The American Free Press is a weekly newspaper published in the United States .
66-423: The newspaper's direct ancestor was The Spotlight , which ceased publication in 2001 when its parent organization, Liberty Lobby , was forced into bankruptcy . One of the paper's founders was Willis Carto , a white supremacist who promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial . American Free Press was founded by Willis Carto . Carto was most politically involved in his career throughout
132-599: A telephone card purchased from the newspaper. The Spotlight ceased publication in 2001 after Liberty Lobby was forced into bankruptcy as a result of a lawsuit brought by former associates in the Institute for Historical Review . Willis Carto and other people involved in The Spotlight then started a new newspaper, the American Free Press , which is very similar in overall tone. An August 2, 2002 court order in
198-459: A decentralised economy based on economic freedom and holds property rights , free markets , and free trade to be the most important kinds of freedom. Political theorist Russell Kirk believed that freedom and property rights were interlinked. In France, nationalism was originally a left-wing and republican ideology. After the period of boulangisme and the Dreyfus affair , nationalism became
264-500: A federal court in Miami in 1981; Marchetti was not named as a defendant. Hunt, represented by attorney Ellis Rubin , said that he suffered a $ 27,000 drop in income after the article was published. He also said that he was in Washington, D.C., on the day that Kennedy was killed. Miles McGrane, the attorney for Liberty Lobby stated that Liberty Lobby did not believe that Hunt was involved in
330-555: A few right-wing movements—notably the French Nouvelle Droite , CasaPound , and American paleoconservatism —are often in opposition to capitalist ethics and the effects they have on society. These forces see capitalism and industrialism as infringing upon or causing the decay of social traditions or hierarchies that are essential for social order. In modern times, "right-wing" is sometimes used to describe laissez-faire capitalism . In Europe, capitalists formed alliances with
396-505: A huge diversity of readers". NameBase described the newspaper as "anti-elitist, opposed the Gulf War , wanted the JFK assassination reinvestigated, and felt that corruption and conspiracies can be found in high places". Circulation of The Spotlight peaked in 1981 at 315,000 but fell to about 90,000 by 1992. The Spotlight was called "the most widely read publication on the fringe right" by
462-722: A pending Congressional hearing], the CIA will 'admit' that Hunt was involved in the conspiracy to kill Kennedy." It also claimed that the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations had received an internal CIA memo from 1966 that stated the agency "will have to explain Hunt's presence in Dallas on November 22, 1963". Stating that he was libeled by the accusations, Hunt sued the Liberty Lobby for $ 3.5 million in damages in
528-505: A service of the neo-Nazi Stormfront ), was also a former writer for the newspaper. The newspaper also runs columns by Joe Sobran , James Traficant , Paul Craig Roberts , Ron Paul , and others. The newspaper's podcast series has featured guests including Brian Baird , Philip Giraldi , Dean Baker , and others. Attendees of the 2006 American Free Press / The Barnes Review , conference included Arthur J. Jones , former member Nationalist Socialist White People's Party. Some authors of
594-704: A strong national military force, the right to individual gun ownership, cutting taxes, reducing government spending, and balancing the budget. In Indonesia, Islamic populism has a significant impact on right-wing politics. This largely due to the historical context which Islamic organizations had during the 1960s in destroying the Indonesian Communist Party. Whilst the party is adopting democratic processes with neo-liberal market economies, socially pluralist positions aren't necessarily adopted. The Islamic populism in Indonesia has boosted its influence in 1998 after
660-417: A trait of the right-wing. Right-wing nationalists sought to define and defend a "true" national identity from elements which they believed were corrupting that identity. Some were supremacists , who in accordance with scientific racism and social Darwinism applied the concept of " survival of the fittest " to nations and races . Right-wing nationalism was influenced by Romantic nationalism in which
726-517: Is an accepted version of this page Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law , economics , authority , property , religion , biology , or tradition . Hierarchy and inequality may be seen as natural results of traditional social differences or competition in market economies . Right-wing politics are considered
