Justin Raimondo (born Dennis Raimondo; November 18, 1951 – June 27, 2019) was an American author and the editorial director of

Antiwar.com Antiwar.com is a website that describes itself as devoted to non-interventionism and as opposing imperialism and war. It is a project of the Randolph Bourne Institute. The website states that it is "fighting the next information war”. Histor ...

. He described himself as a "

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

- paleo-libertarian."

Early life

Born in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

, Raimondo moved with his family to Yorktown Heights, New York when he was very young. Raimondo described himself as a "bad kid"; to deter himself from this path he spent one year at a Jesuit-run school in upstate New York. Around this time he took an interest in

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

's philosophy of

Objectivism Objectivism is a philosophical system developed by Russian Americans, Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with prod ...

. Later he joined

Young Americans for Freedom Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) is a conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960 as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians on American college campuses. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ...

. In the 1970s, he became active in the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

. He "joined the party in 1974, and was active in

Roger MacBride Roger Lea MacBride (August 6, 1929 – March 5, 1995) was an American lawyer, political figure, writer, and television producer. He was the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1976 election. MacBride became the first presidenti ...

's 1976 presidential campaign, the LP's second White House bid." He came to the defense of the

White Night riots The White Night riots were a series of violent events sparked by an announcement of a lenient sentencing of Dan White for the assassinations of George Moscone, the mayor of San Francisco, and of Harvey Milk, a member of the city's Board of Supe ...

, which followed manslaughter conviction of

Dan White Daniel James White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was an American politician who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall. White was convicted of manslaugh ...

(for the deaths of San Francisco supervisor

Harvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised in N ...

and Mayor

George Moscone George Richard Moscone (; November 24, 1929 – November 27, 1978) was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. He was known ...

). In 1983, after a schism in the Libertarian Party, Raimondo left the party 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 An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') 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 anti-war can also refer to pa ...

paleoconservative Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, and traditionalist conservatism. Paleoconservatism's concerns overlap with those of the ...

John Randolph Club The Rockford Institute was an American conservative think-tank associated with paleoconservatism, based in Rockford, Illinois. It ran the John Randolph Club and published the magazine ''Chronicles''. In early 2019, the Rockford Institute merged w ...

, part of the Rockford Institute.

Career

Early activism

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 Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

, Raimondo received 4,730 votes or 7.7% of the vote. In 1982, Raimondo ran for California's 5th district seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

as a Libertarian, against Democratic incumbent

Phillip Burton Phillip Burton (June 1, 1926 – April 10, 1983) was an American politician and attorney who served as a United States representative from California from 1964 until his death in 1983. A Democrat, he was instrumental in creating the Golden Gate ...

and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

challenger

Milton Marks Milton Marks, Jr. (July 22, 1920 – December 4, 1998) was an American politician who served in the California State Assembly and California State Senate, as both a Republican and a Democrat, representing San Francisco for 38 years. Early li ...

. 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 Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

. 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 The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and, in particular, Pelosi's vote to that effect. Raimondo received 25,739 votes for 12.4 percent of the vote while Pelosi got 84.3 percent. During the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, and 2000 presidential elections, Raimondo supported the campaigns of

Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, an ...

, both as a Republican and in the Reform Party. As he was an out gay man, his support of the

social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social instituti ...

Buchanan attracted considerable attention. The idea he "wants to round us all up and send us to concentration camps is just a bunch of crap. It's a lie and a smear. He welcomes gay workers in his campaign. He does not think that homosexuality is all that great a thing. But I don't need his approval. Why does any gay person need anyone's benediction?" In 1994, Raimondo was the San Francisco coordinator for the "Save our State"

Proposition 187 California Proposition 187 (also known as the ''Save Our State'' (SOS) initiative) was a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit illegal immigrants from using non-emergency health care, public ed ...

, which would have barred taxpayer funding of non-emergency services to

illegal aliens Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

in California. The measure was passed by California voters, but was later stayed by a federal court.

Antiwar.com and later activities

Raimondo and

Eric Garris Eric Garris (born December 24, 1953) is an activist in the libertarian movement in the United States, reaching back to the Vietnam War. He is the founder and webmaster of a daily nonpartisan, news source Antiwar.com which was launched in 1995. B ...

launched

in 1995. In 1999, during the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...

's military intervention in the

Kosovo war The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

, the site became a full-time effort, providing a platform for the pair's opposition to foreign intervention. Raimondo was a vocal critic of the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...

in 2003 and the ongoing occupation. In the 2004 presidential election, he wrote approvingly of candidate

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...

in an article published in ''

The American Conservative ''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 ...

''. "Nader’s distrust of bigness, either corporate or governmental, his fear of centralized power, his sharp critique of the managerial-bureaucratic mentality, all recall the distinctively American tradition of individualist populism", he wrote. Raimondo wrote positively about Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign, but expressed support for

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran for ...

