Midge Decter (née Rosenthal; July 25, 1927 – May 9, 2022) was an American journalist and author.Heritage Foundation Board of Trustees
Originally a liberal, she was one of the pioneers of the

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 cou ...

movement in the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life

Decter was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

, on July 25, 1927. She was the youngest of three daughters of Rose (née Calmenson) and Harry Rosenthal, a sporting goods merchant. Her family was Jewish. She attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

for one year, the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studi ...

from 1946 to 1948, and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

, but did not graduate from any of them. She initially identified as a liberal on the

political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more geometric axes that represent independent political dimensions. The expressions polit ...

Career

Decter was assistant editor at ''

Midstream The petroleum industry, oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream (petroleum industry), upstream, midstream and downstream (petroleum industry), downstream. The midstream sector involves the transportation (by Oi ...

'', before working as secretary to the then-editor of '' Commentary'', Robert Warshow. Later she was the executive editor of ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

'' under

Willie Morris William Weaks Morris (November 29, 1935 – August 2, 1999) was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi, though his family later moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, which he immortalized in his works of prose. Morris' trad ...

. She then began working in publishing as an editor at

Basic Books Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1950 and located in New York, now an imprint of Hachette Book Group. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and history. ...

and

Legacy Books In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property. Legacy or legacies may refer ...

. Her writing has been published in ''Commentary'', ''

First Things ''First Things'' (''FT'') is an ecumenical and conservative religious journal aimed at "advanc nga religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The magazine, which focuses on theology, liturgy, church history, religio ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'', ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "r ...

'', and ''

The American Spectator ''The American Spectator'' is a conservative American magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. It was founded in 1967 by Tyrrell, who remains its editor ...

''. Together with

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as United States Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and a ...

, Decter was the co-chair of the

Committee for the Free World The Committee for the Free World was a neoconservative anti-Communist think tank in the United States.John Ehrman, ''The Rise of Neoconservatism: Intellectuals and Foreign Affairs, 1945-1994'', Yale University Press, 1996, pp. 139-14/ref> Overview ...

and one of the original champions of the

movement with her spouse,

Norman Podhoretz Norman Podhoretz (; born January 16, 1930) is an American magazine editor, writer, and conservative political commentator, who identifies his views as " paleo- neoconservative".

. She was also a founder of the

Independent Women's Forum The Independent Women's Forum (IWF) is a conservative American non-profit organization focused on economic policy issues of concern to women.John Train. She was a member of the board of trustees for

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 ...

. She was also a board member of the

Center for Security Policy The Center for Security Policy (CSP) is a US far-right, anti-Muslim, Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The organization's founder and current president is Frank Gaffney Jr. who is known for promoting falsehoods about former U.S. President ...

and the

Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce ( Ann Clare Boothe; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, U.S. ambassador, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which h ...

Fund. A member of the

Philadelphia Society The Philadelphia Society is a membership organization the purpose of which is "to sponsor the interchange of ideas through discussion and writing, in the interest of deepening the intellectual foundation of a free and ordered society, and of bro ...

, she was, for a time, its president. Following a tongue-in-cheek remark by

Russell Kirk Russell Amos Kirk (October 19, 1918 – April 29, 1994) was an American political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, and literary critic, known for his influence on 20th-century American conservatism. His 1953 book ''The Conservative ...

, the Society's founder, about the prevalence of Jewish intellectuals in the neoconservative movement, Decter labelled Kirk an

anti-Semite Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

. She was also a senior fellow at the

Institute of Religion and Public Life ''First Things'' (''FT'') is an ecumenical and conservative religious journal aimed at "advanc nga religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The magazine, which focuses on theology, liturgy, church history, religious ...

. She was one of the signatories to Statement of Principles for the

Project for the New American Century The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was a neoconservativeAccuracy in Media. In 2008, Midge Decter received the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

Personal life

Decter married her first husband, Moshe Decter, in 1948. Together, they had two children: Naomi and

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her a ...

, who predeceased Decter in 2013. They divorced in 1954. Two years later, she married

Norman Podhoretz Norman Podhoretz (; born January 16, 1930) is an American magazine editor, writer, and conservative political commentator, who identifies his views as " paleo- neoconservative".

, who went on to become editor of '' Commentary'' magazine. They remained married until her death. Together, they had two children: Ruthie Blum and

John Podhoretz John Mordecai Podhoretz (; born April 18, 1961) is an American writer. He is the editor of '' Commentary'' magazine, a columnist for the ''New York Post'', the author of several books on politics, and a former speechwriter for Presidents Rona ...

. Decter died on May 9, 2022, at her home in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

. She was 94 years old.

Publications

* ''Losing the First Battle, Winning the War'' * ''The Liberated Woman and Other Americans'' (1970) * ''The New Chastity and Other Arguments Against Women's Liberation'' (1972) * ''Liberal Parents, Radical Children'' (1975) * ''An Old Wife's Tale: My Seven Decades in Love and War'' (2001) * ''Always Right: Selected Writings of Midge Decter'' (2002) * ''Rumsfeld : A Personal Portrait'' (2003)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Decter, Midge 1927 births 2022 deaths The Heritage Foundation Jewish American writers Writers from Saint Paul, Minnesota New York University alumni Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni University of Minnesota alumni National Humanities Medal recipients The American Spectator people 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women journalists 21st-century American Jews Jewish women writers Neoconservatism