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#1732884234921792-513: Is unjust, limits personal freedom, and leads to social uniformity and mediocrity. In the view of philosopher Jason Stanley in How Fascism Works , the "politics of hierarchy" is one of the hallmarks of fascism , which refers to a "glorious past" in which members of the rightfully dominant group sat atop the hierarchy, and attempt to recreate this state of being. According to The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought ,
858-522: The Congressional Record in 1981 for purported use of the Lyndon LaRouche movement as a source of news items. On August 14, 1978, The Spotlight published an article by Victor Marchetti linking former CIA agent and Watergate figure E. Howard Hunt to the assassination of John F. Kennedy . Headlined "CIA to Nail Hunt for Kennedy Killing", the article said: "In the public hearings [of
924-584: The American Free Press such as Michael Collins Piper and Carto-affiliated institutions such as the Institute for Historical Review have published books which have been published in paper and electronic format on the America First Books website. William B. Fox is the publisher. It promotes nationalist viewpoints similar to those of the American Free Press and its authors. Eustace Mullins
990-668: The Anti-Defamation League , who also stated the newspaper "reflected Carto 's conspiracy theory of history" and called the paper anti-Semitic . Howard J. Ruff in his 1979 book How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years praised The Spotlight for its investigative reporting, while criticizing it for a "blatantly biased" right-wing point of view and concluded "there are many things I detest about it, but I wouldn't be without it." U.S. Congressman and John Birch Society leader Larry McDonald criticized The Spotlight in
1056-988: The Bible . The term family values has been used by right-wing parties—such as the Republican Party in the United States, the Family First Party in Australia, the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, and the Bharatiya Janata Party in India—to signify support for traditional families and opposition to the changes the modern world has made in how families live. Supporters of "family values" may oppose abortion , euthanasia , and birth control . Outside
1122-631: The British Conservative Party , which responded supporting capitalism. The people of English-speaking countries did not apply the terms right and left to their politics until the 20th century. The term right-wing was originally applied to traditional conservatives , monarchists , and reactionaries; a revision of this which occurred sometime between the 1920s and 1950s considers the far-right to denote fascism , Nazism , and racial supremacy . Rightist regimes were common in Europe in
1188-577: The Cold War , postcolonial governments in Asia , Africa , and Latin America turned to the United States for political and economic support. Communists were also enemies of capitalism, portraying Wall Street as the oppressor of the masses. The United States made anti-communism the top priority of its foreign policy, and many American conservatives sought to combat what they saw as communist influence at home. This led to
1254-643: The French Revolution . Some prelates of the Church of England –established by Henry VIII and headed by the current sovereign—are given seats in the House of Lords (as Lords Spiritual ), but they are considered politically neutral rather than specifically right- or left-wing. American right-wing media outlets oppose sex outside marriage and same-sex marriage , and they sometimes reject scientific positions on evolution and other matters where science tends to disagree with
1320-969: The Interwar period , 1919–1938. Among Kuomintang (KMT)'s conservatives during the Republic of China , Dai Jitao Thought supporters formed the Western Hills Group in the 1920s . Chiang Kai-shek initially claimed himself as a 'centrist' in the KMT left-right conflict, but became an anti-communist right-wing after Shanghai massacre . Chiangism (or 'Chiang Kai-shek Thought') was related to Confucianism , state capitalism , paternalistic conservatism , and Chinese nationalism (which included fascistic elements). The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) describes itself as Marxist , and has not officially abandoned leftist ideology, Marxism–Leninism , or socialism with Chinese characteristics . Christer Pursiainen has characterized
1386-515: The Second Estate , generally sat to the right. In the successive legislative assemblies , monarchists who supported the Old Regime were commonly referred to as rightists because they sat on the right side. A major figure on the right was Joseph de Maistre , who argued for an authoritarian form of conservatism . Throughout France in the 19th century , the main line dividing the left and right
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#17328842349211452-650: The Superior Court of California transferred the assets of Liberty Lobby, including The Spotlight , to the judgment creditor, the Legion for the Survival of Freedom, Inc. who maintains an online archive of Spotlight articles from 1997 to 2001. From 1988 to 2001, the paper sponsored the Radio Free America talk show which was heard on WWCR shortwave and on AM talk radio outlets. Right-wing politics This
