WEEKLY STANDARD contributing editor, and regular DAILY STANDARD columnist Irwin Stelzer has come in at #68 on the Telegraph‘s list of the most influential American conservatives. Stelzer is wedged in between David Brooks–a former senior editor at THE WEEKLY STANDARD–and WWS pal Erik Erikson of RedState. These lists are obviously subjective, but I’m surprised Stelzer didn’t rank higher, though perhaps his influence is felt greater in Britain, where he has been referred to as “Murdoch’s representative on earth,” and has been the subject of some outrageous stories in the British press. Consider this one from the Observer, published in October 2004:
Last spring was seen as a brutal example of who really runs Britain. Stelzer visited Blair in Downing Street. Soon after, the Prime Minister made the biggest U-turn of his career by announcing a referendum on the European Union constitution, a matter on which he had originally said he would not budge. Political commentators were in no doubt: Stelzer had threatened Blair with an ultimatum that, unless he let the people decide, the Eurosceptic Murdoch would order the Sun and the Times to withdraw their support and back the Tories at next year’s general election. ‘Think of all the pieces of silliness you’ve just said,’ admonishes Stelzer, 72, stepping out of the media’s fabled shadows to give his first newspaper interview. ‘Number one: I would threaten the Prime Minister. That’s an idea that’s crazy. The Prime Minister is standing there being threatened by 600 people almost every day in Parliament but doesn’t cave in. They can question his job; Rupert Murdoch can’t do that. I know “it’s the Sun wot won it” and all that – that’s great stuff – but I don’t really believe it.
True or not, our hearty congratulations to Dr. Stelzer.
