William A. Rusher
Encyclopedia
William Allen Rusher was an American
lawyer, author, activist, speaker, debater, and conservative syndicated columnist. He was one of the founders of the conservative
movement and was one of its most prominent spokesmen for thirty years.
. Rusher entered Princeton University
at 16, where he was active in student affairs, especially debate, and majored in politics. After graduation in 1943 and wartime service in the Army Air Corps
, he attended Harvard Law School
, where he founded and led the Harvard Young Republicans
and from which he graduated in 1948. Until 1956, Rusher practiced corporate law at Shearman, Sterling & Wright
, a Wall Street firm in New York. He then served as associate counsel to the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee
, under chief counsel Robert Morris, for seventeen months.
In these years, Rusher was also active in New York state and national Young Republican politics, helping F. Clifton White
to lead an alliance in these organizations. He came to the attention of William F. Buckley, Jr., editor of the fledgling National Review, shortly after its founding in late 1955, when he wrote an essay for the Harvard Young Republican paper, titled "Cult of Doubt."
hired Rusher as publisher of National Review
. At the magazine, he oversaw the business operations, but more importantly served as a link to the world of conservative and Republican politics. He held the rank although not the title of senior editor, and as such was a full participant in its internal deliberations. At National Review, he advocated that the magazine develop and maintain a leadership role in the conservative movement. In doing this, Rusher sometimes disagreed with Buckley and senior editor James Burnham
. In his philosophy of conservative politics and his belief in the urgent need for an active and unified movement to pursue conservative politics, he was especially close to another senior editor at the magazine, Frank Meyer.
Rusher was an early mentor of Young Americans for Freedom
, founded with his assistance in 1960. He helped to found the Conservative Party of New York State in 1961, and the American Conservative Union
in 1964-65. He was a mentor to young conservative activists from these early years into the 1990s.
In 1961, Rusher worked with Clif White and Congressman John Ashbrook
to form the nucleus of what became Senator Barry Goldwater
's campaign for the Republican nomination for the presidency in 1963, known as "Draft Goldwater". Goldwater's victory in the hard-fought nomination contest
over New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller
and the previously dominant moderate or "liberal" establishment in the Republican Party is generally acknowledged as the first stage in the conservative movement's rise to national power.
Beginning in the late 1950s and continuing well past his retirement from National Review at the end of the 1980s, Rusher was a very active public speaker on college campuses and in other forums, where he defended and advocated the conservative position. In the early 1970s, he was the main conservative representative on a PBS television debate show, The Advocates. He was also a commentator on ABC-TV's Good Morning America
in the late 1970s and a regular radio commentator in the 1980s. Throughout Rusher's career, he was known as an aggressive and exceptionally skilled debater.
In the mid-1970s, Rusher was among the most prominent advocates for a conservative third party, or as he called it "new majority party," that would replace the Republicans; he was also involved heavily in efforts to organize such a party. He repeatedly and unsuccessfully urged Reagan, whom he had known since the late 1960s, to lead this effort agree to accept such a party's nomination.
Although he was a "fusionist" conservative who believed in both small-government and socially-conservative positions, Rusher was greatly concerned with unifying the movement and keeping it unified. He believed that Ronald Reagan
, whom he promoted as a possible presidential candidate as early as 1967 and in whose reluctant campaign for the Republican nomination in 1968
he had some involvement, was the ideal leader for this purpose. Rusher also believed that the Reagan presidency was the conservatives' greatest political achievement.
In terms of issues, he was heavily motivated by anti-communism
throughout his career, was an outspoken opponent of the 1960s counterculture
, and took a special interest in what he considered pervasive liberal bias
in the news media. As an adult he was baptised and became a Traditional Anglican
, although his religious views rarely entered into his political discourse.
Rusher wrote five books: Special Counsel (1968), a memoir of his time on the Internal Security Subcommittee; The Making of the New Majority Party (1975), in which he advocated the establishment of a new conservative party to replace the Republicans in the post-Watergate period; How to Win Arguments (1981), a primer of debating techniques; The Rise of the Right (1984), a history of the conservative movement from the 1950s to the early 1980s, re-released in 1993 with an appendix covering more recent developments; and The Coming Battle for the Media (1988).
, an anti-bias organization founded and led by L. Brent Bozell III. In addition, Rusher was involved with the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs
, the Pacific Research Institute
, and the Pacific Legal Foundation
.
He was in the news during the hearings for the Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination
in 2005, when he allowed Senate staff members to inspect documents related to the Concerned Alumni of Princeton
group, in which Alito was tangentially involved, in the Rusher Papers at the Library of Congress. Rusher retired from his newspaper column, which he had written since 1973 under the title "The Conservative Advocate," in February 2009. After more than half a year of ill health, he died in April 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer, author, activist, speaker, debater, and conservative syndicated columnist. He was one of the founders of the conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
movement and was one of its most prominent spokesmen for thirty years.
