Conor Friedersdorf

Conor Renier Friedersdorf is an American journalist. He is known for his civil libertarian perspectives and is currently a staff writer at The Atlantic.

Early life and education

Friedersdorf grew up in Orange County, California. He comes from a lineage of French Cajuns.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in politics, philosophy, and economics from Pomona College, Claremont, California, in 2002. Later, in 2006-2007, he attended New York University for Masters in Journalism.

Career

After graduating from college, Friedersdorf worked for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

He interned for Andrew Sullivan ’s The Daily Dish blog, and in 2010 was hired as Senior Editor to Andrew Sullivan.

He began writing for The Atlantic in November 2009, and since 2011, he is a staff writer for The Atlantic.

Friedersdorf also runs The Best of Journalism list - an email newsletter in which he curates list of news articles and investigative report.

Political views

In a September 2012 article for The Atlantic, Why I Refuse to Vote for Barack Obama, Friedersdorf said:

I don't see how anyone who confronts Obama's record with clear eyes can enthusiastically support him. I do understand how they might concluded that he is the lesser of two evils, and back him reluctantly, but I'd have thought more people on the left would regard a sustained assault on civil liberties and the ongoing, needless killing of innocent kids as deal-breakers.

Voicing his support for a Libertarian Party candidate, Gary Johnson, he said in the article:

I am supporting him because he ought to. Liberals and progressives care so little about having critiques of the aforementioned policies aired that vanishingly few will even urge that he be included in the upcoming presidential debates. If I vote, it will be for Johnson.

In an August 2019 article, Trump Failed to Stop American Carnage, he criticized Donald Trump’s response to the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.

Americans should remember that when it comes to presiding over the nation in a time of tragedy, he offers less than all his modern predecessors. They should know that he’ll keep using the bully pulpit to stoke anxiety, fear, and bigotry, at the plausible risk of making American carnage more likely; that there is no reason to expect any improvements with time; and that judged against the words about carnage in his inaugural address, he is an undeniable failure.

In an interview with journalist Matt Lewis, Friedersdorf stated that he has right-leaning views but that he does not consider himself to be a doctrinal conservative or a member of the conservative movement.

Personal life

Friedersdorf currently resides in Venice, California.