Anthony David Blankley (January 21, 1948 – January 7, 2012) was an American political analyst who gained fame as the

press secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dut ...

for Newt Gingrich, the first Republican Speaker of the House in forty years, and as a regular panelist on ''

The McLaughlin Group ''The McLaughlin Group'' was a syndicated half-hour weekly public affairs television program in the United States, during which a group of four pundits, prompted by the host, discusses current political issues in a round table format. John ...

''. He later became an Executive Vice President with

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public relations in Washington, D.C. He was a Visiting Senior Fellow in National-Security Communications at the

Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (abbreviated to Heritage) is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that is primarily geared toward public policy. The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the preside ...

, a weekly contributor to the nationally syndicated public radio programme '' Left, Right & Center'', the 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''. He served as the editorial page editor for ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughou ...

'' from 2002–2009.

Early life

Blankley was briefly a child actor appearing, most notably, as Rod Steiger's son in '' The Harder They Fall'' (1956). The movie was, as Blankley liked to joke, both his and his co-star Humphrey Bogart's last movie. He graduated from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and

Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...

(Los Angeles), earning a J.D. He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1972.

Career

Prior to his career on Capitol Hill, Blankley served President Ronald Reagan as a policy analyst and speechwriter, and was a staff writer for Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler. Before coming to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, he spent 10 years as a

Deputy Attorney General The Deputy Attorney General (DAG) is the second-highest-ranking official in a department of justice or of law, in various governments of the world. In those governments, the deputy attorney general oversees the day-to-day operation of the departme ...

with the

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...

's office. His political opinions were generally considered to fall within

traditional conservatism Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain natural laws to which society should adhere ...

although he was labeled as a

neoconservative Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and count ...

by some critics. He denied that label, claiming that his views are more comparable to a classic conservative such as Reagan. His political career spanned several decades, and his most prominent position was a seven-year stint as House Speaker Newt Gingrich's

. He was a regular commentator for radio shows including ''

The Diane Rehm Show ''The Diane Rehm Show'' was a call-in show based in the United States that aired nationally on NPR (National Public Radio). In October 2007, ''The Diane Rehm Show'' was named to the Audience Research Analysis list of the top ten most powerful nati ...

'', '' Left, Right & Center'' and '' The Steve Gill Show'' with a segment titled ''Fill In the Blanks''. His 2006 book ''The West's Last Chance'' described how "Within our lifetimes, Europe could become

Eurabia Eurabia is a political neologism, a portmanteau of Europe and Arabia, used to describe a far-right, anti-Muslim conspiracy theory, involving globalist entities allegedly led by French and Arab powers, to Islamise and Arabise Europe, thereby wea ...

, a continent overwhelmed by militant Islam, which poses a greater threat to the United States than Nazi Germany did." Earlier in his career, Blankley was an editorial page editor for ''

'', a contributing editor and monthly columnist for ''George Magazine'', and a regular panelist on ''

''. He continued to write for ''The Washington Times''. He lectured at many 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 The New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) is an academic institute at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 2001, the institute has hosted hundreds of potential candidates for the U.S. presidency. History The New H ...

of Saint Anselm College.

Death

Blankley died in

, of stomach cancer on January 7, 2012, at

Sibley Memorial Hospital Sibley Memorial Hospital is a non-profit hospital located in The Palisades neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and is licensed by the District of Columbia De ...

, two weeks before his 64th birthday.

Early life

Career

Death

References

External links