The Claremont Institute is a conservative think tank based in Claremont, California. The institute was founded in 1979 at the Claremont Colleges. Its leading scholar is Harry V. Jaffa, a professor at Claremont McKenna College and the Claremont Graduate University. Its current Vice President is Thomas Krannawitter, a recent graduate of the college. Conservatism or political conservatism is any of several historically related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... This article is about the institution. ... Claremont is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, USA, about 45 kilometers (30 miles) east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... The Claremont Colleges are a consortium of seven schools of higher education located in Claremont, California. ... Harry V. Jaffa is an author, and director of the Claremont Institute, a California-based Conservative think tank. ... CMCs trademark Bauer Center. ... Claremont Graduate University (formerly The Claremont Graduate School) was founded in 1925 in the city of Claremont, California, as the first and only academic institution in North America to devote itself entirely to graduate study. ... Thomas Krannawitter is Vice President of the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank based in Claremont, California. ...

The institute publishes a quarterly literary magazine entitled the Claremont Review of Books and as publications of its own, mostly Jaffa's works. It is known for espousing a legal philosophy called Declarationism whereby the United States Declaration of Independence is treated as a legal document and component of the government's organizing doctrines alongside the United States Constitution. Most of the Institute's members are followers of the teachings of Leo Strauss including Jaffa, who was a student of Strauss. The Claremont Review of Books (or CRB) is a quarterly review of politics and statesmanship published by the Claremont Institute. ... Declarationism is a legal philosophy that attempts to incorporate the United States Declaration of Independence into the body of case law on level with the United States Constitution. ... U.S. Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence is a document in which the Thirteen Colonies declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. ... The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. ... Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973), was a Jewish German-American political philosopher and Intellectual Historian. ...

The Institute calls its neo-conservative philosophy "Claremont Conservatism." This philosophy encompasses the Institute's interpretations of historical figures, particularly the American Founding Fathers, Abraham Lincoln, and Winston Churchill.[1] Uncommon for a conservative organization, the Claremont Institute tends to reject the constitutional philosophy of strict constructionism and often publishes material that is critical or derisive of conservative strict constructionists such as Robert Bork, William Rehnquist, and Antonin Scalia.[2] [3] Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. ... The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... Strict constructionism is a philosophy of judicial interpretation and legal philosophy that holds to the meanings of words and phrases as used when they were written down. ... Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (born March 1, 1927 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a conservative American legal scholar who advocates the judicial philosophy of originalism. ... William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American lawyer, jurist and political figure, who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1972 until 1986, and as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States from 1986 until his death... Justice Antonin Scalia Justice Antonin Gregory Scalia (born March 11, 1936) has been a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice since 1986. ...

According to some Institute writers, their legal philosophy is closer to that of Clarence Thomas, although outside of the Institute Thomas is widely considered a strict constructionist in the model of Scalia.[4] Justice Clarence Thomas Justice Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991. ...

The Institute has a variety of nicknames, some derisive and others embraced willingly, including Super-Hawks, Jaffanese Americans, Claremonsters, Lincoln Conservatives, and Claremontistas.[5] [6]

The Claremont Institute is funded by millionaire philanthropist Howard Ahmanson, Jr. Howard Fieldstead Ahmanson, Jr (born 1950) is an American millionaire philanthropist who funds the causes of Christian fundamentalism. ...

