Debra J. Saunders is an American syndicated columnist and fellow with the Discovery Institute's Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership. Her column is syndicated by

Creators Syndicate Creators Syndicate (also known as Creators) is an American independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns to daily newspapers, websites, and other digital outlets. When founded in 1987, Creators Syndicate became one of the few suc ...

and is carried by newspapers in the United States. Saunders served as the

White House correspondent The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...

for the '' Las Vegas Review-Journal'' during former President Donald J. Trump's term and in the early weeks of President Joe Biden's administration.

Biography

Saunders graduated in 1980 from the

University of Massachusetts at Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Massac ...

. She majored in Greek and Latin. In 1992, she became an opinion-page columnist for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

,'' also syndicated by Creators. She later augmented her thrice-weekly columns with the Token Conservative blog, before leaving the paper in 2016. Between 1987 and 1992, Saunders was a columnist and editorial writer for the '' Los Angeles Daily News''. She previously worked for conservative

advocacy groups Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...

and for a Republican leader of the California State Assembly. In addition to her columns, Saunders has written for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' and ''The Weekly Standard". She is the author of one book, ''The World According to Gore'' (). Saunders is married to Wesley J. Smith.

Views

In 2006, Saunders wrote articles opposing the

War on Drugs The war on drugs is a global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States.Cockburn and St. Clair, 1 ...

. She campaigned in her column for President Bush to issue more pardons and sentence commutations. Saunders voted against Proposition 22 in 2000. In 2004, Saunders wrote in support of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. She was critical of the California Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage.City Hall of Love
Debra Saunders, May 16, 2008 In 2007, she wrote an article that criticized the imprisoned freelance journalist

Josh Wolf Josh Wolf or Josh Wolfe may refer to: * Josh Wolf (journalist) (born 1982), journalist and documentary filmmaker, video blogger * Josh Wolf (comedian) (born 2020), American stand-up comedian, actor and writer * Josh Wolfe, founder of Lux Capital * ...

, although she opposed his imprisonment. In 2007 Saunders described herself as a

climate change skeptic Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or th ...

. In 2011, she wrote about the comic character '' Foreskin Man'', which was being used to promote a ballot initiative to ban

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Top ...

in San Francisco.Circumcision ballot measure and anti-Semitism
Debra Saunders, June 2, 2011

References

External links

Token ConservativePodcasts of Saunders' recent articles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Debra 1954 births Living people American columnists National Review people University of Massachusetts Boston alumni