Conservative Voices: Russell Kirk to Charlie Kirk

Recently I gave a talk to a conservative grassroots group on the subject of this article. When I started my talk, I asked my audience: “How many of you are familiar with Russell Kirk?” About two or three hands went up (of about 30 people). Then I asked: “How many of you are familiar with Charlie Kirk?” Almost the entire room put their hands up. I think they all did.

I knew I was on to something with the title of this talk. I’m going to name a lot of other people too, but I partly formed this title because, let’s be honest, I thought it would be cute to go from “Kirk to Kirk.” But I also I do think both of these Kirks (unrelated) are hugely influential for different reasons and what I’m hoping to do is illuminate some of the important conservative voices since the conservative movement in America started in the 1950s (during the time of Russell Kirk) and voices of some of the influential young people who have recently arrived on the scene (like Charlie Kirk).

What I want to make clear from the beginning is that in no way am I equating any of the people; I am also not elevating one or the other; nor am I saying somehow the movement has evolved or devolved. What I am hoping to showcase here are the important, influential conservative voices in our country since the conservative movement started in the 1950s.

We live in a culture that often times seems dominated by voices of the Left. Everywhere we look, in our schools, on our college campuses, in the media, and in Hollywood, the predominant voices tend to be those who are antithetical to conservative viewpoints.

So, I should probably define what American conservatism means, in my view. Conservatives first and foremost are conserving our founding principles of limited government, the separation of powers, and federalism. We hold a strict constructionist view of the U.S. Constitution. We are people of many faiths, but we adhere to the traditional Judeo-Christian worldview; we believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And we believe that that pursuit is best when we have an open market where we are free to pursue our dreams as we dictate them, not as government does. That’s part of what makes America unique and exceptional. It’s why we are the land of immigrants; and for me, it’s why my dad and grandparents came here from Cuba.

We Americans are a patriotic people and there may not have been a more patriotic moment than when our boys landed on the shores of Normandy on June 6, 1944 to help our allies liberate Europe from the Nazis.

But in 1944, as our men were storming the beaches of Normandy, there was no real organized conservative movement in America.

That very same year, the Austrian economist F.A. Hayek published The Road to Serfdom. In that book, he warned that democratic nations could vote their way towards tyranny. He traced how this happened in Germany and made the case that tyranny is what inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning. While the United States and the United Kingdom were on the precipice of winning the war against Hitler’s Germany, Hayek was warning about what could result domestically if countries like ours continued on the path to socialism, a path that many of the New Deal programs of the 1930s and 1940s seemed to be taking us on. Hayek’s book was actually very widely read in the United States in the late 1940s, as an abridged version of it was published in Reader’s Digest in 1945.

In 1953, the conservative movement in America got a name when Russell Kirk published The Conservative Mind. In the book, Kirk quotes an American liberal, Lionel Trilling, who wrote that “liberalism is not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition” in America. “For it is the plain fact that nowadays there are no conservative or reactionary ideas in general circulation … the conservative impulse and the reactionary impulse do not … express themselves in ideas but only in irritable mental gestures which seek to resemble ideas.”

The project Kirk embarked upon in this work was to construct a genealogy of conservative ideas that had an intellectual tradition in America. Kirk takes us through a history of politicians, preachers, poets, and many other writers and constructs principles that define conservatism, while emphasizing that conservatism was not an ideology (as ideologies are what led the world into the first and second world wars) but that conservatism was rather the negation of ideology. It was more pragmatic and had an emphasis on history and tradition.

In 1955, William F. Buckley Jr. started National Review, where he used the magazine as a platform to explain how conservatives thought on various issues. He brought together many contrasting viewpoints, including those who described themselves as classical liberals, libertarians, traditional conservatives, and cold warriors. He even had many former communists writing for National Review, such as Frank Meyer and Whittaker Chambers. Buckley became a force over the next half-century and the writings in National Review came together to construct a movement of many different parts.

I would suggest that the post-war era of the 1950s and 1960s embodied the rise of the intellectual class of American conservatism. This included Kirk, Hayek, Buckley, and so many others. Institutions were being formed. But could their ideas take root politically?

