August 16, 2016, - 6:20 pm

John McLaughlin: Anti-Israel, Anti-Semitic Sexual Harassing RINO, Dead at 89

By Debbie Schlussel

johnmclaughlin

A bunch of phony, ignorant “conservatives” and other morons are “mourning” the death of irrelevant talk show host John McLaughlin. But here’s the truth: he was a Jew-hating, Israel-hating, sexual-harassing RINO. And at age 89, he proved, once again, the correctness of the Billy Joel lyric, “Only the good die young.”







In the last few weeks, I’ve seen pics of John McLaughlin and thought the guy must be dying of cancer. He was half the size of his suits that used to fit him, and he could barely sit up in the chair from which he hosted his PBS show, “The McLaughlin Group.” I was going to post something on the site this week about how I thought he was dying of cancer but the angel of death and his PR people beat me to the story. This past weekend, McLaughlin missed the show for the first time in the show’s 34 years, the during the last 20 of which, it’s been an irrelevant, little-watched program, with an audience who’s average age is in the mid-70s.

Not that I cared. I hated this guy. Because he hated Jews and Israel and hated real conservatives.

As a college intern for then-“McLaughlin Group” regulars Fred Barnes and Mort Kondracke, I saw John McLaughlin every Friday, when they taped his national PBS political talk show. I never liked the guy, because he wasn’t nice and was arrogant and creepy. But I mostly disliked him because he was an anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, pan-Arabist, pro-Muslim, paleo-conservative in the vein of his pal, Pat Buchanan. (That show was the only place Jew-hater and Hitler-fan Buchanan was still welcome, in addition to the Sean Hannity radio and TV shows.) But at the time, in the late ’80s, McLaughlin’s show was relevant. It hasn’t been in decades.

Here’s what you need to know about McLaughlin:

* As a Jesuit Catholic priest, he was sleeping with Ann Dore during the Nixon Administration in which they both worked. Yes, he did this well before he left the priesthood–several years, in fact. The vow of chastity doesn’t apply, apparently, if you hold an important position.

* Also as a priest, McLaughlin became very wealthy and dressed to the nines in expensive, fancy suits. That vow of poverty? Didn’t exist for Father John. McLaughlin amassed millions.

* McLaughlin spent many years as the Washington Editor of National Review (1981-1989), but they dumped him (this is when John O’Sullivan was Editor-in-Chief and they still had balls and substance of any kind at NR) because they hated his RINO and anti-Israel views. The guy was never a conservative. Not even close. He was a moderate, pretending to be something else, but never talking the talk the way a good con artist would.

* McLaughlin was very anti-Israel and very pro-Muslim, which was part of his Jesuit upbringing. He called the State of Israel and Ariel Sharon “terrorist[s].” He once shouted on his show: “Ariel Sharon is the terrorist! Israel is the terrorist!” He attacked Israel nearly every chance he got in the ’80s and early ’90s (before most people stopped watching his show). When Pat Buchanan made anti-Semitic comments to me and also to my father and then-nine-year-old brother (who were visiting and came to the set), McLaughlin either said nothing or laughed along with Hitler-admirer Buchanan. He laughed at self-hating former Jew Robert Novak’s anti-Semitic jokes, too. I know. I was there. And this was only in the one summer of McLaughlin tapings I went to.

* McLaughlin was sued by one of his employees in the late ’80s for sexual harassment. That doesn’t make it true, but in this case, I think it was true, for several reasons. I worked for Fred and Mort around that time, and they believed there was truth to the claims. McLaughlin settled for, reportedly, a lot of money to make the case go away. His wife, Ann Dore McLaughlin, then a Bush cabinet secretary, believed the harassment claims, too, because it was the beginning of the end of their marriage, and she divorced him not long after that. The suit claimed–similarly to what we’ve recently heard about Roger Ailes–that McLaughlin sexually harassed several of his female employees at Oliver Productions (named after his dog), telling them he “needed a lot of sex,” while trying to touch them intimately.

* His own publicist, Marina Ein (whom I knew because she worked at the New Republic offices at the time, when I interned for Fred and Mort), quit him around the time of the sexual harassment lawsuit, and told People, “”There is a part of John McLaughlin that is genuinely tortured.”

