Gene Healy (born November 16, 1970) is an American libertarian political pundit,

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, and editor. He serves as senior vice president for policy at the

Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch ...

and is a contributing editor to ''

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

'' magazine.

Education

Healy holds a B.A. from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and a J.D. from the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...

Career

Healy is editor of the 2004 book ''Go Directly to Jail: The Criminalization of Almost Everything''. He is the author of ''The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power'' (2008) and ''False Idol: Barack Obama and the Continuing Cult of the Presidency'' (2012). His research interests include

executive power The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

and the role of the presidency,

federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...

, and over- criminalization. Healy has appeared on PBS's '' Newshour'' and has been a guest on NPR's '' Talk of the Nation''. His writing has been published in major newspapers including the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', and the '' Legal Times''. He writes a weekly column for the ''

Washington Examiner The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative news magazine based in Washington, D.C., consisting of a website and a weekly printed magazine. It is owned by Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiar ...

''.

Views

In 2011, Healy made the case that

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

was neither a neoconservative, nor a libertarian. In 2013, Healy argued that wanting restraint in foreign policy is not " isolationist" and stated that isolationism "has always been a smear word designed to shut off debate. It was coined in the late 19th century by Alfred Thayer Mahan, 'an ardent militarist, who used the term to slur opponents of American imperialism. In 2014, Healy criticized

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

's interventionist foreign policy, saying, "I think when you look at the totality of her record, it's very concerning. And if she realizes her lifelong dream in 2016 to become commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, she won't have to urge anyone to bomb. She'll be able to give those orders herself."

Bibliography

* ''Go Directly to Jail: The Criminalization of Almost Everything'' (editor) (2004) * ''The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power'' (2008) * ''False Idol: Barack Obama and the Continuing Cult of the Presidency'' (2012) *

References

External links

*
Biography at the Cato Institute

on '' LewRockwell.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Healy, Gene 1970 births Living people 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American book editors American columnists American libertarians American male journalists American male non-fiction writers American political commentators American political journalists American political writers Cato Institute people Chicago Tribune people Georgetown University alumni Los Angeles Times people The New York Times people American opinion journalists University of Chicago Law School alumni