In 1964, Buckley, National Review and the early legions of the conservative movement actively supported Senator Barry Goldwater in his bid for the White House. While Goldwater did not win, he popularized conservative viewpoints at the political level and inspired many others. He published a book, ghost written by Buckley’s brother-in-law, Brent Bozell, called The Conscience of a Conservative. In the waning days of Goldwater’s campaign, a washed-up actor from California was called upon to give a speech in support of the Senator that become known as “A Time for Choosing.” That actor was Ronald Reagan, who went on two years later to become elected Governor of California.

But a year before Reagan won that Governor’s election, in 1965, Buckley ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of New York City. Thanks to a newspaper strike that year in NYC, there were many televised debates. Some in the television industry saw something very charismatic in Buckley during those debates. And in 1966, Buckley started his own show, Firing Line. That show ran for 33 years and remains the longest-running public affairs show by the same host in television history. During that time, Buckley brought on just about every major figure in American public life (not just those in politics). And, most importantly, he brought conservative ideas into every American household during a time when there were only a handful of television channels and programs to choose from. Buckley made being a conservative popular. Today, most of the programs can be found on YouTube, giving the next generation the opportunity to continue to watch and learn from the master.

The campaigns of Goldwater and Buckley tapped into something and that something was best captured in the political sphere by Ronald Reagan, who later won the White House in 1980. The intellectuals and the activists who formed the conservative movement in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, took a foothold in the Reagan Administration, unleashing a decade of economic prosperity, winning the Cold War against the Soviets, and dare I say, Making America Great Again.

A few years before Reagan took office, the “Iron Lady” across the pond was making waves for conservatism in England. When Reagan took office, he and Margaret Thatcher formed a transatlantic alliance that spoke about defeating big government at home and communism abroad. Reagan had many great young speechwriters such as Peggy Noonan who went on to become a longtime columnist in The Wall Street Journal, where many other conservative voices have also been found over the years.

During the 70s and 80s, conservative (and libertarian) intellectuals came on the scene in a popular way. Milton Friedman perhaps being one of the most influential, with his Free to Choose book and series of television interviews, including a very famous one on The Phil Donahue Show. From this, spawned more libertarian intellectuals such as Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell, who gained footholds in academia and reached a wider audience through syndicated columns and media appearances.

Perhaps the most popular voice in all of syndicated print media was George Will. While he began his journalism career with National Review in the 1970s, he joined the Washington Post in 1974 and his weekly columns were syndicated in virtually every major American newspaper in this country for over three decades. The Wall Street Journal called him “perhaps the most powerful journalist in America.” Note they didn’t say just a conservative journalist. What they were saying, essentially, was that a conservative was the most powerful journalist of them all. George Will was the voice of a generation, not only in print, but he also provided commentary on NBC, MSNBC, and many other networks. He was everywhere.

Another giant conservative name in media was Bob Novak. He played a significant role in the early days of CNN, with perhaps his most notable role as a co-host of Crossfire as well as with the Capital Gang. It’s interesting to note that early in his career he was more moderate, maybe even a little liberal, but his views began to shift rightward over time. And in his later, more influential years, no one wanted to be caught in the crossfire of his conservative viewpoints.

But the biggest conservative name in media for the past 30 years has to be Rush Limbaugh. His radio program has been the number one commercial talk show since at least 1987, when record keeping began. He has about 15 million unique weekly listeners. It’s crazy to think about how much Rush has been talking. For more than 30 years he has had a radio program that goes on five days a week, for three hours per day. And he almost never has any guests – except on “open-line Friday.” Rush not only dominates the radio waves, but his style has turned the medium of talk radio itself into a conservative bastion. Many figures have followed in his footsteps: Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, Hugh Hewitt and many local radio hosts across the country.

Conservatives have mostly been shut out of the mainstream media over the years, but like Rush, some created alternative media spaces. Look at what Andrew Breitbart did. Many people don’t realize this, but Andrew Breitbart actually helped both Matt Drudge and Arianna Huffington in the early days of the blogosphere – without Andrew Breitbart, the Drudge Report and the Huffington Post may not exist or be as successful as they have been. Then, he created Breibart.com, which was a place that published alternative news stories that weren’t getting published elsewhere. Some years later, a young investigative journalist was connected to Andrew Breitbart when he captured recorded video of ACORN employees agreeing to do some illegal and nefarious things. Andrew told the young James O’Keefe that his videos would not only expose ACORN, but also the media. He taught James the tactics that he uses today at Project Veritas, but Breitbart also used those ACORN videos as the very first news story that would launch BigGovernment.com.