* He liked humiliating his employees (beyond the sexual harassment stuff).

Says one former staffer: “Once he didn’t like the way someone closed a door. He had him stand there and open and shut the door for 15 minutes.”

* Some of the millions McLaughlin amassed later on, came from his PBS show. So much for the Palestinian Broadcasting System constantly pleading poverty. Even though nobody but 77-year-old cat ladies watched his show in the last couple of decades, PBS and McLaughlin weren’t ratings driven, so they laughed at us all the way to the bank with their tax-funding. McLaughlin’s show in the last 1.5 decades was a dumpster for odious has-beens like Eleanor Clift and Buchanan, as well as annoying faux-conservatives, like milquetoast anti-Israel/pro-Muslim, amnesty-pimp, National Review writer Tom Rogan, whose never had an insight to save his life. The ratings for that show were in the toilet for a long time, and the online videos were never watched by more than 500 people. It was like an ant urinating on the sidewalk. No one notices, and nobody cares.

I hope PBS doesn’t try to reconstitute the silly, long-irrelevant show. But, sadly, they probably will.

Read this People mag profile of McLaughlin. It’s not pretty. But, from what I know, it’s very accurate.

***

Plagiarist thief and phony Michelle Malkin a/k/a Fraudkin pretend-tweeted in faux-“mourning” over the schlub. That figures because, remember, she was only recently dumped at FOX News, where who knows what acts she performed on Roger Ailes to get and stay on the air. So, it’s no surprise she’d gush over a sexual harasser whose own wife divorced him over the situation. But it’s funny that Fraudkin thinks McLaughlin liked her. He didn’t. I knew McLaughlin’s right-hand man and top adviser for years, and the guy told me they hated the arrogant ignoramus echo chamber Fraudkin the one and only time they had her on the show. He said Fraudkin was arrogant, narcissistic, and uber-conceited on the set of the show and had nothing insightful to say. In short, she’s an airhead, he said. He also told me they’d never invite her back, and they didn’t. But she gullibly believes her own press and anyone who pretends to like her, including the deceitful McLaughlin (who was laughing at her when she thinks he “encouraged” her). I’m laughin’ at her, too, along with the Jew-hater she gushed over.

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37 Responses

He was a Republican? Had no idea. Never watched the show, and hearing about that being a show on PBS, I automatically assumed that it was a Left leaning show that needed to be ignored.

About Pat Buchanan, too bad he’s getting a platform on the Trump bandwagon, given that Trump had disowned him long back, along w/ David Duke, and afaik, hasn’t changed on him in this campaign

Infidel on August 16, 2016 at 6:32 pm

    Yeah, McLaughlin was a ‘republican’ in the way the the left liked; quick to bash & trash conservatives and apologize to democrats for being ‘republican’. A democrat who probably got more money from P(more)BS to pretend he was republican so the tax-exempt could claim to be “balanced”.

    P. Aaron on August 31, 2016 at 6:22 pm

Besides public TV, McLaughlin’s show, at least in the ’80’s, was aired on commercial TV as well, sponsored by GE – and aired on NBC stations. Given his having had on Buchanan and Novak at different times over the show’s history, I shouldn’t have been surprised that, like them, McLaughlin was a Jew-hater . . . yet another “2 plus 2 equals . . . ” deal. Especially the whole Jesuit/Catholic business. (Think Tim Kaine, Pope Francis . . . ) Jack Germond, a liberal, ultimately became so sick of McLaughlin’s ego that he eventually left the show after years of being a regular.

ConcernedPatriot on August 16, 2016 at 7:07 pm

What amazes me is that that program was still on the air. It was an important program to watch during the Reagan-Bush Administrations, but not afterwards. McLaughlin tried to come across as a grandfatherly type, rather than the disgraced priest and moral failure that he truly was.

Worry on August 16, 2016 at 7:14 pm

If I remember correctly, Jack Germond quit the show some years ago because he couldn’t stand McLaughlin. While Germond was a liberal, he was not obnoxious like most urnalists today.

McLaughlin was also known to gush over the Arabs, and magnify, actually distort any of their ‘advances’ towards civilization.

