Conor Friedersdorf

Conor Friedersdorf is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he focuses on politics and national affairs. He lives in Venice, California, and is the founding editor of The Best of Journalism, a newsletter devoted to exceptional nonfiction.

Stop Pretending Partisan Hacks Are Intellectual Leaders

Stop Pretending Partisan Hacks Are Intellectual Leaders

If progressives can't find effective foils to develop their ideas, that's because they're not looking in the right places. More »

The Democratic Party's Future Now Depends on Hillary Clinton

The Democratic Party's Future Now Depends on Hillary Clinton

More than any other politician in America, her candidacy would change the contours of the next election. More »

The Past Is Gone: Why Liberals Should Rethink States' Rights

The Past Is Gone: Why Liberals Should Rethink States' Rights

The federal government had to thumb its nose at states to end slavery and Jim Crow. Now it's the reverse: States are leading the way against Washington's myopic drug policy. More »

Slugger George Will Strikes Out in His Column on Drones

Slugger George Will Strikes Out in His Column on Drones

The conservative columnist justifies Obama's secretive killing spree in the abstract, but he grievously ignores how the war is actually carried out. More »

What If FreedomWorks Leveled With Its Prospective Donors?

What If FreedomWorks Leveled With Its Prospective Donors?

Suggestions for the Tea Party-affiliated non-profit's fundraising pitch as its leadership changes More »

The Race Begins: Gearing Up for the 2048 Presidential Election

The Race Begins: Gearing Up for the 2048 Presidential Election

Events that occur in coming months could determine the outcome of what will surely be called "the most important election of our lifetime." More »

Is the Birth Rate Properly a Political Question?

Is the Birth Rate Properly a Political Question?

A coda on population decline and the alleged decadence of those who'd let the population fall to mere billions More »

The GOP Establishment Has Done Far More Damage Than the Tea Party

The GOP Establishment Has Done Far More Damage Than the Tea Party

It's a mistake to blame powerless insurgents, however unhinged, for the dismal state of the Republican Party. More »

Almost Half of Republicans Indulge the 'Stolen Election' Delusion

Almost Half of Republicans Indulge the 'Stolen Election' Delusion

A party that cannot take responsibility for its losses cannot learn from them. More »

Did Roger Ailes Really Think David Petraeus Would Hire Him?

Did Roger Ailes Really Think David Petraeus Would Hire Him?

The Fox News chief reportedly said that if the former general ran for president he'd quit his job to run the campaign. More »

The Unforgivable Failure of Congress to Rein in Drone Strikes

The Unforgivable Failure of Congress to Rein in Drone Strikes

Even the Obama Administration now admits that the executive branch is inadequately restrained. What are legislators waiting for? More »

America Isn't as Decadent as Social Conservatives Think It Is

America Isn't as Decadent as Social Conservatives Think It Is

Many cultural factors are more important contributors to the declining birth rate than moral degeneracy and decline. More »

Is It Racist to Call Someone an Australian?

Is It Racist to Call Someone an Australian?

An international incident sheds light on the trans-Tasman rivalry with New Zealand and the limits of criminalizing speech. More »

Why a Rush Limbaugh Listener Thinks Calling Obama a 'Magic Negro' Is Okay

Why a Rush Limbaugh Listener Thinks Calling Obama a 'Magic Negro' Is Okay

His words: "I have had too many years listening to other races putting down the hard-working white middle-class Americans." More »

Politics and the Collective Noun: 'A Bordello of Lobbyists,' Etc.

Politics and the Collective Noun: 'A Bordello of Lobbyists,' Etc.

A belligerence of neocons. A cyclotron of press secretaries. You get the idea. More »

What Has Movement Conservatism Accomplished in the Last 15 Years?

What Has Movement Conservatism Accomplished in the Last 15 Years?

The list isn't nearly as long as its boosters would have us think. More »

Ron Paul's Last Speech to Congress: 30+ Strangely Ordered Questions

Ron Paul's Last Speech to Congress: 30+ Strangely Ordered Questions

The longtime legislator, doctor and three-time presidential candidate is retiring at year's end. More »

What High School Taught Millennials About the War on Terrorism

What High School Taught Millennials About the War on Terrorism

The threat can be eliminated, the Patriot Act was uncontroversial, and Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. More »

A U.S. Official's Anonymously Offered Defense of General Allen

A U.S. Official's Anonymously Offered Defense of General Allen

Allen is innocent of any wrongdoing, says a source who claims Gen. Allen also received "one of these weird, threatening letters" disparaging Jill Kelley, and passed it along to her. More »

Which Conservative Think Tanks Was David Petraeus Courting?

Which Conservative Think Tanks Was David Petraeus Courting?

The Washington Post says staffers from at least two "were given permanent office space at his headquarters and access to military aircraft." More »

The Biggest Story in Photos

Protests Spread Across Brazil

Subscribe Now

SAVE 65%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)