A Struggle Between Brothers: A Reexamination of the Idea of a Cohesive Conservative Movement Through the Intellectual Life and Personal Conflict Surrounding L. Brent Bozell

Author

Kevin MichelFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2009

Abstract

The conservative movement, while ultimately successful, was actually a story of failures and fracture. This reality is captured in the life of Brent Bozell. Historians should recognize that when writing the history of conservatism it is as important to look at the schismatic and often extreme experience of Brent Bozell as it is to consider the life of the leader of mainstream conservatism, William F. Buckley Jr. It is unfortunate that no biography has been written on Brent Bozell because his criticisms of mainstream conservatism can shed some light on the underlying reasons for the recent electoral demise of the Republican coalition. The life of Brent Bozell, especially his later years after his intellectual departure, while full of failure and extremism, is a perfect rebuttal to the triumphant narrative of the cohesive and inevitable conservative movement.

Recommended Citation

Michel, Kevin, "A Struggle Between Brothers: A Reexamination of the Idea of a Cohesive Conservative Movement Through the Intellectual Life and Personal Conflict Surrounding L. Brent Bozell" (2009). Kaplan Senior Essay Prize for Use of Library Special Collections. 3.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/mssa_collections/3