1518-557: The Teutonic Order , educational organizations such as the emerging universities and learned societies , the chartered towns and cities , and most notably the guild system which dominated the economics of population centers in Europe . In post-revolutionary France, the Right fought against the rising power of those who had grown rich through commerce, and sought to preserve the rights of
1584-589: The decline of the Western Roman Empire corporatism became limited to religious orders and to the idea of Christian brotherhood, especially in the context of economic transactions. From the High Middle Ages onwards corporatist organizations became increasingly common in Europe, including such groups as religious orders, monasteries , fraternities , military orders such as the Knights Templar and
1650-484: The 1960s. He was known for his extremist ideologies in white supremacist and anti-semitic movements. Writers for the newspaper included Michael Collins Piper , whose work has been characterized as anti-semitic and James P. Tucker, Jr. , a longtime Spotlight reporter whose focus was the Bilderberg Group . Articles by Carto also appeared occasionally. James Edwards , host of The Political Cesspool (broadcast as
1716-528: The 21st century, neo-nationalism came to prominence after the Cold War in the Western world . It is typically associated with cultural conservatism, populism , anti-globalization , and nativism and is opposed to immigration . The ideology takes historical association in determining membership in a nation, rather than racial concepts . Right-wing politics typically justifies a hierarchical society based on natural law or tradition . Traditionalism
1782-504: The BJP, populism is a core part of the party's ideology. The main populist idea is that the ordinary, "good" individuals are continuously under attack from the "bad" political forces, media, etc. Since Narendra Modi became the leader of the BJP, it has increasingly been associated as a populist radical right party (PRR), however, traditionally the party was viewed as a Hindu nationalist party. Philosopher and diplomat Joseph de Maistre argued for
1848-674: The British government's attempt to shut down Press TV , blaming it on "media outlets and correspondents with provable connections to the American Jewish lobby; Israeli intelligence; and Neo-Conservatives thirsting for a War of Civilizations with Iran specifically, and the Islamic world generally." The Spotlight The Spotlight was a weekly newspaper in the United States, published in Washington, D.C. from September 1975 to July 2001 by
1914-567: The CCP as a right-wing political party, pointing to an ideological change within the party under Jiang Zemin 's leadership during the 1990s. The political term right-wing was first used during the French Revolution , when liberal deputies of the Third Estate generally sat to the left of the presiding officer's chair, a custom that began in the Estates General of 1789. The nobility, members of
1980-525: The Right during their conflicts with workers after 1848. In France, the Right's support of capitalism can be traced to the late nineteenth century. The so-called neoliberal Right, popularised by US President Ronald Reagan and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , combines support for free markets , privatisation , and deregulation with traditional right-wing support for social conformity. Right-wing libertarianism (sometimes known as libertarian conservatism or conservative libertarianism ) supports
2046-530: The Right has gone through five distinct historical stages: The political terms Left and Right were first used in the 18th century, during the French Revolution , referencing the seating arrangement of the French parliament . Those who sat to the right of the chair of the presiding officer ( le président ) were generally supportive of the institutions of the monarchist Old Regime . The original "Right" in France
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2112-497: The West, the Hindu nationalist movement has attracted privileged groups which fear encroachment on their dominant positions, as well as "plebeian" and impoverished groups which seek recognition around a majoritarian rhetoric of cultural pride, order, and national strength. In Israel, Meir Kahane advocated that Israel should be a theocratic state , where non- Jews have no voting rights, and
2178-546: The adoption of several domestic policies that are collectively known under the term McCarthyism . While both liberals and conservatives were anti-communist, the followers of Senator McCarthy were called right-wing and those on the right called liberals who favored free speech, even for communists, leftist . Early forms of corporatism would be developed in Classical Greece and used in Ancient Rome . Plato would develop