Some conservatives have found success in mainstream media, but mostly it was after they were given platforms at places like National Review, The Weekly Standard, and Breitbart. And with the advent of Fox News, created by businessmen like Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes, many conservative journalists and commentators became household names – they include people like Charles Krauthammer and Jonah Goldberg. Fox News has become such a big platform that today the network has a mix of conservative intellectuals, pundits, entertainers, and let’s face it, super models. While Bill O’Reilly has faced recent scandals, it’s important to note that for about a decade his show was by far the most popular show of all the cable networks, giving voices to many conservative viewpoints and guests over the years.

Activists have also played defining roles in the conservative movement. Perhaps one of the most influential conservative activists of the past half-century was Phyllis Schlafly. In the face of the rising tide of radical feminism, Schlafly stood up for traditional conservative values, against abortion, and she led the successful victory against the Equal Rights Amendment. Her success also awakened religious and social conservatives in the decades that followed.

Conservative institutions of all kinds have been formed, adding many more conservative voices. When Buckley started National Review, there were only a handful of conservative organizations and many would not have used the word conservative to define themselves then.

We have seen the likes of the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and the Leadership Institute. There are today, free-market think tanks in every state in the country, all connected through the State Policy Network. And there are many, many local institutions championing conservative principles.

So, given where we are today with all of these institutions in place, who are the major leading voices for the conservative movement today and who will lead us into the future? There’s a few who I’d like to point out.

There may be no better voice for how we can best articulate conservative principles than Arthur Brooks. He has led AEI for the past decade. He has taught in academia, where he is now returning. And he also has a successful podcast and has done hundreds (if not thousands) of speaking appearances across the country and the world. He has encouraged conservatives to define policy successes by how they help the poor and to remind the world that nothing has lifted more people out of poverty so fast than capitalism and the free market. In his lifetime of just the past 50 years, more than 2 billion people have been lifted out of poverty because of capitalism.

I can attest to the success of the message by Arthur Brooks. A few years ago, while at a policy summit, a very established moderately liberal man who has spent many decades in politics and policy told me after he watched Arthur Brooks’ speech: “If more conservatives spoke like that, I might just be a conservative.” Arthur Brooks spoke with empathy for the plight of the poor and made a persuasive argument for why conservative policies can best help people. He took the idea of Kirk’s The Conservative Mind and added a new touch with his book, The Conservative Heart.

National Review also still carries a load of talent that would make Bill Buckley proud: voices like Victor Davis Hanson, David French, Andrew McCarthy, Ramesh Ponnuru, Kevin Williamson, and Charles Cooke are not only are read by millions of people each month in print and online, but they also take their conservative viewpoints into all sorts of venues including Meet the Press, Face the Nation, Real Time With Bill Maher, and Morning Joe.

While the current editor of National Review, Rich Lowry, is also still quite young, he has led the magazine for the past 25 years. A few years ago, he tapped Charles C.W. Cooke to be the editor of National Review Online, which has tens of millions of hits every month. Charles also recently put out a book in 2015 titled The Conservatarian Manifesto which blends together conservative and libertarian ideas, with a strong emphasis on returning power back to the states, putting a modern twist on the traditional conservative view of federalism. I believe Charlie has set a strong intellectual framework for the future of the movement’s ideas. He is also an immigrant from England who now makes his home in Florida, as a newly minted American citizen.  

Ben Shapiro is not only a major voice for young conservatives today, he is one of the most popular voices on the web, period. He is one of the most popular voices on YouTube, period. And his podcast, has at times been the #1 podcast on the web, almost always ranking in the top 10 each week for the past two years. Ben sits down with everyone and anyone and it’s hard for me to go a single week without hearing about him (from people who aren’t necessarily political) or hear about who he sat down with this week on his Sunday special. I have also figured out what makes Ben Shapiro popular besides his talented communication skills. He’s honest. He’s transparent. He calls balls and strikes. He holds people on the Right just as accountable as he holds those on the Left. And I think young people today are not wedded to a political party or a political movement. They gravitate towards people who are honest and present good ideas and solutions. Ben does that.

Candace Owens has also arrived on the scene as a major voice. Candace has not come out of the conservative movement. She is a young black woman who started making her voice heard on YouTube. She was discovered by some in the movement and elevated to a position with TurningPoint USA, where she was given a bigger platform. She started talking and tweeting about how Democrats have not helped black people advance. And then came the tweet by Kanye West: “I love how Candace Owens thinks,” which not only blew her up, but blew up the internet.

