The Tennessee Conservative [By Brandon Lewis, Founder] –
The Patriot Post is a daily digest of national news, policy and analysis — now the longest-running news publication on the Web. Like the Tennessee Conservative, Patriot Post is based in Tennessee.
The Patriot, and its large constituency of grassroots readers and influencers, have been on the frontlines of the conservative movement advocating for Liberty for a quarter-century. Recently, we caught up with our friend, publisher Mark Alexander, and asked about their first 25 years on the Internet, launching on what was then, a new and untested medium for publishing.
Q: What inspired you to start the Patriot Post back in 1996?
The Patriot: In short, a deep devotion to our timeless obligation to support and defend the principles of American Liberty enshrined in our Declaration of Independence and codified in our Constitution. It has been our charge from day one, to extend the endowment of Liberty bequeathed to us by generations of Patriots, to the next generation. Our mission is to effectively meet that obligation by first, advocating for individual rights and responsibilities; second, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary; and third, promoting free enterprise, national defense, and traditional American values.
Foremost, that charge is rooted in the timeless words of our two most distinguished founders, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Washington wrote of the fight for Liberty, “Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” As it was then, and is to this day, it will forever be.
Jefferson wrote of extending that blessing to future generations: “Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness which inevitably awaits them if we basely entail hereditary bondage on them.”
Our mission and objectives rest on the foundation of this essential affirmation: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” We believe that all people are created with equal value and dignity, and that the Judeo-Christian faith is both the foundation upon which this affirmation rests and its eternal guardian.
Our mission is not framed as Right vs. Left, Conservative vs. Liberal, nor Republican vs. Democrat. Our mission and advocacy — and that of all genuine Patriots who embody the legacy and spirit of our Founders — is framed by our commitment to Liberty over tyranny.
Our objective remains to equip the current generation of American Patriots with concise but comprehensive analysis of the most important news and policy from a First Principles perspective. We have never wavered from our mission and objectives.
Q: I am sure it is no coincidence that your first date of publication was on September 17th, 1996.
The Patriot: September 17th is a significant date on our Patriot Post calendar for two reasons.
First, of course, it is Constitution Day — the anniversary of the adoption of our Republic’s founding contract — that date in 1787 when our Constitution was signed by the convention delegates in Philadelphia.
Despite all the blood that has been shed in defense of Liberty, too many of those occupying the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of our national and state governments today, pay no homage to the essential obligations inherent in that historic document. Some have outright contempt for Rule of Law, and utter disregard for their sworn oaths “to support and defend” our Constitution. It is upon that oath of constitutional preservation that generations of American military Patriots have fought and died, but today, many politicians squander that sacrifice by abandoning their sworn obligations.
Our Constitution mandates that those elected to our legislatures, are charged with the challenge of convincing “We, the People,” through lawful, rigorous and open debate, that one position or another is in the best interest of all. But that process has been grossly adulterated by a powerful Leftmedia conglomerate of mass media platforms, which are demonstrably beholden primarily to the Left side of the political spectrum. That bias has empowered the politicos they favor to act more like authoritarians, who aggressively seek to bypass the deliberative process and dictate that you must abide by their diktats.
To those who line up with them, we invoke the words of Samuel Adams in 1776 at the dawn of the fight for Liberty: “If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!”
The contempt some hold for Liberty has rarely been more manifest than in the current administration and their socialist cadres, who relentlessly seek to advance statism, the power of the state, over “We, the People.”
But such disregard does not alter the fundamental and unalienable Rights of Mankind enumerated in our Declaration of Independence and codified in our Constitution.
The second reason September 17 is important on our publishing calendar is that it does, indeed, mark the date we first published on the Web — now 25 years ago.
Q: This was an innovative entrepreneurial experiment of First Amendment rights in what was then an unfamiliar medium. Were you confident your publication would make it?
The Patriot: I would not have pursued this endeavor if not confident it would succeed, and that success came with the commitment of our outstanding team and the wise counsel of many conservative protagonists along the way.
