| Jonathan Krohn | |
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Jonathan Krohn, 2009 |
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| Born | March 1, 1995 Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author Commentator Political pundit |
| Nationality | American |
| Subjects | American conservatism, Politics |
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Jonathan Krohn (born March 1, 1995) is an American author who wrote the book Define Conservatism and gained national attention when he addressed the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference at age 13. A resident of Duluth, Georgia, Krohn became interested in politics at age eight after hearing about a Democratic filibuster on judicial nominations in the United States Senate. In 2006, he was voted "Atlanta's Most Talented Child" by Inside Edition. Krohn used his savings to self-publish his book, in which he sought to outline core conservative principles.
Krohn convinced skeptical organizers to allow him to speak for three minutes at the CPAC event on February 27, 2009. His speech was very well received by the audience and later gained popularity on Internet websites like YouTube, garnering Krohn attention on national news programs on CNN and the Fox News Network. In 2009, he was a finalist for Time magazine's Time 100 for the year. His second book, Defining Conservatism: The Principles That Will Bring Our Country Back, was released on February 9, 2010.[3]
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Krohn, an only child, was born on March 1, 1995 to Doug Krohn, a computer system integrator, and Marla, a sales representative and middle-school drama and speech teacher. Krohn's family lived in Duluth, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, and has been active in a Baptist church (Krohn's mother converted from Judaism to Christianity, and Krohn has described himself as a "Jewish Christian").[4] An IQ test Krohn took in the first grade indicated he was gifted. He attended Christian schools until 2007, when his parents began to home-school him.[5] Krohn was active in plays and regional shows through the Christian Youth Theater,[4] and had three callbacks for the role of Michael Banks on the Broadway production of Mary Poppins. He has also played cello since around 2000.[6] In 2006, Jonathan Krohn began appearing on the Internet radio program "The Life Connection Show", and took over as the principal writer in 2008. Krohn has studied the Arabic language and once aspired to be a missionary to the Middle East.[4] In 2006, he was voted "Atlanta's Most Talented Child" by Inside Edition.[7] In 2008, Krohn began taking weekly supplemental lessons at the Classical School, taught by Steve Gilchrist, who teaches from a Christian Biblical perspective.[5] Krohn became interested in politics at age eight, after hearing about a Democratic filibuster on judicial nominations in the United States Senate. The event prompted him to research American history and governmental rules and policies, and he developed an affinity for conservatism and began to listen regularly to conservative talk radio, particularly Morning in America with William Bennett, to whom he became a regular caller.[4]
Krohn wrote Define Conservatism, which was self-published in 2008, when he was 13 years old, because he felt the term conservatism was often misused.[2] The book started out as a 94-page treatise he wrote as an extracurricular project at the Classical School.[5] It was in part a response to criticism that John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, received regarding his conservative credentials.[2] The book outlines four fundamental principles of conservative thought: support for the United States Constitution, opposition to abortion, less government, and more personal responsibility. Krohn went on to apply the principles to current events and define whether specifically cited actions violated those principles.[8] The book was dedicated to Ronald Reagan, William F. Buckley, Jr. and Barry Goldwater, whom Krohn describes as his political heroes, along with South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint.[1] Krohn paid to have the book published from his own savings. He describes it as a "first effort" and immediately planned to write a second one, which he said would focus in part on Alexander Hamilton and James Monroe.[4]
"He seems to at least have a historical perspective. But at 13, there’s not a lot of life experience yet. But as he attends more conferences, he’ll have more ammunition and education, and see that there are more than black and white viewpoints."
In January 2009, Krohn contacted organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference and asked to speak at the event. Organizers were reportedly skeptical, but gave him a three-minute spot on a panel about grassroots activists.[4] He delivered the speech, "Conservative Victories Across the Nation", on February 27, 2009 and described the conservative principles outlined in his book. When the speech was over, the panel moderator said, "Watch out, David Keene," referring to the chairman of the American Conservative Union.[7] The next day at the conference, William Bennett said, "I used to work for Ronald Reagan and now I'm a colleague of Jonathan Krohn's!"[4] The speech attracted the attention of national media outlets, and became popular on websites like YouTube.[4][9] Sam Stein of The Huffington Post said of the speech, "It was filled with the type of rhetorical flow and emotional pitch one would expect from a seasoned hand. Except, [he] is more than four years away from being able to vote."[7]
After the conference, Krohn's parents received hate mail accusing them of brainwashing their son, but both insist Krohn developed his own political thinking.[4] Within a week of the speech, Krohn appeared on Fox & Friends and CNN news programs, as well as many radio shows. A Facebook fan club was created for Krohn. A staff member for a potential candidate for Georgia governor also asked to meet with him.[4] Several Facebook fan pages have been started for him, including one called "Jonathan Krohn 2032", a reference to the first year he will be eligible to run for President of the United States.[9] The speech by Krohn was also mentioned in the March 2, 2009, episode of The Daily Show when host Jon Stewart referred to Krohn as a "precocious teenage conservative firebrand" and "Doogie Howser GOP". Stewart said, "I'm not sure there's a nurple purple enough (for him)", before consulting a fictitious "comedy ethics bible" and determining he could not make fun of a 13-year-old boy because only classmates and siblings had that right.[10]
Krohn was a finalist for Time magazine's Time 100 for 2009,[11] ranking at number 190 out of a list of 208. The magazine listed his occupation as "Lil' Limbaugh",[12] and said of him, "(He has) the voice of a Muppet and the ideology of Alex P. Keaton. Laugh all you want, but the way things are going, he could soon replace Michael Steele."[12] In April 2009, Krohn was honored by the Duluth City Council and Mayor Nancy Harris.[13] In May 2009, Krohn criticized comments by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush suggesting the Republican Party needed to consider new policies. Krohn said, "The liberals want to say, 'Well we need new policies, we need to come up with more progressive ideas.' Well, if we just look at what's happened and works, why do we need something new?"[14] Krohn has indicated he has no interest in running for political office, although he said he has been approached by multiple people with proposed campaign slogans or ads. He has indicated that he is "working on" getting his own radio talk show.[14]
Krohn writes a column for Human Events, a weekly conservative magazine.[5] Krohn has written a second book, Defining Conservatism: The Principles That Will Bring Our Country Back, released February 2010. The book has been praised by former-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and syndicated radio host Mike Gallagher, who said of it, "Any time I am depressed about the state of the country or the future of the modern conservative movement, I consider two words: Jonathan Krohn."[15] Gingrich offered to write the foreword for the book, but Krohn wanted it to be written by William Bennett.[2] Krohn is attended the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference, but did not have a speaking role. Krohn has also spoken at several Tea Party protests held by American conservatives.[15]