John Lofton

John Lofton
John Lofton
Born	John D. Lofton, Jr.; May 26, 1941
Died	September 17, 2014 (aged 73)
Political party	Republican; Constitution
Movement	Paleoconservatism

John D. Lofton, Jr. (May 26, 1941 – September 17, 2014^[1]) was an American paleoconservative political commentator, editor, journalist, and political advisor.

Career

Writing

Lofton edited Monday, the weekly publication of the

Washington Times in 1982. During his seven years at the Washington Times, Lofton became nationally known in print and on the nascent cable news circuit. He was also the editor of The American View, a radio program run by Michael Peroutka

.

Lofton interviewed poet Allen Ginsberg in 1990 for Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture. The interview was subsequently reprinted in Harper's Magazine.^[2]^[3]

Political campaign work

Describing himself as a "recovering Republican", Lofton was most closely allied with the Constitution Party. Lofton advised Pat Buchanan's presidential campaign and was the communications director for the 2004 Michael Peroutka presidential campaign.^[4]

In popular culture

Lofton made numerous appearances on political talk shows, including

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.^[5]

Lofton is perhaps best known for a 1986 appearance on

Crossfire in which he debated musician Frank Zappa about the Parents Music Resource Center's campaign to identify music albums inappropriate for children. Lofton vehemently argued that the Founding Fathers of the United States did not mean to include lyrics like Zappa's under the protection of the First Amendment. He and Zappa argued while Zappa kept defending free speech, even if it implies taboo subject matter. In the debate, Lofton eventually called Zappa an idiot; Zappa responded, "Tell you what – kiss my ass! How do you like that?". The Crossfire video went viral after freeform radio station WFMU posted about it on its widely read blog in early 2006.^[6]^[7]

In a

gay adoption and the-then novel concept of same-sex marriage.^[8]

Both Lofton and Charen argued that legally sanctioning such marriages would undermine the fabric of the American family.