From R. Emmett Tyrrell's current column:
I appear on scores of radio interviews, in and out of the studio. I appear on Fox News and C-SPAN. I hardly have time for dinner, but it could be more demanding still. I could be invited to appear on mainstream media, as it is still quaintly called. Yet I am not. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC do not call. I, the editor of a major magazine from the right that has been around for 45 years, have written a book arguing that a major political ideology, Liberalism, is dead, and no one in the mainstream media seems to think it merits even a spitball. Things have changed even more than the mainstream media knows.
Thirty years ago, when I came out with a book, all the above networkS -- at least all the above networks that were then in business -- would have me on.
From Patriots, Chapter 9:
“So you are probably wondering: Why has Freddy Catesby invited me to lunch? Freddy Catesby, the founder of the Constitutional Review, Patriot News guest host, and bestselling author! Freddy Catesby: who has known US presidents, who has entertained a British prime minister in his home, and who - people say - once dated the Princess of Wales. And it’s this same Freddy Catesby who is taking me out to lunch. Why? It’s the most natural question in the world! It’s exactly what I’d be wondering if I were sitting in your chair.”
The waiter filled Catesby’s wine glass, then looked questioningly at me. What the hell. I nodded yes.
“To understand why I invited you, you have to understand me. I’m not only the founder of Constitutional Review, although I’m proud of my role in launching the magazine. You know that Time magazine called us the most influential political magazine in the country on our tenth anniversary? I’ll put you on the list for our thirtieth anniversary dinner next month as my guest, I’ll put you at my table. No, no, don’t thank me - it’s my pleasure.
“All those things I’ve accomplished, all the awards and accolades – they mean nothing to me. I live for my principles, not for recognition. What I care about is fighting the Kultursmog. You know I coined the term?”
I’d never heard the term, but I gave no sign. The waiter presented a tray of rolls. Catesby pointed at one, and ripped it roughly in half as soon as it touched his plate. I declined. In Valerie’s book, wine at lunch was a serious dereliction, but bread was a capital offense. Catesby dropped one half of his roll on a bread plate, then used the other half like a conductor’s baton, waving in rhythm with his words.
“New people arrive in Washington, and the first thing they think about is how to get invited to cocktail parties in Georgetown and Chevy Chase. They ingratiate themselves with the Nationalists instead of supporting their own. Opportunists! Have you ever heard of that jackass Sheraton Feldman? No? Good. He’s dead now. He was an art critic for the Washington Guardian, back when the Guardian dominated media in this town. Sheraton one day decided he’d become a Constitutionalist. Oh, we were all so excited. Here was this great media personality, joining our side. That was a big, big deal in those days.
“Then the Guardian offered me a column. I accepted – not for my own sake, but because the platform represented a huge advance for our movement. This man Feldman appeared on a television show, and the host asked, ‘Why’d the Guardian hire Catesby?’ Feldman answered, ‘Bad taste.’
“Can you imagine? Feldman called me the next day to apologize. He said he was only joking. He said he had huge respect for me and my work. He said his tongue had slipped. I told him, ‘I don’t care what you say about me, I have no ego. I’m just sad that you would divide the movement.’”