LA: Your instincts are correct, per usual. Germond was a really cool guy who, while in the green room, used to smoke his cigar and pick horses he was going bet on in the races, whereas everyone else was feverishly rehearsing what they were going to say during the show tapings. He was super nice and a class act. DS

Little Al on August 16, 2016 at 7:29 pm

I would occasionally watch that show with my dad. I always was sickened watching his regular commentator Patrick Buchanan spew his anti-semetic, anti-black, anti-hispanic, anti-gay vitriol. McLauglin and Buchanan give good, and real conservatives a bad name.

Matthew on August 16, 2016 at 7:29 pm

Appearances can be deceiving.

You learn more about a person’s character in how they treat those around them than in how they present themselves to the world.

John McLaughlin wasn’t someone you would want to hang out to have a beer with.

Its just as well he’s now gone and no one will remember his hugely overrated show.

NormanF on August 16, 2016 at 7:56 pm

Hey, John McLaughlin….”Bye- Bye!”

Kent D. on August 16, 2016 at 9:58 pm

Despite me following politics and world-events, I’ll be honest with you Debbie and everybody else here, this is the first time that I’ve heard of John McLaughlin, it insofar could be that I don’t watch or follow to PBS and NPR, but nonetheless Ms. Schlussel, good article and well informed with your personal experiences with this person who passed away very recently!

Sean R. on August 16, 2016 at 10:27 pm

Right on Debbie. I used to watch this show with my grandmother (from Southfield) in the 80’s ad early 90’s and did she ever hate McLaughlin along with Buchanan and Novak. Watched with my mom and she and I hates them all too, as do I. All Jew-haters and all anti-Israel. Disgusting people.

Karen on August 17, 2016 at 12:04 am

“Saturday Night Live” some years back did a very funny recurring parody skit of the “The McLaughlin Group.” Dana Carvey, if I recall, played the part of McLaughlin.

Primetime on August 17, 2016 at 3:40 am

    Not Dana Carvey. It was Phil Hartman who played Frank Sinatra in the brilliant parody that was “The Sinatra Group.” He had as his “guests” Steve & Eydie, Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew (played by Chris Rock), Billy Idol (as played by Sting) and Sinead O’Connor (played by Jan Hooks).

    Whether you liked McLaughlin or his show, you have to give it thanks for spawning this brilliant parody.

    Gavin on August 17, 2016 at 11:50 am

      Actually, you and ‘Primetime’ are both correct: Mr. Carvey did impersonate Mr. McLaughlin frequently on SNL, and there was a “Sinatra Group” sketch on the program. I remember both.

      ConcernedPatriot on August 18, 2016 at 8:37 pm

I remember those skits, Primetime, very well done. And WHAT IS it with men in the workplace, who can’t help but let their predilections run wild? Isn’t it funny that the Bible says without self mastery one is lost.

Men in America, and perhaps all over the world, have grown up thinking that by spreading themselves out sexually over the course of their lives that they are somehow displaying their power and “manhood.” Wrong. You’re showing God that despite the fact you may “control” many people and even entities, you’re nothing but a dumb cluck who can’t control yourself. God will have a HUGE surprise for such men, who have spent their lives preening themselves over their irrepressible “manhood.”

Alfredo from Puerto Rico on August 17, 2016 at 6:54 am

I remember watching “The McLaughlin Group” a long time ago before my family’s pre cable days. PBS was a mainstay in our house growing up with shows like “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company.” I had no idea that old John was a such a dirt bag. I’ve read where Eleanor Cliff and Pat Robertson are still idiots. The former on MSNBC (no wonder I don’t see her dumbass on TV) and the later on Sean Vannity’s radio and TV shows. Robertson grates and I hardly listen to his drivel and the fact that he’s an anti-Semitic dunderhead makes him get turned off or channel changed. McLaughlin it seems was not only an anti-Semitic windbag but also an office skirt chaser. Sure it’s ok if your a single guy looking to date and if the woman is single and good looking in the office to go for it. But when you’re married and in a position of power in the workforce it’s time to act like you have some damn sense. I’ve seen creeps like McLaughlin, BJ Clinton, Jabba the Isles and others act like fools with women at my job and have HR come down on them like a ton of administrative bricks. They have morally questionable behavior and still some women think that they’re their friend. Much like Michelle Malkin thought that dirty old John liked her. Guys like him laugh at them and either want to get in their pants or think they’re dumb as rocks. As for being an anti-Israeli Jew hating loser. Show me a pro-Israeli Muslim hater on PBS and I’ll sell you the New River Gorge Bridge in WVA. Thanks again Debbie for giving us the news on this person. I won’t expect anything like this to be reported by the lamestream media including Fox News.

