, he supported Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
for President, and explained his reason for this in an article published in The American Conservative
The American Conservative
The American Conservative is a monthly U.S. opinion magazine published by Ron Unz. Its first editor was Scott McConnell, his successors being Kara Hopkins and the present incumbent, Daniel McCarthy....
.
In 2008, he frequently wrote admiringly of Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
's Presidential campaign
Ron Paul presidential campaign, 2008
Ron Paul was a Republican Party primary candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election.Initial opinion polls during the first three quarters of 2007 showed Ron Paul consistently receiving support from 3% or less of those polled...
, and has also expressed support for Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
,. He has also been critical of Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's Cabinet choices as President. along with the President himself.
Major ideas and recurring themes
Several themes recur regularly in Raimondo's writing, mostly derived from his libertarianLibertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
ideological roots. He strongly opposes what he considers to be the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i occupation of Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. He believes that initiatory war is wrong, immoral, and counterproductive, that a small group of neoconservatives in both major American political parties
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
have been responsible for "lying us into war" repeatedly, and that the ideals of the Old Right
Old Right (United States)
The Old Right was a conservative faction in the United States that opposed both New Deal domestic programs and U.S. entry into World War II. Many members of this faction were associated with the Republicans of the interwar years led by Robert Taft, but some were Democrats...
conservative movement have been consistently sold out since around the time of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, when neoconservatives united with religious conservatives
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
to pursue an expansive foreign policy, often in support of Israel.
Raimondo argued in a 2003 Antiwar.com column that Israel exerts a dominant force in the formulation of American foreign policy. Raimondo also believes the United States was led into World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
through lies by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and that the US provoked a war with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
deliberately through economic sanctions. Raimondo's views have been compared by Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
to those of Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
, whom Raimondo describes as an "American hero sprung from the heartland." Raimondo has also written that Israeli intelligence operating in the U.S. had advance knowledge of the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
.
Raimondo believes the government should refrain from adopting laws that would prohibit discrimination against gays. He also is against gay marriage, both mocking the idea that gays should adopt a heterosexual model of sexual and emotional relationships, and noting that as a libertarian he opposes "State incursion into such private matters." He also has written that after years of persecution by the state, gay rights activists want to "use the battering ram of government power" to actively intervene on behalf of homosexuals.
Works
In addition to his thrice-weekly column for antiwar.com, Raimondo is a regular contributor to The American ConservativeThe American Conservative
The American Conservative is a monthly U.S. opinion magazine published by Ron Unz. Its first editor was Scott McConnell, his successors being Kara Hopkins and the present incumbent, Daniel McCarthy....
and Chronicles magazine. He also writes two columns a month for Taki's Top Drawer
Taki's Top Drawer
Taki's Magazine, called "Takimag" for short, is an online magazine of "politics and culture" published by the Greek paleoconservative journalist and socialite Taki Theodoracopulos and edited by his daughter Mandolyna Theodoracopulos...
.
He is the author of several books:
- Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement (Center for Libertarian StudiesCenter for Libertarian StudiesThe Center for Libertarian Studies was a libertarian and anarcho-capitalist oriented educational organization founded in 1976 by Murray Rothbard and Burton Blumert, which grew out of the Libertarian Scholars Conferences...
, 1993), reissued in 2008 with new introduction by George W. Carey, by Intercollegiate Studies InstituteIntercollegiate Studies InstituteThe Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Inc., or ', is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1953 as the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists...
ISBN 978-1933859606.
- Into the Bosnian Quagmire: The Case Against U.S. Intervention in the Balkans (AFPAC, 1996).
- Colin Powell and the Power Elite (America First Books, 1996).
- An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard, Prometheus Books, July 2000, ISBN 1-57392-809-7.
- The Terror Enigma: 9/11 And the Israeli Connection, iUniverse, November 2003, ISBN 0-595-29682-3.