James Kirchick

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James Kirchick (born 1983) is an American journalist and political commentator.^[1] Kirchick grew up in the Boston suburbs and is a 2006 graduate of Yale University. ^[2] ^[3]

Kirchick began to attract national attention in 2003 when, as a Yale University freshman, he co-authored an article for FrontPage Magazine sharply critical of specific anti-war professors who, along with the University chaplain, spoke at a campus "teach-in" event. The authors wrote:

On the evening of the historic day that Baghdad fell, Yale held a forum of professorial invective against the statesmanship that brought it about. Without skipping a beat, Yale’s anti-war professors, who yesterday claimed to oppose war in the interests of the Iraqi people, have now moved on to expressing lunatic conspiracy theories... While pro-war students have been vindicated by the liberation of Iraq and were rightfully ebullient on Wednesday, a common trope of the professors and their sycophantic followers in the student body was that a quick and easy military operation in Iraq should not be equated with a victory in the war. On one of the most momentous days for America since September 11, few positive comments about our military victory were heard from the faculty panel.^[4]

When a Yale political science professor alluded to Kirchick's piece as "neo-Stalinism," Kirchick was featured on Joe Scarborough's MSNBC show and his case widely discussed in a host of other media outlets.^[5]

Kirchick's political views and commentary have not fit neatly into any particular box, though his tone is often biting and strident. Although he once canvassed for Ralph Nader and (in a 2006 Wall Street Journal article) identified himself as a "liberal Democrat"^[6], he has also called himself a "conservative," "libertarian," and "recovering leftist."^[7] Kirchick's writings since 2002 have been deeply opposed to Yale's unions and SEIU,^[8]^[9] liberal feminists,^[10] proponents of diversity,^[11] anti-war professors,^[12] "queer" activists (though Kirchick is openly gay),^[13] and opponents of the Iraq War.^[14]^[15] His articles frequently defended Yale University and the State of Israel. ^[16] ^[17] Kirchick criticized campus feminists and gays who called American society intolerant but would not criticize the “misogynistic and homophobic regimes” of the Taliban,” mocking them for prioritizing " other concerns such as single-sex bathrooms and fraternities," ^[18] ^[19] advocated for a return of ROTC and military recruitment on campus, ^[20] ^[21] asserted “the right of Israel to defend itself against annihilation,” ^[22] criticized what he considered the "far-left atmosphere" of the campus for “applauding falsehoods” following a speech by poet Amiri Baraka hosted by the Yale African American Cultural Center, ^[23] and failing to defend liberal values of individual rights. He has also criticized what he claims are attempts by the far left to stifle public debate on campus and in the country generally. ^[24] ^[25]. He was among the first to refer to former member of the Weather Underground and professor Bill Ayers as an "unrepentant terrorist" - in a piece attacking Ayer's adopted son (and classmate)^[26] - two years before the phrase became a catchphrase in a 2008 presidential election controversy. [1]

His subsequent writing places him more firmly in the neoconservative camp, contributing to venues such as Commentary and The Weekly Standard. Here his writing has largely consisted of outspoken criticism of liberal or left-wing public figures and groups along with advocacy of an interventionist U.S. foreign policy, including support for the Iraq War.^[27] He has also criticized American paleoconservatives such as Patrick Buchanan and libertarian Ron Paul.

Kirchick is an assistant editor of The New Republic and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. He has worked as a reporter for the New York Daily News, The New York Sun and The Hill and has written for magazines including The Advocate, The Weekly Standard, The Boston Globe Magazine and Doublethink as well as The Wall Street Journal Europe, International Herald Tribune, The Jerusalem Post, USA Today, The Boston Herald, National Post of Canada and other publications.. His writing has appeared in He is a member of the Independent Gay Forum. ^[28]

Kirchick sometimes publishes under his nickname Jamie.

[edit] Awards

2006 National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Excellence in Student Journalism 2007
Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Journalist of the Year