2244-418: The assassination, but that he was going to be made a scapegoat by the CIA. On December 17, 1981, the jury found in Hunt's favor and awarded him $ 650,000 in damages. The decision was later overturned due to an error in jury instructions. In the second trial, Hunt was represented by Baltimore attorney William Snyder. Hunt testified that he was in Washington, D.C., with his wife and son when he first heard of
2310-406: The assassination. Snyder told the jury that Hunt had already been cleared in the assassination by various commissions and inquiries. Attorney Mark Lane , author of Rush to Judgment and a leading proponent of the theory that the CIA was responsible for the assassination of Kennedy , represented Liberty Lobby. Lane successfully defended Liberty Lobby against the defamation charges, which became
2376-588: The basis for Lane's book Plausible Denial . In 1985, the National Review and its editor, William F. Buckley Jr. , were represented by attorney J. Daniel Mahoney during their $ 16 million libel suit against The Spotlight . After the Oklahoma City bombing it was reported that Timothy McVeigh had taken out a classified advertisement in The Spotlight in August 1993 under the name "T. Tuttle" and had used
2442-426: The church, the family, the state, and business. Right-wing populism is a combination of civic-nationalism , cultural-nationalism and sometimes ethno-nationalism , localism , along with anti-elitism , using populist rhetoric to provide a critique of existing political institutions. According to Margaret Canovan, a right-wing populist is "a charismatic leader, using the tactics of politicians' populism to go past
2508-497: The counterpart to left-wing politics , and the left–right political spectrum is the most common political spectrum . The right includes social conservatives and fiscal conservatives , as well as right-libertarians . "Right" and "right-wing" have been variously used as compliments and pejoratives describing neoliberal , conservative , and fascist economic and social ideas. The following positions are typically associated with right-wing politics. Early communists used
2574-585: The demise of the Suharto authoritarian regime. Islamic populism in Indonesia has similar properties with Islamic populist regimes like in the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa (MENA). The emphasis on social justice, pluralism, equality and progressive agendas could be potentially mobilized by Islamic cultural resources. In India, Bharatiya Janata Party supporters have more authoritarian, nativist, and populist ideas than other Indian citizens. Under Narendra Modi,
2640-817: The far-right Lehava strictly opposes Jewish assimilation and the Christian presence in Israel. The Jewish Defence League (JDL) in the United States was classified as "a right wing terrorist group" by the FBI in 2001. Many Islamist groups have been called right-wing, including the Great Union Party , the Combatant Clergy Association /Association of Militant Clergy, and the Islamic Society of Engineers of Iran. Right-wing politics involves, in varying degrees,
2706-629: The hereditary nobility. They were uncomfortable with capitalism, the Enlightenment, individualism, and industrialism, and fought to retain traditional social hierarchies and institutions. In Europe's history, there have been strong collectivist right-wing movements, such as in the social Catholic right , that have exhibited hostility to all forms of liberalism (including economic liberalism ) and have historically advocated for paternalist class harmony involving an organic-hierarchical society where workers are protected while class hierarchy remains. In
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2772-502: The ideas of totalitarian and communitarian corporatist systems of natural based classes and social hierarchies that would be organized based on function, such that groups would cooperate to achieve social harmony by emphasizing collectives interests over individual interests. Corporatism as a political ideology advocates the organization of society by corporate groups —such as agricultural, labour, military, scientific, or guild associations—based on their common interests. After
2838-525: The indirect authority of the Pope over temporal matters. According to Maistre, only governments which were founded upon Christian constitutions—which were implicit in the customs and institutions of all European societies, especially the Catholic European monarchies—could avoid the disorder and bloodshed that followed the implementation of rationalist political programs, such as the chaos which occurred during
2904-415: The internationalism of the communists. The 1920s and 1930s saw the decline of traditional right-wing politics. The mantle of conservative anti-communism was taken up by the rising fascist movements on the one hand and by American-inspired liberal conservatives on the other. When communist groups and political parties began appearing around the world, their opponents were usually colonial authorities and
