Craig Shirley
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Craig Paul Shirley (born September 24, 1956) is a conservative American political consultant and author of the 2011 New York Times bestseller "December 1941", as well as four books on
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
.


Life and career


Youth and education

Shirley is the second son of Edward Bruce Shirley and Barbara Cone Shirley. His father was a founding member of the New York State Conservative Party. In 1964 he went door to door with his parents campaigning for presidential candidate
Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...
. In 1978 Shirley graduated from
Springfield College Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...
in
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
, where he majored in history and political science.


Career

In the 1970s, he was on the staff of Senator
Jacob Javits Jacob Koppel Javits ( ; May 18, 1904 – March 7, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician. During his time in politics, he represented the state of New York in both houses of the United States Congress. A member of the Republican Party, he a ...
of New York, the John N. Dalton campaign for governor of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, and Senator
Gordon Humphrey Gordon John Humphrey (born October 9, 1940) is an American politician from New Hampshire who served two terms in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from 1979 to 1990, and twice ran for Governor of New Hampshire, though both bids were unsuccessful. E ...
of New Hampshire.
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
came into
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
to campaign for Humphrey, where Shirley first met Governor Reagan. In 1980, he ran an independent expenditure campaign in support of former
California governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
Ronald Reagan's presidential bid in the first six primary states on behalf of the Fund for a Conservative Majority. Shirley produced and placed radio and newspaper ads in
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
,
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and three other states maximizing the three quarters of a million dollars FCM budgeted for the campaign to help Reagan at a time when his campaign was short on funds. He joined the staff of the
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...
in 1982. During the 1984 presidential campaign, Shirley was the Director of Communications for the
National Conservative Political Action Committee The National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC; pronounced "nick-pack"), based in Alexandria, Virginia, was a New Right political action committee in the United States that was a major contributor to the ascendancy of conservative Repu ...
, America's largest independent
political committee Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
, which spent over $14 million on behalf of President Ronald Reagan's re-election. After the election, Shirley opened his own firm and worked on numerous matters in co-ordination with the Reagan White House including aid to the
Nicaraguan Contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 fol ...
, support for the Strategic Defensive Initiative, support for the
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
Mujahideen, support for
Jonas Savimbi Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (; 3 August 1934 – 22 February 2002) was an Angolan revolutionary politician and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). UNITA waged a guerrilla war agai ...
's
UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...
, and support for the
Tax Reform Act of 1986 The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA) was passed by the 99th United States Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on October 22, 1986. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was the top domestic priority of President Reagan's second term. The a ...
. He also worked on the White House Conference on Small Business in 1985. In 1986, he became a consultant to the Fund for America's Future, the political action committee of
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
. He worked on
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
's 1988 presidential bid. In 1991, Shirley ran a major advertising and public affairs campaign supporting President Bush and
Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
, later represented the Embassy of the State of
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
 and was placed in charge of public relations for an international conference on democracy hosted in Prague by President
Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...
of then
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
. For a short time, Shirley and David Keene partnered in a firm, but that association ended in 1992. During the 1990s, Shirley conceived and created Citizens for State Power, which represented small investor-owned utilities and they successfully stopped the attempts by
Enron Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. ...
to nationalize the electricity grid. In 2000, Craig Shirley & Associates became Shirley & Banister Public Affairs. In 2019 became Shirley & McVicker Public Affairs. Shirley is the acting chairman of the political action committee,
Citizens for the Republic Citizens for the Republic (CFTR) is an American political action committee founded in 1977 by Ronald Reagan, five months after he narrowly lost his bid for the 1976 Republican Party (GOP) presidential nomination to Gerald Ford The committee ...
. Shirley is former member of the Board of Governors of the Reagan Ranch and has lectured at the
Reagan Library The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is the repository of presidential records from the administration of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, and the burial place of the president and first lady, Nancy Reagan. It is the la ...
. He was chosen in 2005 by
Springfield College Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...
as their Outstanding Alumnus and has been named the Visiting Reagan Scholar at
Eureka College Eureka College is a private liberal arts college in Eureka, Illinois, that is related by covenant to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Enrollment in 2018 was approximately 567 students. Eureka College was the third college in the Unite ...
, Ronald Reagan's alma mater. He taught a weeklong class, "Reagan 101" at Eureka College in 2012. He was also appointed as a Trustee of Eureka. He is also a member of the school's Reagan Forward Advisory Council. He has lectured at the
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum holds the records of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States (1933–1945). Located on the grounds of Springwood, the Roosevelt family estate in Hyde Park, New ...
, Friends of Ronald Reagan (FORR) and
Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, often shortened to the Dole Institute, is a nonpartisan political institution located at the University of Kansas and founded by the former U.S. Senator from Kansas and 1996 Republican presidential cand ...
. He has also lectured at the Buckley Center at
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
, at
Larry Sabato Larry Joseph Sabato (; born August 7, 1952) is an American political scientist and political analyst. He is the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, where he is also the founder and director of the Center for Po ...
's Center for Politics at UVA, at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
, at
Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists. Its missio ...
, at
Regent University Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University, and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offers ...
, and the
Miller Center of Public Affairs The Miller Center is a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in United States presidential scholarship, public policy, and political history. History The Miller Center was founded in 1975 through the philanthrop ...
. He has also addressed the Ronald Reagan Lecture Series in Los Angeles in 2017. His book ''December 1941: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World'' (2011), was nominated for the 2011 Book of the Year Award by ''Foreword Reviews'' magazine, a $499 pay-for-review "
vanity award A vanity award is an award in which the recipient purchases the award and/or marketing services to give the false appearance of a legitimate honor. Pitches for ''Who's Who''-type publications (see vanity press), biographies or nominations for award ...
" service. His book, ''Last Act'', was named best narrative in the non-fiction category by
USA Book News A vanity award is an award in which the recipient purchases the award and/or marketing services to give the false appearance of a legitimate honor. Pitches for '' Who's Who''-type publications (see vanity press), biographies or nominations for awar ...
for 2015.


Books

* ''Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All'' (Thomas Nelson, 2005) * ''Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America'' (
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 ...
, 2009) * ''December 1941: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World'' (Thomas Nelson, 2011) * ''Last Act: The Final Years and Emerging Legacy of Ronald Reagan'' (Thomas Nelson, 2015) * ''Reagan Rising: The Decisive Years, 1976-1980'' (HarperCollins, 2017) * ''Citizen Newt: The Making of a Reagan Conservative'' (Thomas Nelson, 2017) * ''Mary Ball Washington: The Untold Story of George Washington's Mother'' (Harper Collins 2019) * ''April 1945: The Hinge of History'' (Thomas Nelson, 2022)


Personal life

Shirley is the founder of the Ft. Hunt Youth Lacrosse Program and was a coach there for 14 years.


References


External links


Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, Craig 1956 births Living people American political consultants Writers from Syracuse, New York Springfield College (Massachusetts) alumni Writers from New York City People from Lancaster County, Virginia New York (state) Republicans Virginia Republicans Barry Goldwater Ronald Reagan