Herbert London, called a “conservative thought leader” by Newsmax, where he wrote a column for several years, died last week. Newsmax’s John Gizzi gushed that he was a “renaissance man of the right” whose death “was a devastating blow to conservatives in his home state of New York and nationwide.” Newsmax columnists Bruce Abramson and Jeff Ballabon touted “Herb’s prowess as a thinker, a teacher, and an institution builder” who was “always gracious, always open, always decent.” London even got a farewell from CNSNews.com columnist Bill Donohue, who called him “a brilliant and courageous professor, writer, and activist, one who inspired everyone around him.”
We touched on London a few times: He endorsed anti-gay conversion therapy, he freaked out over President Obama reiterating the general U.S. policy toward Israel by likening it to giving Hitler the Sudetenland, and he’s approvingly quoted by WorldNetDaily columnist Kent Bailey calling Hillary Clinton “the embodiment of evil.”
But we also caught London whitewashing his own history. In a 2009 Newsmax column, London claimed he was “reluctant to challenge” his opponent in a race for New York state comptroller when, in fact, he tried to smear his opponent as an anti-Semite in a campaign ad that was so nasty that even London’s fellow Republicans distanced themselves from him.
That’s a “conservative thought leader” in action, apparently. We hope Herbert has found peace.