Tony Blankley

Anthony David Blankley (January 21, 1948 – January 7, 2012) was an American political analyst who served as press secretary for Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and as a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group. He later became an executive vice president at Edelman, a Washington, D.C.–based public relations firm.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He was a visiting senior fellow in national security communications at The Heritage Foundation and<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a weekly contributor to the nationally syndicated public radio programme Left, Right & Center,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> From 2002 to 2009, he served as editorial page editor at The Washington Times.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Early life and education

Blankley was born in London, England, on January 21, 1948. He was a child actor briefly, appearing as Rod Steiger's son in The Harder They Fall, starring Humphrey Bogart and released in 1956.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The movie was, as Blankley liked to joke, both his and his co-star Bogart's last movie.<ref name=NYTObit/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles,<ref name=UclaAlumniNet/> and then Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, where he earned a J.D.<ref name=CreatorBio/> He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1972.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

Blankley spent ten years as a deputy attorney general with the California attorney general's office.<ref name=UclaAlumniNet>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He then served in the Reagan administration as a policy analyst and speechwriter,<ref name=CreatorBio>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was a staff writer for Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He then served for seven years as press secretary to House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

From 2002 to 2009, Blankley was an editorial page editor for The Washington Times,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a contributing editor and monthly columnist for George magazine,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group. He was a regular commentator for radio shows, including The Diane Rehm Show,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Left, Right & Center,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and The Steve Gill Show with a segment titled Fill In the Blanks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2006, he authored a book, The West's Last Chance, in which he argued that, "Within our lifetimes, Europe could become Eurabia, a continent overwhelmed by militant Islam, which poses a greater threat to the United States than Nazi Germany did."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

He lectured at 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 at Saint Anselm College.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Political views

His political opinions were considered to fall within traditional conservatism, although he was labeled as a neoconservative by some critics. He denied that label, claiming that his views are more comparable to a classic conservative such as Ronald Reagan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Death

Blankley died of stomach cancer at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., on January 7, 2012, at age 63.<ref name=WashTimesObit/><ref name=NYTObit>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Selected filmography

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) (Season 1 Episode 12: "Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid") as boy
• The Harder They Fall (1956) as Nick's son

External links

• Archives: Tony Blankley, townhall.com
• Tony Blankley blog, HuffingtonPost.com
• Podcasts of Blankley's recent articles Template:Webarchive, outloudopinion.com
• Left Right & Center, kcrw.com
• Template:C-SPAN
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