Early life
Rusher was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1923. His family had not been especially political; his parents were moderate Republicans, and his paternal grandfather had been a socialist. In 1930 the family moved to the New York metropolitan areaNew York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
. Rusher entered Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
at 16, where he was active in student affairs, especially debate, and majored in politics. After graduation in 1943 and wartime service in the Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, he attended Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, where he founded and led the Harvard Young Republicans
Young Republicans
The Young Republicans is an organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization and chapters in individual states....
and from which he graduated in 1948. Until 1956, Rusher practiced corporate law at Shearman, Sterling & Wright
Shearman & Sterling
Shearman & Sterling LLP is a law firm headquartered in New York City with 20 offices located in major financial centers around the world founded in 1873. It is well known for both its litigation and transactional capabilities, especially in International Arbitration, Capital Markets, Finance, and...
, a Wall Street firm in New York. He then served as associate counsel to the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee
United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security
The Special Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws, 1951-77, more commonly known as the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee and sometimes the McCarran Committee, was authorized under S...
, under chief counsel Robert Morris, for seventeen months.
In these years, Rusher was also active in New York state and national Young Republican politics, helping F. Clifton White
F. Clifton White
Frederick Clifton White was a U.S. political consultant and campaign manager for candidates of the Republican Party and the New York Conservative Party, as well as foreign clients...
to lead an alliance in these organizations. He came to the attention of William F. Buckley, Jr., editor of the fledgling National Review, shortly after its founding in late 1955, when he wrote an essay for the Harvard Young Republican paper, titled "Cult of Doubt."
National Review and Political Activism
In mid-1957, William F. Buckley, Jr.William F. Buckley, Jr.
William Frank Buckley, Jr. was an American conservative author and commentator. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosted 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing was noted for...
hired Rusher as publisher of National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
. At the magazine, he oversaw the business operations, but more importantly served as a link to the world of conservative and Republican politics. He held the rank although not the title of senior editor, and as such was a full participant in its internal deliberations. At National Review, he advocated that the magazine develop and maintain a leadership role in the conservative movement. In doing this, Rusher sometimes disagreed with Buckley and senior editor James Burnham
James Burnham
James Burnham was an American popular political theorist, best known for his influential work The Managerial Revolution, published in 1941. Burnham was a radical activist in the 1930s and an important factional leader of the American Trotskyist movement. In later years he left Marxism and produced...
. In his philosophy of conservative politics and his belief in the urgent need for an active and unified movement to pursue conservative politics, he was especially close to another senior editor at the magazine, Frank Meyer.
Rusher was an early mentor of 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...
, founded with his assistance in 1960. He helped to found the Conservative Party of New York State in 1961, and the American Conservative Union
American Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union is an American political organization advocating conservative policies, and is the oldest such conservative lobbying organization in the country.-Organization:...
in 1964-65. He was a mentor to young conservative activists from these early years into the 1990s.
In 1961, Rusher worked with Clif White and Congressman John Ashbrook
John M. Ashbrook
John Milan Ashbrook was an American politician of the Republican Party who served in the United States House of Representatives from Ohio from 1961 until his death. His father was William A. Ashbrook, a newspaper editor, businessman, and U.S...
to form the nucleus of what became Senator Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
's campaign for the Republican nomination for the presidency in 1963, known as "Draft Goldwater". Goldwater's victory in the hard-fought nomination contest
Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1964
The 1964 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1964 U.S. presidential election...
over New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
and the previously dominant moderate or "liberal" establishment in the Republican Party is generally acknowledged as the first stage in the conservative movement's rise to national power.
Beginning in the late 1950s and continuing well past his retirement from National Review at the end of the 1980s, Rusher was a very active public speaker on college campuses and in other forums, where he defended and advocated the conservative position. In the early 1970s, he was the main conservative representative on a PBS television debate show, The Advocates. He was also a commentator on ABC-TV's Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
in the late 1970s and a regular radio commentator in the 1980s. Throughout Rusher's career, he was known as an aggressive and exceptionally skilled debater.
In the mid-1970s, Rusher was among the most prominent advocates for a conservative third party, or as he called it "new majority party," that would replace the Republicans; he was also involved heavily in efforts to organize such a party. He repeatedly and unsuccessfully urged Reagan, whom he had known since the late 1960s, to lead this effort agree to accept such a party's nomination.
