Right Minded Fellow sadly notes the death of Robert Novak, long time Washington political columnist and pundit who provided a compelling conservative voice long before the talk show became the medium for expression. Not only were his column insightful and his opinions sharp, he stood out as a rugged individual, a tough spirit, never afraid to go against the tide of the establishment view in Washington, DC.
Novak’s first big exposure came when he teamed up with Liberal journalist Rowland Evans to create the Evans-Novak Political Report, a six times a week column syndicated to newspapers nationwide. He was originally a Democrat supportive of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, but learning the ways of Washington and seeing the abuses of big government, he became a powerful advocate of limited government and low taxes much more in the Libertarian perspective than that of the conservative Republican outlook. Reflecting this viewpoint, he championed the campaign of Ron Paul for President in 2007.
For many, he was first introduced to them on the Evans/Novak program in the early days of CNN, not as confrontational as Crossfire, as both men had a long established working relationship; it was more like the granddaddy of Hannity and Colmes, two professionals who had lots of positive energy despite their opposing points of view. He was a frequent right-side voice on Crossfire and a regular panelist on The Capital Gang, both landmark programs in the growing cable news industry. Catching Novak’s commentary and observations was one of the few places in nationwide media where a strong conservative voice could be counted on.
Early in his career, a fellow journalist dubbed him as “the Prince of Darkness,” a legacy he’d affectionately carry as an identity. Novak was a truly independent voice never towing any implied conservative party line. He was his own man in recent years who was sharply critical of the conduct of the war in Iran.
Novak became embroiled in the Valerie Plame episode where he revealed her role in the CIA. This revelation led to the makings of a major scandal speculating on who revealed her identity to Novak. The Washington left-wing media and Democrats were screaming for blood sensing Karl Rove could be brought down in the process. It yielded the neck of Vice President Chaney’s Chief of Staff, Scooter Libby who got caught in a perjury trap under very aggressive prosecution. For all the intensity of this scandal, it sure petered out unceremoniously when the real source of the leak, Richard Armitage. While the whole incident was one blown way out of proportion, it did have the effect of tangling up the Bush White House in devoting tremendous resources to defend itself against the all out press of its critics attempting to implicate everyone in the White House food chain. All the while, Novak stood his ground professionally and maintained his journalistic stance refusing to name sources.
Novak’s first big exposure came when he teamed up with Liberal journalist Rowland Evans to create the Evans-Novak Political Report, a six times a week column syndicated to newspapers nationwide. He was originally a Democrat supportive of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, but learning the ways of Washington and seeing the abuses of big government, he became a powerful advocate of limited government and low taxes much more in the Libertarian perspective than that of the conservative Republican outlook. Reflecting this viewpoint, he championed the campaign of Ron Paul for President in 2007.
For many, he was first introduced to them on the Evans/Novak program in the early days of CNN, not as confrontational as Crossfire, as both men had a long established working relationship; it was more like the granddaddy of Hannity and Colmes, two professionals who had lots of positive energy despite their opposing points of view. He was a frequent right-side voice on Crossfire and a regular panelist on The Capital Gang, both landmark programs in the growing cable news industry. Catching Novak’s commentary and observations was one of the few places in nationwide media where a strong conservative voice could be counted on.
Early in his career, a fellow journalist dubbed him as “the Prince of Darkness,” a legacy he’d affectionately carry as an identity. Novak was a truly independent voice never towing any implied conservative party line. He was his own man in recent years who was sharply critical of the conduct of the war in Iran.
Novak became embroiled in the Valerie Plame episode where he revealed her role in the CIA. This revelation led to the makings of a major scandal speculating on who revealed her identity to Novak. The Washington left-wing media and Democrats were screaming for blood sensing Karl Rove could be brought down in the process. It yielded the neck of Vice President Chaney’s Chief of Staff, Scooter Libby who got caught in a perjury trap under very aggressive prosecution. For all the intensity of this scandal, it sure petered out unceremoniously when the real source of the leak, Richard Armitage. While the whole incident was one blown way out of proportion, it did have the effect of tangling up the Bush White House in devoting tremendous resources to defend itself against the all out press of its critics attempting to implicate everyone in the White House food chain. All the while, Novak stood his ground professionally and maintained his journalistic stance refusing to name sources.
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