Decades before President Donald J. Trump made America First his brand, one brave man served as its herald, hero, and champion. Now nearing the end of a long and honorable career in public service, Patrick J. Buchanan can be rightly pointed to as the prophet of modern conservatism and the godfather of the Republican populist revolution. On August 22nd, West Virginia Congressman Riley Moore submitted a letter to President Trump asking him to bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom upon this great American. The New York Young Republican Club is pleased to join Rep. Moore in his call to award Mr. Buchanan with this long overdue recognition for his lifetime of dedication to the United States.
Buchanan is known in Republican circles for igniting the populist realignment of the Republican Party, shepherding the movement that ripened in the election of President Donald J. Trump and the prominence of America First today. Buchanan worked as an advisor and consultant across the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations. In both 1992 and 1996, Buchanan sought the Republican Presidential nomination. In 1992, Buchanan campaigned against George H. W. Bush and in 1996, against Bob Dole — unfortunately coming up short in both contests. Ultimately, in 2000, he became the Reform Party candidate, and his bold stances on immigration, trade, and foreign wars were a platform well ahead of its time, when the uniparty by implicit agreement refused to acknowledge its probity.
In 2002, Buchanan co-founded The American Conservative magazine with the express purpose of defying the neoconservative, establishmentarian old guard that had occupied the swamp of Washington D.C. for too long. The American Conservative was later responsible for platforming JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy. Buchanan used his platform to point out the mounting debt crisis, the failure of America’s involvement in foreign wars, and the devastating demographic changes unleashed by both legal and illegal immigration.
In 2002, Buchanan published what many consider to be his most important work. The Death of the West spoke to the concerns of so many Americans who witnessed the seemingly unstoppable tide of mass immigration occurring in tandem with the declining American birth rate. Buchanan’s masterpiece has more relevance than ever now two decades after its release, as its prophetic outlook is borne out with every passing day.
Today, the phrase “America First” is synonymous with Patrick J. Buchanan. Although he has never held elected office, Buchanan helped mold the intellectual landscape of the political right for decades, inspiring a generation of young Americans to choose a better path. Through The American Conservative, his educational foundation The American Cause, and his enduring literature, Buchanan has irreversibly changed the culture of the conservative movement for the better.
The rise of President Trump coincided with the last gasps of the liberal order that has possessed America since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Today, we take for granted many ideas that it was once fashionable to ignore: Americanism, not globalism. An economy is not a country. Mass immigration is suicidal. Our foreign policy must serve our interests. Free trade is the serial killer of American manufacturing. While today the last remnants of the neoconservatives fight for open borders, unconditional free trade, and war with Iran, Buchanan supported a fair trade policy, a moratorium on immigration, and no new wars.
In his 1996 concession speech, Buchanan stated that: “The old era is over; the old order is passing away. It may bristle, and it may resist, but, within this party, a new party is being born. God willing, we will be there at its birth, and one day, the stone the builders rejected, may yet become the cornerstone.” Today, Buchanan’s words have come to pass. Liberalism is dying, neoconservatism is all but dead. President Donald J. Trump sits in the Oval Office. The time has come to honor Buchanan’s vision and legacy with the highest civilian honor that the United States can bestow. The New York Young Republican Club is proud to endorse Patrick J. Buchanan for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.