Ken B on August 17, 2016 at 11:11 am

    @ Ken B:You must mean Pat Puckanan, not Robertson.

    Hey, though, how about the most clear thinking panel member. That would be Tony Blankley. RIP.

    lee of the lower case "l" on August 17, 2016 at 3:59 pm

      Yes lee you’re right. I did mean Pat the rat Buchanan and not Pat Robertson. I get fired up sometimes when I post and fail to proof read. Buchanan is a world class putz just like his buddy McLaughlin.

      Ken B on August 17, 2016 at 8:54 pm

      Yes lee you are right. I did mean Pat the rat Buchanan and not Pat Robertson.

      Ken B on August 18, 2016 at 7:35 am

    “Guys like him laugh at them and either want to get in their pants or think they’re dumb as rocks.”

    One SLIGHT correction. Instead of “or think they’re dumb as rocks,” it’s “AND think they’re dumb as rocks,” LOL!!! Guys love to get chicks that are as dumb as rocks. It’s easier than having to actually communicate with them, and have a real relationship.

    Easier to CONTROL. Gasssssppppp!!! Did he say that? Nahhhhhhh, why would any man want to CONTROL anything? ROTFLMAO!!! Yeah, maybe BECAUSE he can’t control himself.

    Alfredo from Puerto Rico on August 17, 2016 at 9:55 pm

      You’re right Alfredo. Some loser men do like dumb as rocks women. How else do you explain Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky…LOL!

      Ken B on August 18, 2016 at 7:49 am

Spot on! Also, the disgraceful Mort Zuckerman sat on the panel with McLaughlin and Buchanan and never responded to their Jew bashing crap. Shame on him and all the enablers of Jew haters!

Martin on August 17, 2016 at 2:56 pm

The McLaughlin Group show was dumb and most guests were largely selected to enable McLaughlin to fan his own ego, which was what the show was all about. That’s why the SNL parody featuring Dana Carvey was so funny. Here’s a quick clip of the parody that pretty much sums up the McLaughlin BS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sdVx5gQz6w

This clip, by the way is a SNL vintage that features some of SNL’s best participants ever. In addition to Dana, there’s Phil Hartman, and Kevin Nealon, among others. I’ve seen Dana and his two sons, Dex and Thomas, also budding comics, and Kevin Nealon perform live, and they are all terrific.

The only shows that I thought were worth watching on PBS were Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser and Siskel and Ebert (with Siskel nicely offsetting Ebert). When Rukeyser and Siskel died, there was a real gap in their respective areas of expertise. That gap has never been filled to this day, IMHO.

Ralph Adamo on August 17, 2016 at 7:19 pm

    Thanks for the flashback RA!
    That was definitely one of the better if not best casts on SNL.
    I’ts been up and down since then, but mostly down.

    theShadow on August 18, 2016 at 1:09 am

I didn’t know that about him. Perhaps that’s because I didn’t watch his show. As a general rule, I do not watch PBS or listen to NPR.

There are and always will be anti-Semites among conservatives. Anti-Semitism can be found along all points on the political spectrum. Support for Israel and equal rights for Jews can also be found on all points of the political spectrum.

These days, petro-dollars seem to hold sway in the media where there is little oversight. I’m just glad there are some courageous individuals who continue to stand up against this pressure.

Regards,

There is NO Santa Claus (aka TINSC)

There is NO Santa Claus on August 18, 2016 at 9:08 am

It was said that when the show went on the road, everyone was booked into a cheap hotel and driven around in an old van EXCEPT his holiness Mclaughlin !! He would have a stretch limo and stay in the nicest suite in the best hotel in town —every time !!