Criticisms

Disputes with Ludwig von Mises Institute

The Ludwig von Mises Institute (LvMI) is one of Claremont's most frequent sparring partners among conservative think tanks. Though both fall on the political right and hold similar positions on many moral and economic issues in general, the two differ greatly in ideology. The LvMI has a paleolibertarian persuasion, emphasizes economic philosophers such as Adam Smith and the Austrian Economists, and espouses a southern Jeffersonian ideology. Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, Auburn, Alabama The Ludwig von Mises Institute (LvMI), based in Auburn, Alabama, is a paleolibertarian academic organisation engaged in research and scholarship in the fields of economics, philosophy and political economy. ... Paleolibertarianism is a school of thought within libertarianism founded by Murray Rothbard and Lew Rockwell, and closely associated with the Ludwig von Mises Institute. ... Adam Smith, FRSE (Baptised June 5, 1723 – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. ... The Austrian School is a school of economic thought which rejects opposing economists reliance on methods used in natural science for the study of human action, and instead bases its formalism of economics on relationships through logic or introspection called praxeology. ... Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 N.S. – July 4, 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), author of the United States Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founders of the United States. ...

Claremont, by contrast, is of a neo-conservative persuasion, emphasizes moral philosophers such as John Locke, and espouses a northern Hamiltonian ideology. The two differ radically in their opinions about Abraham Lincoln and have engaged in several public criticisms of each other revolving around whether Lincoln should be embraced or shunned by conservatives. This controversy over Lincoln's meaning to conservatives predates either think tank, and encompasses Jaffa's debates on the subject with National Review editor Frank Meyer and scholar M.E. Bradford. John Locke (August 29, 1632–October 28, 1704) was a 17th-century English philosopher. ... A portrait of Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull, 1792. ... Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. ... National Review (NR) is a conservative political magazine founded by author William F. Buckley, Jr. ... Frank Meyer (born 1909, died 1972) was a conservative political philosopher and co-founding editor of National Review. ... Melvin E. Mel Bradford was a conservative political commentator and professor of literature at the University of Dallas. ...

Associates of LvMI have attacked the Claremont Institute with a variety of charges. Referencing the organization's view of the 16th President, philosophy professor Marcus Verhaegh calls Claremont "the prime font of Lincoln-worship in our times." Daniel McCarthy asserts that the Claremont Institute's treatment of Lincoln is particularly cultish, describing its members as having a "genuinely religious zeal directed toward the 16th president." McCarthy cites Institute scholars who frequently use religious imagery such as "Father Abraham" and references to the "scripture" of the Declaration of Independence as evidence of this approach. According to McCarthy, these viewpoints are the source of the Claremont Institute's tension with other conservative organizations despite their common views on such issues as limited government, abortion, and morality: Daniel McCarthy was an Irish politician. ...

"On many specific issues Claremontians and other members of the right are in agreement, and the Claremontians often provide some of the most intelligent and effective criticism of our mutual foes on the left. Unfortunately though whatever our common ground there will always be this fundamental, religiously-grounded incompatibility between those of us who want autonomy of one kind or another and those who want to impose their version of natural rights on the rest of us. The problem with Claremontianism is not so much that it is a kind of religion, but that it practices forced conversion."[7]

Other criticisms

Paleoconservative pundit Joseph Sobran, responding to Claremont's criticisms, accused Harry Jaffa of venerating a "Mythic Lincoln" possessing "immaculate" and Christ-like qualities of redemption and purity. The historical Lincoln, asserts Sobran, was a "lesser, more complicated figure" with human characteristics and human flaws.[8] Political writer Derek Copold similarly satirized the Claremont Institute in 2001 by likening it to a radical Islamic sect headed by the "Abratollah Jaffa" and poked fun at the Institute's Ken Masugi for his tendency to liken opposing viewpoints to nihilism [9] The term paleoconservative (sometimes shortened to paleo or paleocon when the context is clear) refers to an American branch of conservative Old Right thought that is frequently at odds with the current of conservative thought as espoused by the Republican Party elite. ... Joseph Sobran Joseph Sobran is an American journalist who has written extensively on American politics and culture. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Islam ( Arabic al-islām الإسلام,  listen?) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Ken Masugi is a conservative columnist and scholar affiliated with the Claremont Institute. ... The nonexistence of God is a quintessential nihilistic concern. ...