. Unlike

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...

and his son,

Rand The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

, however, Raimondo supported abortion: "The libertarian position is unequivocal: the mother has the absolute right to abortion, period." He was critical of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

's Cabinet choices as President along with the President himself. However, when Obama nominated former Nebraska U.S. Senator

Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy Hagel ( born October 4, 1946)U.S. Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The se ...

to succeed

Leon Panetta Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in several different public office positions, including Secretary of Defense, CIA Director, White House Chief of Staff, Director of the Office of ...

, Raimondo came out in support for Hagel. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, he voted for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

on the basis of his foreign policy.

Opinions

Major ideas and recurring themes

Raimondo argued in a 2003 Antiwar.com column that Israel exerts a dominant force in the formulation of American foreign policy. Raimondo also believed that the United States was led into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

through lies by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and that the U.S. deliberately provoked a war with Japan through economic sanctions. Raimondo's views were compared by

Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...

to those of

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

, whom Raimondo once described as an "American hero sprung from the heartland." Raimondo also wrote that Israeli intelligence operating in the U.S. had advance knowledge of the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

. Raimondo believed that the government should refrain from adopting laws that would prohibit discrimination against homosexuals. "I think gays should have the right to discriminate against straight people if they want", he said in 2003. He also opposed the legal recognition of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

and instead favored marriage privatization. Raimondo debated the issue of same-sex marriage with journalist

Jonathan Rauch Jonathan Charles Rauch (; born April 26, 1960) is an American author, journalist, and activist. After graduating from Yale University, Rauch worked at the ''Winston-Salem Journal'' in North Carolina, for ''National Journal'', and later for ''The ...

, who supports it. He also argued that after years of persecution by the state,

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

activists sought to "use the battering ram of government power" to actively intervene on behalf of homosexuals.

Religious views

Though raised a Catholic, Raimondo described himself as "not a believer."Pope John Paul II: Man of the Year
December 29, 2003 Raimondo further described his early interactions with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and a local

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in Yorktown Heights as being influential in his development, despite rejecting the notion of God. He described being "taken with their engagement with ideas" and discussions of philosophy, which he was lacking in traditional schools or from classmates at the time.

Death

Raimondo died of stage IV lung cancer on June 27, 2019, in

Sebastopol, California Sebastopol ( ) is a city in Sonoma County, in California with a recorded population of 7,521, per the 2020 U.S. Census. Sebastopol was once primarily a plum and apple-growing region. Today, wine grapes are the predominant agriculture crop, a ...

. He was survived by his husband, Yoshinori Abe, and two sisters.

Bibliography

Articles In addition to his thrice-weekly column for Antiwar.com, Raimondo was a regular contributor to ''

'' and ''

Chronicles magazine The Rockford Institute was an conservatism in the United States, American conservative think-tank associated with paleoconservatism, based in Rockford, Illinois. It ran the John Randolph Club and published the magazine ''Chronicles''. In early 201 ...

''. He formerly wrote twice-monthly columns for '' Taki's Top Drawer'', but ceased in 2009. Books * ''Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement''.

Center for Libertarian Studies The Center for Libertarian Studies (CLS) 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. That year, the conf ...

, 1993. Reissued by

Intercollegiate Studies Institute The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. It sponsors ...

in 2008 with new introduction by George W. Carey. . *
Into the Bosnian Quagmire: The Case Against U.S. Intervention in the Balkans
'. Burlingame, CA: America First Books-America First Political Action Committee, 1996. .
''Colin Powell and the Power Elite''.
Burlingame, CA: America First Books-America First Political Action Committee, 1996. . * ''An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard''. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2000. . * ''The Terror Enigma: 9/11 and the Israeli Connection''. iUniverse, November 2003. . Book contributions
"Gays and Lesbians Should Not be Given Special Rights".''Homosexuality''
edited by Helen Cothran. San Diego:

Greenhaven Press The Rosen Publishing Group is an American publisher for educational books for readers from ages pre-Kindergarten through grade 12. It was founded in 1950 under the name "Richards Rosen Press" and is located in New York City. The company changed i ...

, 2003, pp. 100–103. .
"The United States Should Not Intervene in Darfur".''Human Rights''.
Detroit:

, 2008, pp. 185–192. .
"America is Losing the War on Terror".''War''.
Detroit:

, 2014, pp. 135–141. .

References

External links

Raimondo Articles at AntiWar.com

Articles at American Conservative
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raimondo, Justin 1951 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century atheists 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century atheists Activists from New York (state) Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area American anti-war activists American atheists American columnists American foreign policy writers American male non-fiction writers American former Christians American male bloggers American bloggers American male journalists American online journalists American online publication editors American political journalists American political writers California Libertarians California Republicans Candidates in the 1980 United States elections Candidates in the 1982 United States elections Candidates in the 1996 United States elections Deaths from lung cancer in California Former Roman Catholics Gay politicians American gay writers Journalists from New York (state) LGBT conservatism in the United States American LGBT journalists LGBT people from California Libertarian theorists Non-interventionism American opinion journalists Paleoconservatism Paleolibertarianism Right-wing populism in the United States People from Westchester County, New York People from White Plains, New York Writers from New York (state) Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area