The guy on that show that always perplexed me was Robert Novak.
My father knew him very well (Novak converted to Catholicism late in life and my Dad knew him in relation to that) and I spoke to him as well several times. He was very intelligent and witty yet I have never understood why he so despised his Jewish upbringing ??

JimmyPx on August 18, 2016 at 12:13 pm

It seems inappropriate and even hateful to speak Ill of a man so soon after his death. He was a real person, with friends and family whom he loved and who loved him. Even if you disagree with him on certain issues, there is no reason for the tribal level of hatred against him.

JD on August 18, 2016 at 5:13 pm

    JD:

    Debbie does that. Get used to it!

    Sincerely,

    There is NO Santa Claus (aka TINSC)

    There is NO Santa Claus on August 18, 2016 at 9:28 pm

dang right TINSC!
The “let’s prove we’re better than them by not stooping down to their level” BS doesn’t work for me either.
I’m in the “let’s pick up their excrement and shovel it back down their throats” crowd.

theShadow on August 19, 2016 at 9:43 pm

    Dear theShadow:

    My reply to JD is intended as written; nothing more or less.

    Regards,

    There is NO Santa Claus (aka TINSC)

    There is NO Santa Claus on August 21, 2016 at 8:24 am

You can’t beat anyone by the rules they set for YOU.
You have to, at the least, play by the rules they set for themselves.
JD said: ” He was a real person, with friends and family whom he loved and who loved him.”
Well whoop the freakin’ doo! So was Stalin and Hitler and tons of other unmentionables. If the guy was an ass all his life that’s his fault not mine. Weather alive or dead, still the same ass.

theShadow on August 19, 2016 at 9:54 pm

Forget about this “John McLaughlin.” Nobody will remember or care about him soon enough, except as the subject of some funny parodies.

Fortunately, the REAL John McLaughlin–and the one that counts–is still alive and well. THIS is the John McLaughlin that people will remember and enjoy for years to come.
http://www.johnmclaughlin.com/

BTW, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the real John McLaughlin at a jazz club in NYC. He’s a terrific guy, a class act, as well as an awesome talent.

RA: Unfortunately, I heard that that John McLaughlin is an Israel boycotter. DS

Ralph Adamo on August 22, 2016 at 3:55 pm

    If that is the case, he’ll have a whole lot of ‘splainin’ to do when I run into him again.

    Good musicians should know enough to stay completely out of politics. As one rocker with common sense put it . . .

    “I call it treason against rock ‘n’ roll because rock is the antithesis of politics. Rock should never be in bed with politics. … When I was a kid and my parents started talking about politics, I’d run to my room and put on the Rolling Stones as loud as I could. So when I see all these rock stars up there talking politics, it makes me sick. …. If you’re listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you’re a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we’re morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal.”–Alice Cooper

    Ralph Adamo on August 24, 2016 at 7:57 pm

      “If you’re listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you’re a bigger moron than they are.”–Alice Cooper
      Ralph Adamo on August 24, 2016 at 7:57 pm

      Something tells me Alice C was not a fan of his fellow rockers views.
      Though I don’t mind hearing it time to time, I’m not a rabid fan of Alice Cooper’s music. I do find him, along with Frank Zappa (not a big fan of his music either) to be among the more intelligent of the rock culture persona.

      Consequently, I’m a fan of Springsteen and U2 but find Bruce’s and Bono’s self righteous politics really get in the way with my enjoyment of their music.

      theShadow on August 25, 2016 at 1:38 am

I had no idea that the J. Mclaughlin was of this ilk. A real surprise. I was aware of his being an ex-Jesuit, but not the chastity vow violations. I never watched him much, thought he was way too annoying. Now I know why.
P.S. Jesuits do not or do not have to take a vow of chastity.

Thomas M. Kessel on August 27, 2016 at 6:22 pm

Sorry, I meant a vow of poverty. The editor (me) regrets this error!

Thomas M. Kessel on August 27, 2016 at 7:54 pm

What’s the matter with everyone here?

Rubin on August 30, 2016 at 8:05 am

On the subject of antisemitic vermin getting their just desserts, Terry Jones of Monty Python is losing his life to Frontal-Temporal Dementia. May I just say here, “die, motherf@cker, die!”

Thank you.

Occam's Tool on September 23, 2016 at 12:19 pm

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