Claire Conner

What I Hear When the GOP Debates

Claire Conner — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:39:26 +0000

For as long as I could remember, my father and my mother hated Communists and Democrats in almost equal measure. If anyone said the word “Roosevelt” or “Truman,” they were sure to get a double dose of socialist and “fellow travelers.” While I could not have defined either of those terms, I recognized swearing when …

Texas Tweet: What Young Republicans need to learn about JFK & Obama Hate

Claire Conner — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 02:09:06 +0000

On Wednesday, November 16, 2011, Lauren Pierce, the president of the College Republicans at the University of Texas, Austin tweeted a little “joke.” “Y’all as tempting as it may be, don’t shoot Obama. We need him to go down in history as the WORST president we’ve EVER had!” I recoiled in horror at her words. …

I have to tell my story

Claire Conner — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:31:56 +0000

Shortly after the election of 2008, I cleaned my office and turned off my computer. “I don’t have to do this anymore,” I told myself. “I can stop writing and researching. I can stop uncovering and documenting. My parents are dead. And, thank God, their ideas are dead, too.” Two years later, I realized I …

Dad ♥ Koch

Claire Conner — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:24:59 +0000

Most John Birch Society scoundrels are buried deep in the recesses of American history, known only to politics junkies, history wonks and me, a Birch kid. There is one exception however, a Birch name that echoes across today’s political landscape: Fred C. Koch, founding member and national council member. Before Koch’s sons―David and Charles―became synonymous …

Taking Back the Country ― 53 years ago

Claire Conner — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 01:58:19 +0000

In 1958, after more than a decade of hating Communists and Democrats, my father found his ideological home in the John Birch Society, a new movement dedicated to “taking back the country.” My father was the first member in the city of Chicago. My mother was the second. Because I was an obedient Conner girl, …