Posted on 09/20/2009 7:15:20 PM PDT by Ooh-Ah
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"Irving Kristol was an intellectual giant who played a major role in developing the anti-communist arguments that led to the defeat of the Soviet Union," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told The Washington Times. ...
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Known as the godfather of neoconservatism, Mr. Kristol was a youthful radical who went from embracing communism in his 20s to attacking it publicly in his 30s.
In subsequent years, he became an equally forceful advocate of free-market economics, including the supply-side tax cuts enacted during the Reagan administration and dismantling much of the so-called welfare state.
Neoconservatism was a label originally bestowed on Mr. Kristol in a 1973 essay by socialist organizer and writer Michael Harrington about former leftists who had moved to the right.
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Mr. Kristol will probably best be remembered for his quip that "neoconservatives" are former liberals like himself who were "mugged by reality." Perhaps his greatest legacy was the vital role he played in shaping the intellectual force of former President Ronald Reagan's two defining issues: defeating the "evil empire" and strengthening America through supply-side tax cuts.
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"Our Republican 'Contract With America' in 1994 was in many ways built on Kristol's insights," Mr. Gingrich said.
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Just as he saw defeating the Soviet Union as a moral imperative for securing the homeland, Mr. Kristol believed that fostering prosperity was critical.
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He also left a notable legacy, having played a direct role in shaping the policies that defeated communism, overhauled the welfare state and ushered in an unprecedented period of prosperity in American history.
"Irving's love of ideas, zest for life, and enthusiasm for solid passionate arguments never waned," Mr. Gingrich said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
This guy is becoming the Free Republic version of Michael Jackson. To be honest with you, I hadn’t heard of him before the last week, and I think his influence in politics is much overstated. I have read his supposedly famous quotes over and over and they are not all that great. Can we please stop with all the Kristol threads?
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