2970-407: The laws, but unequal in all else; hierarchy is the order of nature, and privilege is the reward of honourable service". American conservative Russell Kirk also rejected egalitarianism as imposing sameness, stating: "Men are created different; and a government that ignores this law becomes an unjust government for it sacrifices nobility to mediocrity". Kirk took as one of the "canons" of conservatism
3036-575: The left- and the right-wing. In British politics, the terms right and left came into common use for the first time in the late 1930s during debates over the Spanish Civil War . In the United States, following the Second World War , social conservatives joined with right-wing elements of the Republican Party to gain support in traditionally Democratic voting populations like white southerners and Catholics . Ronald Reagan's election to
3102-515: The newspaper and, in particular, Bollyn for linking of prominent figures in the Jewish community with the events of September 11, 2001, and in September 2006 attacked the newspaper for disseminating "antisemitic propaganda ". Pro-Israel conservative activists, such as Kenneth R. Timmerman , have criticized contributors to the American Free Press . In a May 2011 article, contributor Mark Dankof protested
3168-448: The nineteenth century, the Right had shifted to support the newly rich in some European countries (particularly Britain) and instead of favouring the nobility over industrialists, favoured capitalists over the working class. Other right-wing movements—such as Carlism in Spain and nationalist movements in France, Germany, and Russia—remained hostile to capitalism and industrialism. Nevertheless,
3234-563: The now-defunct antisemitic Liberty Lobby . The Spotlight ran articles and editorials professing a " populist and nationalist " political orientation. Some observers have described the publication as promoting a right-wing , or conservative, politics. The Spotlight has been described in media reports as promoting an America First position and giving positive coverage to the political campaigns of Pat Buchanan and David Duke . The Spotlight gave frequent coverage to complementary and alternative medicine , including advertisements for
3300-479: The politicians and intellectual elite and appeal to the reactionary sentiments of the populace, often buttressing his claim to speak for the people by the use of referendums". In Europe, right-wing populism often takes the form of distrust of the European Union , and of politicians in general, combined with anti-immigrant rhetoric and a call for a return to traditional, national values. Daniel Stockemer states,
3366-414: The principle that "civilized society requires orders and classes". Italian scholar Norberto Bobbio argued that the right-wing is inegalitarian compared to the left-wing, as he argued that equality is a relative, not absolute, concept. Right libertarians reject collective or state-imposed equality as undermining reward for personal merit, initiative, and enterprise. In their view, such imposed equality
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#17328842349213432-454: The purported anti- cancer supplement Laetrile . Kevin J. Flynn 's book The Silent Brotherhood described The Spotlight as regularly featuring "articles on such topics as Bible analysis, taxes and fighting the IRS , bankers and how they bleed the middle class, and how the nation is manipulated by the dreaded Trilateral Commission and Council on Foreign Relations ", adding "the paper attracted
3498-554: The radical right is, "Targeting immigrants as a threat to employment, security and cultural cohesion." In the United States, the Tea Party movement stated that the core beliefs for membership were the primacy of individual liberties as defined by the Constitution of the United States, preference for a small federal government, and respect for the rule of law. Some policy positions included opposition to illegal immigration and support for
3564-492: The rejection of some egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics , claiming either that social or economic inequality is natural and inevitable or that it is beneficial to society. Right-wing ideologies and movements support social order . The original French right-wing was called "the party of order" and held that France needed a strong political leader to keep order. Conservative British scholar R. J. White, who rejects egalitarianism, wrote: "Men are equal before God and
3630-438: The state derives its political legitimacy from the organic unity of those who it governs. This generally includes the language, race, culture, religion, and customs of the nation, all of which were "born" within its culture. Linked with right-wing nationalism is cultural conservatism , which supports the preservation of the heritage of a nation or culture and often sees deviations from cultural norms as an existential threat. In
