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| Justin Raimondo (1951-2019) |
Justin co-founded Antiwar.com with Eric Garris in 1995 and was a significant figure in the libertarian movement his entire adult life.
In addition to his thrice-weekly column for Antiwar.com, Raimondo was also a regular contributor to The American Conservative and Chronicles magazine. He also wrote for some time for Taki's Top Drawer.
Raimondo was born in White Plains, New York, and grew up in Yorktown Heights, New York.
During a one year stint at a Jesuit-run school in upstate New York, he discovered the writings of Ayn Rand, which put him on the road to libertarianism. Later he joined Young Americans for Freedom.
In the 1970s he became active in the Libertarian Party. He joined the party in 1974 and was active in the MacBride for President campaign, the LP's second White House bid.
Along with Garris he organized the "Radical Caucus", which brought them to the attention of the libertarian scholar and activist Murray Rothbard. In 1983, after a split in the Libertarian Party, Raimondo left the party and attempted to organize a libertarian faction in the Republican Party known as the Libertarian Republican Organizing Committee. After 1989, Raimondo reunited with Rothbard and joined in the anti-war, paleoconservative John Randolph Club.
Raimondo was active in local politics in his adopted hometown of San Francisco and often ran as either a Republican or Libertarian candidate. In the 1996 U.S. congressional elections, Raimondo ran as a Republican candidate in California's 8th district against Nancy Pelosi.
The world hasn't heard the last from Justin, though. Earlier this year when visiting Justin, I decided, on the spur of the moment, with his permission to turn on my phone recorder and recorded over three hours of conversation with him where he discussed his involvement in the libertarian movement, especially the early years and his interactions with such notable figures as Rothbard and Roy Childs. I am having the recording transcribed now.
Justin is survived by his two sisters, Dale and Diane, and Yoshi. A memorial service is being planned for Justin in San Francisco, further details to follow.
-RW
UPDATE
UPDATE 2Pat Buchanan on Justin Raimondo’s Passing#JustinRaimondohttps://t.co/vHEvn4NI9x pic.twitter.com/jR8KpvCllG— Antiwar.com (@Antiwarcom) June 28, 2019
Justin's cat, Mina, misses him. People underestimate #cats. pic.twitter.com/JoIUffQgRI— Justin Raimondo (@JustinRaimondo) June 29, 2019
This is sad. I didn't know Justin save for having met him once at Circle Rothbard. It was a treat to experience his joy as he told stories of the Radical Caucus and setting up Antiwar.com.
ReplyDeleteVery much looking forward to those transcriptions.
This one hurt. A true hero. God bless you, Justin. I'll try just a little bit harder in remembrance.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sad day. While I didn't agree with Justin's too-premature enthusiasm for the serial rapist's supposed anti-war and anti-interventionist stance, I nevertheless always appreciated his well-founded libertarian principles, a true live-and-let-live proponent. Rest in peace, Justin.
ReplyDeleteAnti-war.com was part of my morning ritual. He will be missed.
ReplyDeleteJustin was a true American hero, a principled man who spoke truth to power.
ReplyDeleteA sad day, for sure. His take on the world and world events will be missed.
ReplyDeleteAnother stalwart fighter for Liberty gone. He will be missed.
ReplyDeleteThis is very sad to hear. I had wondered how he had been doing. My condolences to his family.
ReplyDeleteTerrible news. RIP Justin. There are so few voices for reason, so it is especially sad when we lose another one. :(
ReplyDeleteMy comrade in the Libertarian Party Radical Caucus with Rothbard. What times those were! Thanks, Justin.
ReplyDeleteMy condolences.
ReplyDelete"He died at his home in Sebastopol, California, with his husband, Yoshinori Abe, by his side."
ReplyDeletePolitical correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, nor to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is to co-operate with evil, and in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to.
Thomas Dalyrmple in an interview by Jamie Glazov for FrontPageMagazine.com | 8/31/2005