Ramesh Ponnuru
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Ramesh Ponnuru (born August 16, 1974) is a Washington, D.C.-based Indian American columnist and a senior editor for National Review magazine. He has also written for several other newspapers and publications, including The Weekly Standard, Policy Review, The New Republic and First Things.
Ponnuru was raised in Kansas City, Missouri. After graduating from Shawnee Mission East High School at the age of 15, he went to Princeton University, where he earned an B.A. in history and graduated summa cum laude. He is a Roman Catholic of Asian Indian descent, married to April Ponnuru, a Policy Advisor for Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri.[1]
A conservative pundit, Ponnuru has appeared in many public affairs and news interview programs. He is perhaps best known for his 2006 book, The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life, published by Regnery Publishing, and edited by Ben Domenech.[2]. In response to questions about and criticism of the provocative title, Ponnuru has explained in interviews that the term is intended to define a political movement that has taken over control of the Democratic Party through abortion and other death-related issues.[3] Party of Death received little mainstream attention upon its initial publication in April, but got more exposure after Ponnuru was interviewed on The Daily Show on May 17, 2006.
A barrage of brief and mostly negative reviews of the book followed the broadcast at various on-line booksellers, particularly Amazon.com, where the book's average rating dropped a full point, and the total number of reviews of the book more than doubled.
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[edit] Dispute with Andrew Sullivan
Ponnuru has had an on-going disagreement with blogger Andrew Sullivan, with Sullivan accusing him, among other things, of not speaking out on what he believes to be Bush Administration human rights abuse, being a "Christianist", [4] hyperbolic attacks on the Democratic Party, and abandoning conservative principles.[5] Sullivan was very critical of the title and inner flap of Party of Death, purporting that they were "too overtly partisan." [6] Ponnuru has responded by calling Sullivan's (limited) critique "pathetic" and accusing him of narcissism.[7]
The two have also disagreed with respect to the failed nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court,[8] and also engaged in a broader debate over the state and nature of contemporary conservatism. [9]
[edit] Dispute with John Derbyshire
Ponnuru has also had disagreements with fellow National Review columnist John Derbyshire. Derbyshire panned Ponnuru's book, Party of Death in a review written for the New English Review in 2006, in an article titled "A Frigid and Pitiless Dogma". Derbyshire remarked that Ponnuru's Right-to-Life philosophy
seems to some degree (depending on the observer’s temperament and inclinations) nutty; to some other degree (ditto) hysterical; and to some yet other degree (ditto ditto) a threat to liberty. My own ratings of RTL [Right-to-Life] on those three degrees are 2, 6, and 4 out of a possible ten each.
Derbyshire later expressed regret about writing those comments[11]
[edit] On the 2006 U.S. Elections
On September 13, 2006, speaking of the 2006 election, Ponnuru wrote in the New York Times that "a straight loss...would make the Republicans hungrier and sharpen their wits."
[edit] Personal Life
Ponnuru is a Roman Catholic Christian.
[edit] References
- ^ http://votenote.aol.com/mygov/bio/staff/?id=357
- ^ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-rutten25mar25,1,3458784.column?coll=la-news-columns&ctrack=1&cset=true
- ^ http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/qa200604240727.asp
- ^ http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/05/christianism_de_5.html
- ^ http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/07/email_of_the_da_2.html
- ^ http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/05/ramesh_coulter_.html
- ^ http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Mjc3NzEyM2M4M2EyMmUzMzBkYjE1NjUyMDFjOWRmMmM=
- ^ http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OWUzMDEzYjc0ODMzODU4NGQwYWIyMmU1MDg0MmQwNTc=
- ^ http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZjdiYTNjZTdmOThlM2FkMzNmNjA0YWRlODA4NmU2ZTE=
- ^ http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=3190&sec_id=3190
- ^ http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZWY3ZWFlODEwNzY1MmFmN2FiZjI1ZDkzNzZjMjZkYTY=