Although he was a "fusionist" conservative who believed in both small-government and socially-conservative positions, Rusher was greatly concerned with unifying the movement and keeping it unified. He believed that Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, whom he promoted as a possible presidential candidate as early as 1967 and in whose reluctant campaign for the Republican nomination in 1968
Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1968
The 1968 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1968 U.S. presidential election...
he had some involvement, was the ideal leader for this purpose. Rusher also believed that the Reagan presidency was the conservatives' greatest political achievement.
In terms of issues, he was heavily motivated by anti-communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
throughout his career, was an outspoken opponent of the 1960s counterculture
Counterculture of the 1960s
The counterculture of the 1960s refers to a cultural movement that mainly developed in the United States and spread throughout much of the western world between 1960 and 1973. The movement gained momentum during the U.S. government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam...
, and took a special interest in what he considered pervasive liberal bias
Media bias
Media bias refers to the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the...
in the news media. As an adult he was baptised and became a Traditional Anglican
Traditional Anglican Communion
The Traditional Anglican Communion is an international communion of churches in the continuing Anglican movement independent of the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The TAC upholds the theological doctrines of the Affirmation of St. Louis and an Anglo-Catholic interpretation of...
, although his religious views rarely entered into his political discourse.
Rusher wrote five books: Special Counsel (1968), a memoir of his time on the Internal Security Subcommittee; The Making of the New Majority Party (1975), in which he advocated the establishment of a new conservative party to replace the Republicans in the post-Watergate period; How to Win Arguments (1981), a primer of debating techniques; The Rise of the Right (1984), a history of the conservative movement from the 1950s to the early 1980s, re-released in 1993 with an appendix covering more recent developments; and The Coming Battle for the Media (1988).
Retirement
Rusher retired from National Review at age 65 at the end of 1988. The following year, he moved from New York to San Francisco. In California, Rusher served actively as a distinguished fellow of the Claremont Institute from 1989 onward. He also served as a board member of the conservative California Political Review, and was for many years the chairman of the board of the Media Research CenterMedia Research Center
The Media Research Center is a content analysis organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, founded in 1987 by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III...
, an anti-bias organization founded and led by L. Brent Bozell III. In addition, Rusher was involved with the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs
Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs
The Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs is a conservative academic center at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, dedicated by Ronald Reagan on May 9, 1983.It is named for the late Congressman John M...
, the Pacific Research Institute
Pacific Research Institute
The Pacific Research Institute , or officially the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, is a California-based free-market think tank founded in 1979 whose stated vision is the promotion of "the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility"...
, and the Pacific Legal Foundation
Pacific Legal Foundation
Pacific Legal Foundation is the first and oldest conservative/libertarian public interest law firm in the United States. PLF was established for the purpose of defending and promoting individual and economic freedom in the courts...
.
He was in the news during the hearings for the Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination
Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination
On October 31, 2005, Samuel Alito was nominated by President George W. Bush for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to replace the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor. Alito had been a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit since 1990 when he was...
in 2005, when he allowed Senate staff members to inspect documents related to the Concerned Alumni of Princeton
Concerned Alumni of Princeton
The Concerned Alumni of Princeton was a group of politically conservative former Princeton University students that existed between 1972 and 1986. CAP was born in 1972 from the ashes of the Alumni Committee to Involve Itself Now , which was founded in opposition to the college going coed in 1969...
group, in which Alito was tangentially involved, in the Rusher Papers at the Library of Congress. Rusher retired from his newspaper column, which he had written since 1973 under the title "The Conservative Advocate," in February 2009. After more than half a year of ill health, he died in April 2011.
Books By and About Rusher
- Frisk, David B. (2011). If Not Us, Who? William Rusher, National Review, and the Conservative Movement.ISI Books. (forthcoming)
- Rusher, William A. The Rise of the Right. New York: National Review Books (1993), 261 pages, ISBN 0-688-01936-6 (hardback) or ISBN 0-9627841-2-5 (paper).
- Rusher, William A. "How to Win Arguments More Often Than Not.", Lanham: University Press of America (1985), 216 pages, ISBN 978-0819147714
- Rusher, William A. "The Coming Battle for the Media." New York: William Morrow & Co. (1988), 228 pages, ISBN 978-0688064334
External links
- Rusher's homepage at the Claremont Institute
- 1990 interview with Rusher
- Article in San Francisco Chronicle report on Rusher's role Samuel Alito's confirmation hearings
- Rusher's comments regarding CAP on National Reviews website
- Rusher to Retirement by Interview Kathryn Jean LopezKathryn Jean LopezKathryn Jean Lopez, is an American conservative columnist who is nationally syndicated by the United Feature Syndicate.She is also the editor of National Review Online...
, National Review Online - "Liberals lying about Iraqi 'lies'"