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Today, Candace has a talk show she hosts on the Prager University platform, where she brings in all sorts of people from politicians to celebrities in Hollywood. From my limited experience observing Candace, I would guess that she is not very well read from the conservative canon – and sometimes she fumbles with historical facts. This has frustrated some conservatives in the movement. But here’s why I think she’s important: Over the past 75 years of American history, the conservative movement hasn’t moved the black vote one single percent. Perhaps we need someone (like Candace) who comes from the black community and speaks their language better than any conservative has tried to so far. I hope she succeeds.

Charlie Kirk is the one gave Candace Owens that platform at TurningPoint USA (TPUSA). Charlie decided not to go to college and instead, at the age of 19, started TPUSA, bringing in a new wave of young college activists across the country who were fed up with the leftist control of academia and media. Ever since Buckley wrote God and Man at Yale in 1951, conservatives have been trying to reform the academy. Many conservative organizations through the years have had an influence on college campuses: the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Young Americans for Freedom, Young America’s Foundation, the Leadership Institute, and so many others.

Charlie and TPUSA are the latest and perhaps the biggest force of them all. Charlie has been recognized by President Trump as one of the young leaders of the rising generation as he brings the voices of young people directly to the administration. And he is only 25 years old today. Time will tell if he truly embodies the future of this movement. But it’s hard to argue that any conservative his age or younger is more influential than he is at his age and so this article ends with Charlie Kirk as the last man standing in the current genealogy of conservative voices that I can possibly present today.

I met Charlie six years ago and I now serve on TPUSA’s Advisory Council. I’ve seen him speak on college campuses and I’ve listened to his podcast. I’ve also studied Buckley quite a bit; and Charlie has a little bit of Buckley in him. He’s not the intellectual (in terms of the author of many books) that Buckley was. But in terms of his ability to speak, respond quickly in debates, the way he organizes, activates, and inspires, there’s just that spark that Buckley would appreciate. As someone who works in philanthropy for the conservative movement, not a week goes by that I meet donors who ask me if I know Charlie Kirk or what I think about him. They adore him.

Charlie has formed a close relationship with President Trump; it’s different than the relationship between Buckley and Goldwater, but it’s not that much different. If things keep going well for Trump, it could help elevate Charlie. However, it could also backfire if Trump doesn’t remain a popular figure in the American consciousness. Time will tell. For now, we have to simply admire the organization and platform Charlie has built for TPUSA and himself and the message he espouses on media, social media, and on his own podcast.

There are some readers, I’m sure, who might be critical of my view of Charlie’s future role as a leader of the rising generation of this movement – or simply critical of the title I gave this article: from Russell Kirk to Charlie Kirk.

Here’s my response. Charlie doesn’t need to be the intellectual that Russell Kirk was. Charlie has the ability to read Kirk. He doesn’t need to start a magazine like National Review. He can read it. He doesn’t need to have the brain of Rush Limbaugh – he grew up listening to Rush. Charlie often introduces his own philosophy as that of a “conservatarian,” showing the influence conservative intellectuals (like Charles C.W. Cooke) are having on him.

Charlie Kirk – and the rest of us – stand on the shoulders of all the giants that came before him. And he’s taking that message out to the campuses and out to young people, speaking in their language, their voice, and helping all of those conservative voices before him, reach into that next generation. I’ve been to some TPUSA conferences. Charlie includes all sorts of conservative voices, even those who might be critical of Trump from a conservative perspective; he also has thousands of students activated and energized and has gone back to the traditional role of the conservative activist: registering voters, while at the same time using pop culture images and platforms like Instagram to reach young people in new ways.

We as conservatives are often pessimistic. Maybe that’s the nature of conservatism. It’s reactionary. We also often complain that we are outnumbered in Hollywood, the media, in academy, and in all the cultural power centers. But look at the history I just walked through. I mentioned a lot of big names. A lot of big voices. People who are not just voices to you and me but are in many ways popular cultural figures that play on our car stereos, who are watched on television and online. Some have dominated their industries and the spaces they occupy.

Conservatives have a voice. We have lots of them. And your role is to be a voice in your corner of the world, to shine a light for someone else, so that we may continue to add more voices to our cause.

This article was simply my way of expressing my voice.