3696-625: The states of India. Multiple political parties however identify with terms and beliefs which are, by political consensus, right or left wing. Certain political parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party , identify with conservative and nationalist elements. Some, such as the Indian National Congress , take a liberal stance. The Communist Party of India , Communist Party of India (Marxist) , and others, identify with left-wing socialist and communist concepts. Other political parties take differing stands, and hence cannot be clearly grouped as
3762-460: The term right-wing came to be applied to colonialism . After World War II , communism became a global phenomenon and anti-communism became an integral part of the domestic and foreign policies of the United States and its NATO allies. Conservatism in the post-war era abandoned its monarchist and aristocratic roots, focusing instead on patriotism, religious values, and nationalism. Throughout
3828-431: The term "right-wing" in reference to conservatives, placing the conservatives on the right, the liberals in the centre and the communists on the left. Both the conservatives and the liberals were strongly anti-communist , although conservatives' anti-communism is much stronger than liberals'. The history of the use of the term right-wing about anti-communism is a complicated one. Early Marxist movements were at odds with
3894-487: The three most powerful monarchies in continental Europe before World War I . Many monarchists (except constitutional monarchists ) viewed inequality in wealth and political power as resulting from a divine natural order. The struggle between monarchists and communists was often described as a struggle between the Right and the Left. By World War I , in most European monarchies the divine right of kings had become discredited and
3960-624: The traditional monarchies that ruled over much of the European continent at the time. Many European monarchies outlawed the public expression of communist views and the Communist Manifesto , which began "[a] spectre [that] is haunting Europe", and stated that monarchs feared for their thrones. Advocacy of communism was illegal in the Russian Empire , the German Empire , and Austria-Hungary ,
4026-422: The wealth redistribution measures characteristic of social democracy . The dominance of the political right of inter-war Hungary , after the collapse of a short-lived Communist regime, was described by historian István Deák : Although freedom fighters are favoured, the right-wing tendency to elect or appoint politicians and government officials based on aristocratic and religious ties is common to almost all
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#17328842349214092-458: Was advocated by a group of United States university professors (labelled the "New Conservatives" by the popular press) who rejected the concepts of individualism , liberalism , modernity , and social progress , seeking instead to promote what they identified as cultural and educational renewal and a revived interest in concepts perceived by traditionalists as truths that endure from age to age alongside basic institutions of western society such as
4158-585: Was between supporters of the republic and those of the monarchy, who were often secularist and Catholic respectively. On the right, the Legitimists and Ultra-royalists held counter-revolutionary views, while the Orléanists hoped to create a constitutional monarchy under their preferred branch of the royal family, which briefly became a reality after the 1830 July Revolution . The centre-right Gaullists in post-World War II France advocated considerable social spending on education and infrastructure development as well as extensive economic regulation, but limited
4224-475: Was formed in reaction to the "Left" and comprised those supporting hierarchy, tradition, and clericalism . The expression la droite ("the right") increased in use after the restoration of the monarchy in 1815 , when it was applied to the ultra-royalists . From the 1830s to the 1880s, the Western world 's social class structure and economy shifted from nobility and aristocracy towards capitalism . This shift affected centre-right movements such as
4290-433: Was on the editorial staff of the American Free Press . The Southern Poverty Law Center considers it, and all conservative US media, a hate group and says that it "carries stories on Zionism , secret 'New World Order' conspiracies, American Jews and Israel." One of the newspaper's ex-contract reporters, Christopher Bollyn , has advocated on behalf of the 9/11 Truth Movement . The Anti-Defamation League has criticised
4356-571: Was replaced by liberal and nationalist movements. Most European monarchs became figureheads, or they yielded some power to elected governments. The most conservative European monarchy, the Russian Empire, was replaced by the communist Soviet Union . The Russian Revolution inspired a series of other communist revolutions across Europe in the years 1917–1923 . Many of these, such as the German Revolution , were defeated by nationalist and monarchist military units. During this period, nationalism began to be considered right-wing, especially when it opposed
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