Richard Pipes, Bernard Lewis, Charles Krauthammer, Paul Laxalt and John McCain, In Memoriam

Since late spring, numerous great scholars and authors have died, including several of interest to conservatives, as have two key current or former conservative United States Senators.  What follows is a brief summary of the particular significance of each of these individuals, Richard Pipes, Bernard Lewis, Charles Krauthammer, Paul Laxalt and John McCain.

Richard Pipes

Pipes was an American historian of the Soviet Union who helped implement U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s successful strategy of rolling back the Soviets, which was a break from the policy of Containment that had been implemented at the beginning of the Cold War.

Bernard Lewis

            Lewis was an American author and the foremost Western scholar on Islam, whose analysis was sought especially after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks against the U.S. by al-Qeada Islamists.   Lewis recognized the difference between Muslims and militant Islamists who believed in violent jihad (Islamic holy war) to advance Islam.

Charles Krauthammer

            Krauthammer was an author and television pundit.  Despite a paralyzing injury, he became a psychiatrist and was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as a director of psychiatric research and later by President George W. Bush to the Commission on Bioethics.  In the meantime, Krauthammer became a contributor to the New Republic and a speechwriter for Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale in 1984.

Krauthammer then became a Pulitzer-prize winning columnist for the Washington Post.  During this time, the anti-Communist and pro-Israel he became a leading neo-conservative, having coined the term, the “Reagan Doctrine,” in reference to the President’s support for anti-Communist rebels around the world, while writing for Time.  Krauthammer also was a contributor to the Weekly Standard.  He supported a rigorous defense against militant Islam, both secular and Islamist, including the Liberation of Kuwait in 1991 and of Iraq in 2003 and the global War on Terrorism.  Krauthammer believed not only in defending America against threats, but in supporting liberty throughout the world.  He became a television contributor, first on PBS and then on Fox News.  Known for the articulate promotion of his principles, Krauthammer was a mentor and inspiration to many other political commentators.      

Paul Laxalt

            Laxalt represented Nevada in the U.S. Senate from 1974-1987, where he was a conservative Republican leader, particularly in opposition to the Panama Canal Treaties.  He had served in the Army in the Second World War, became a lawyer, was elected District Attorney, Lieutenant Governor and then Governor, serving from 1967-1971.  Laxalt was a friend of President Reagan who worked with his neighboring Governor, chaired Reagan’s presidential campaigns, including the unsuccessful campaign for the Republican nomination in 1976 and then his winning campaigns for the GOP nomination and the election to the presidency in 1980 and 1984, and then served in the Senate as Reagan’s main ally for the advancement of his policies, such as tax cuts, increased defense spending and the Reagan Doctrine.  He chaired George H.W. Bush’s election campaign in 1988 and Robert Dole’s in 1996.

John McCain

            McCain was a war hero, a lion of the Senate and the leading American elected official to advocate for American security and liberty around the world.

            McCain was a Navy pilot during the Vietnamese War.  He was shot down over Hanoi, injured and made a prisoner of war for five and a half years, enduring torture and prolonged solitary confinement.  McCain had refused to break the military code by accepting an early release because he was the son and grandson of Admirals, a publicity stunt which would have made the Communist North Vietnamese appear to have been merciful.

            McCain was elected a U.S. Representative as a Republican from Arizona in 1982, serving two terms from 1983-1987 and a U.S. Senator in 1986, serving from 1987 until his death.  Although he was an independent thinker and was able to compromise with the opposing party, he had a conservative record especially on defense and foreign policy, during the late Cold War in support of Reagan’s policies and afterwards against Islamist terrorism and the authoritarian Russian regime of Vladimir Putin, as well as in opposition to wasteful government spending and in support of the right to life.  McCain was the GOP presidential nominee in 2008.  Among his accolades was the Liberty Medal, which he was awarded because of his championing of human rights around the world.      

           Krauthammer and McCain did not support Donald Trump’s election to the presidency and were highly critical of him, adhering to their conservative principles over partisanship.