The Life and Death of the American Spectator

The Atlantic Monthly ^ | November, 2001 | Byron York

[Interesting Times]

Thanks Luis... that's a very enlightening article.

By the way, it was great to have the chance to meet you in Ft. Lauderdale.

FRegards,
I.T.

[JohnGalt]

I agree about York's talents as an investigator and frankly, as an unbiased journalist.

I loved the Spectator of the '90s and welcome the 'new.'

[Timesink]

TAS wasn't destroyed by hubris, it was destroyed by Clinton and his barking seals at Salon.com.

Salon couldn't destroy a roll of wet single-ply toilet paper. TAS lost tons of subscribers in the late 90s because they lost their focus, and combined it with one of the worst redesigns in magazine history.

[afraidfortherepublic]

How sad. I have a feeling that much of the cause of The Spectator's demise was its association with David Brock, the self-confessed liar. ("When you lie down with a dog, expect to get up with fleas.") Beacuse Brock stretched the truth, embellished his stories, and outright lied and then chortled about it afterwards to the press -- he damaged the credibility of the whole magazine.

Thanks for the ping.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Our aim was to promote beer drinking on campus.

This needs promotion? Who'd a thunk!

[snopercod]

FS: This article might interest you.

Luis: Thanks for the flag. But how were you able to post an article of this length all in one piece? I guess the new forum software has changed?

I also found it curious that apparently you flagged me in post #49, although my screen name doesn't appear in the header of that post. IOW, if I use a CNTL-f function in my browser to find my screen name within this thread, it comes up "not found".

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Thanks for the heads up, Luis. Old conservatives never die, they find another outlet for their collected wisdom and experience. There's a serious need for conservative Profs. at Universities, the lecture circuit...heck, even CNN is shopping for conservatives because of FoxNews and talk radio is booming.

American Spectator was the right magazine for the Clinton years, their investigative pieces made a difference. The conservative counter-culture is blossoming with newly awakened Sheeple and gen-Xers, homeschooled kids and Veterans ....proud fellow members of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. (^:

[Rome2000]

My subscription ran out last month and for the first time in 8 years I didn't renew.

I didn't recognize the thing, I thought to myself "why would a conservative magazine so radically change in such a short period of time from the best to something basically unreadable".

Thanks to your post, I now know why. I just received my last copy in the mail about 10 days ago. It's a sad thing, but I'm sure Tyrell and company will start something new.

[joebuck]

Actually, I think much of the reason for TAS's demise was the internet. During the 80's and most of the 90's, if you wanted to read good conservative journalism and commentary you basically had TAS and The Natioal Review. Once the Internet really got going in the late 90's it was goldmine of good conservative writing and re-printing of conservative articles. One no longer really needed TAS to satisfy their need for conservative prose to read. In fact, Free Republic is an excellent example of this. I know I subscribed to TAS from the early 80's until about 1998. When they called and asked why I hadn't renewed my subscription, the reason I gave was the internet. The only thing I really missed from the Spectator was Ben Stein's diary. It is sad to see it go, though.

[IronJack]

The death of the Spectator isn't particularly surprising, although it is a loss. For some odd reason, the magazine just seemed to have lost its soul in recent years. Maybe the vitriol it expended on Bill Clinton splashed back on it. Maybe the loss of Bill Clinton dampened a dwindling fire. But it was only a shadow of its former self, and like a weary old pet, it's sometimes best to let it go.

[rdavis84]

Re; Mena

"Instead, you have to rely on verbal testimony, hearsay evidence, and looney conspiracy theory, all spun by some of the flakiest people on Earth."

Very objective and Fact Filled.

Now, why don't you tell us how looney and flakey Bill Duncan, Russell Welch, and all of the Bank Employees, Airport employees, other Police Officers that were not allowed to give their EVIDENCE and Flakey Stories to the Grand Jury that Asa Hutchinson controlled?

[Cincinatus]

ROFL!!! I just knew the tin-foil brigade would show up sooner or later to whine about the great conspiracy!! Go ahead -- shower us all with links to your FReep threads "proving" the great Mena cover-up!! After all, this is the Number 1 plot of the New World Order, isn't it??

[rdavis84]

Yep, that American Spectator was just Loaded with KooKs, huh?

BTW, part of the reason they're done in is because the Republican participation in the corruption in this area was just as significant as the Dems.

Jim Adams was chasing the land fraud/bank fraud going on in the area when we met. He was sick about what he was finding.

Lots o' Luck to you, pal. Vote for your favorite Repub Criminal. They're the same as the Dem Criminals, except smarter. :-)

[murdoog]

Laetitia Casta on the cover of conservative journal??? In full lingerie and angel wings, no less. Give me a break! Gee, I kinda liked that cover. :)

[Cincinatus]

that American Spectator was just Loaded with KooKs, huh?

Nope. Just this site, it seems.

How's your boy (Der Fuhrer) doing in the race for Prez, '04? Has he cracked the 0.5% barrier yet? Har!

[murdoog]

Lots o' Luck to you, pal. Vote for your favorite Repub Criminal. They're the same as the Dem Criminals, except smarter. :-)

Well one difference between Republicans and Democrats is that corrupt Republicans are more likely to own up to what they have done wrong and resign. Bob Livingston comes to mind.

And Republicans are better at cleaning their own house than Democrats. I don't recall any Democrats going to the White House and asking Clinton to resign (as some Republicans did with Nixon.)

[Cincinatus]

TAS then and TAS now:

I'll grant you it has a certain "visual" appeal. But this is the voice of modern conservatism??

[rdavis84]

"Nope. Just this site, it seems."

TAS did some great work on jr. and daddy bush if you recall. Want me to refresh your memory? It's no trouble, really.

[Cincinatus]

Oh, by all means -- knock yourself out. I know that you're just dying to!!

Don't forget to include all those "Illuminati", Skull and Bones, and NWO links too! I'll go make some popcorn!! :-)

[backhoe]

I'm surely sorry to hear this... the Spectator was a long-time companion, dropped reluctantly a few years ago when money became dear & I dropped all print subscriptions.

I'll bookmark this to read more carefully- the AS covered a great period of living for me, from before the Reagan years, through the loss of my first wife, a lot of good & bad after that- and it was a voice in the wilderness when the clinton slime poured over America.

I will miss the old Spectator....