The Claremont Institute courted controversy by promoting a video in which Charlton Heston praises "the God-fearing Caucasian middle class"[10]. Charlton Heston on the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1923, although the year is usually given as 1924), is an American film actor noted for heroic roles, and his long involvement in political issues. ...

Book reviews

In recent years some of the institute's writers have penned highly critical book reviews of popular conservative book titles, typically published in the Claremont Review of Books. Included are Robert Bork's The Tempting of America and Slouching Towards Gomorrah, Thomas DiLorenzo's The Real Lincoln and most recently Thomas Woods' Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. The subjects of these reviews have responded directly, accusing the Institute of waging character assassination campaigns. The Claremont Review of Books (or CRB) is a quarterly review of politics and statesmanship published by the Claremont Institute. ... Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (born March 1, 1927 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a conservative American legal scholar who advocates the judicial philosophy of originalism. ... Thomas J. DiLorenzo is an economics professor at Loyola College in Maryland and a senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. ... The Real Lincoln is a biography of Abraham Lincoln written by Thomas DiLorenzo in 2002. ... Thomas Woods Thomas E. Woods, Jr. ...

Publications

• Claremont Review of Books
• Local Liberty

Notable staff and fellows

• Brian T. Kennedy (President)
• Thomas Krannawitter (Vice President)
• William J. Bennett (Washington Fellow)
• Victor Davis Hanson (Fellow in California Studies)
• Mark Helprin (Senior Fellow)
• John H. Hinderaker (Institute Fellow)
• Harry V. Jaffa (Distinguished Fellow)
• Scott W. Johnson (Institute Fellow)
• Paul Mirengoff (Institute Fellow)
• Ken Masugi (Director of Claremont's Center for Local Government)
• William A. Rusher (Distinguished Fellow)
• Eugene Volokh (Institute Fellow)

Thomas Krannawitter is Vice President of the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank based in Claremont, California. ... This article is about William Bennett the US politician. ... Victor Davis Hanson (born 1953) is an American military historian and political essayist, best known as a scholar of ancient warfare as well as a commentator on modern warfare. ... Mark Helprin is a contemporary award-winning Jewish-American novelist and journalist. ... John H. Hinderaker (born September 1950) is a lawyer and a blogger at the Power Line weblog, as well as a fellow at the Claremont Institute. ... Harry V. Jaffa is an author, and director of the Claremont Institute, a California-based Conservative think tank. ... Scott W. Johnson is a lawyer and a blogger at Power Line. ... Paul Mirengoff (born April 17, 1949) is a lawyer and a blogger at the Power Line weblog. ... Ken Masugi is a conservative columnist and scholar affiliated with the Claremont Institute. ... William A. Rusher (born 1923, Chicago, Illinois), lawyer, publisher, conservative activist. ... Eugene Volokh (born February 29, 1968) is an American legal commentator and law professor at the UCLA School of Law (located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles). ...

Notable Lincoln Fellowship alumni

• Chuck DeVore, California State Assemblyman
• Carol Platt Liebau, political commentator
• Michael Ramirez, editorial cartoonist for The Los Angeles Times

Charles S. DeVore (born May 20, 1962) is a U.S. politician, currently serving as a Republican member of the California State Assembly, representing portions of Orange County. ... California State Assembly Chamber in the State Capitol The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. ... Carol Platt Liebau is an attorney, political analyst and commentator based near Los Angeles. ... A political commentator is a figure in the news media who publically airs their interpretation of events in the politics of a state or institution. ... Michael Ramirez is a Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist with The Los Angeles Times. ... This early political cartoon by Ben Franklin was originally written for the French and Indian War, but was later recycled during the Revolutionary War An editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon, is an illustration or comic strip containing a political or social message. ... The Los Angeles Times (also L.A. Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. ...

External links

• Officialwebsite
• The Remedy the official Claremont Institute blog

Other Claremont McKenna College ("CMC") related institutes: A blog is a website in which journal entries are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. ...

• Reed Institute, CMC
• Rose Institute, CMC