Loading AI tools
American political analyst (1948–2012) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anthony David Blankley (January 21, 1948 – January 7, 2012) was an American political analyst who served as press secretary for Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and as a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group. He later became an executive vice president at Edelman, a Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm.[6]
Tony Blankley | |
---|---|
Born | London, England | January 21, 1948
Died | January 7, 2012 63) Washington, D.C., U.S. | (aged
Nationality | American |
Education | UCLA, B.S. (political science) Loyola Marymount University, J.D. University of London, international law certificate |
Alma mater | Fairfax High School (Los Angeles)[1] |
Occupation(s) | Public relations executive, newspaper editor, television commentator, radio commentator, prosecutor, child actor |
Notable work | The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? (2005) American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century (2009) |
Spouse | Lynda Davis c. 1985–2012 (his death) |
Children | 3 |
Notes | |
He was a visiting senior fellow in national security communications at The Heritage Foundation and[7] a weekly contributor to the nationally syndicated public radio programme Left, Right & Center,[8] author of The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? and American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century.[9] From 2002 to 2009, he served as editorial page editor at The Washington Times.[10]
Blankley was born in London, England, on January 21, 1948. He was a child actor briefly, appearing as Rod Steiger's son in The Harder They Fall, starring Humphrey Bogart and released in 1956.[11] The movie was, as Blankley liked to joke, both his and his co-star Bogart's last movie.[12][13]
He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles,[14] and then Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, where he earned a J.D.[15] He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1972.[16]
Blankley spent ten years as a deputy attorney general with the California attorney general's office.[14]
He then served in the Reagan administration as a policy analyst and speechwriter,[15] and was a staff writer for Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler.[17] He then served for seven years as press secretary to House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
From 2002 to 2009, Blankley was an editorial page editor for The Washington Times,[18] a contributing editor and monthly columnist for George magazine,[19] and a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group. He was a regular commentator for radio shows, including The Diane Rehm Show,[20] Left, Right & Center,[21] and The Steve Gill Show with a segment titled Fill In the Blanks.[22]
In 2006, he authored a book, The West's Last Chance, in which he argued that, "Within our lifetimes, Europe could become Eurabia, a continent overwhelmed by militant Islam, which poses a greater threat to the United States than Nazi Germany did."[23]
He lectured at universities and institutes. On November 19, 2009, he presented his lecture, A Year out from the 2010 Congressional Elections – National Politics, Policy and their Communication, at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.[24]
His political opinions were considered to fall within traditional conservatism, although he was labeled as a neoconservative by some critics. He denied that label, claiming that his views are more comparable to a classic conservative such as Ronald Reagan.[25][26]
Blankley died of stomach cancer at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., on January 7, 2012, at age 63.[2][12][27]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.