In 1996, back before the Internet and email were ubiquitous means of communication, I gathered a handful of modern-day Patriots to contemplate how we might best take the eternal message of Liberty to the largest number of fellow Patriots nationwide, at the least expense. As with any entrepreneurial startup, especially one that had no model to follow, there was considerable trial and error, and the commensurate heartburn.
At that time, we were four years removed from George H.W. Bush’s failure to continue the great American renewal launched by Ronald Reagan. Bush was defeated in his reelection bid by a then-unknown young and charismatic Bill Clinton and his “co-president,” Hilary.
That inspired a sense of urgency to determine how to counter the relentless Leftmedia propaganda machine that would ultimately help ensure Clinton’s reelection. The leftist mainstream media had a chokehold on public opinion.
Rush Limbaugh had already launched his radio rebuttal to the Left and was leading that media charge. An outfit called Fox News was testing the cable network possibilities as a conservative news platform.
So what other front was not covered?
Freedom’s banner was waiting for its voice on a then-new communication medium that looked very promising — the Internet. We answered that call.
Not only did we break uncharted ground on the Web, but our business model was unique on three levels, which created some uncharted heartburn for our financial and marketing advisors. They had never seen this model, but now marvel at its success.
First, we did not do what many publications do, declare as a 501c-3 non-profit organization. We rejected that model so the IRS could not regulate our political advocacy content. However, we adopted a donor-supported model to avoid any subscription charge for our military and student constituencies.
Second, we decided to be advertising free. We do not accept any advertising to ensure our advocacy and editorial content is not shaped or restrained by commercial influence, as is the case with all mass media outlets. Thus, you will note our website and email editions are free of the offensive advertising that clutters commercial news websites.
And third, many of our writers choose to publish pseudonymously, as did Founders James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in The Federalist Papers, advocating for our Constitution’s ratification. In this day when media markets are dominated by self-promoting personalities, choosing humility over self-promotion is antithetical to media marketing. But our focus is singularly on advocating Liberty, not personalities.
Bottom line, we are not sustained by any political, special interest, or parent organization — but solely by the good will of our readers.
Q: What did your growth curve look like and what were the obstacles?
The Patriot: By the Grace of God, within months of our launch we had more than 5,000 subscribers. In the years since, our team has grown to include an exceptional group of writers and editors nationwide, and millions of readers. The result of this endeavor was the creation of a very large fellowship of grassroots brothers and sisters devoted to Liberty.
The most significant obstacle to growth has been what I call the “Redlining” of free speech, a massive but subversive collusion between the Leftmedia and Big Tech to suppress the First Amendment rights of conservative individuals and organizations — constituting a fundamental and abject violation of our civil rights. This travesty will have to be addressed by legislation and the courts, and sooner the better.
The road to 25 has been very challenging, not just because all business start-ups struggle and managing a small business creates constant challenges, but because of the nature of the work we do. Sorting through the wasteland of detritus the Left leaves in its wake is as relentless a task, but we have never missed our daily publishing deadlines.
Over the last 25 years, countless Internet news startups have come and gone. But thanks to the tireless efforts of our devoted team of writers, editors, technical and creative staff, and support personnel, and the steadfast commitment of our supporters, The Patriot Post has grown from its humble beginnings into a highly acclaimed touchstone of Liberty for conservative grassroots influencers across our nation.
Q: You’ve seen a lot of “cycles” in your years as a political analyst. What do you see right now that should give conservatives hope?
The Patriot: What I see now is what I have seen from our first day publishing. We never waiver from the fact that tyranny is temporal, Liberty is eternal. Conservatives should embrace that maxim every day. The Left is committed to the fomenting of fear, division and hate in order to perpetuate their statist agenda. We must be singularly devoted to the principles Liberty established by our Founders and let those principles be the foundation of all our political and cultural contests.
Q: Conservatives are too cerebral about politics to the neglect of practical solutions that could make a difference legislatively and culturally. What would you advise to move from “getting educated” to taking action?
The Patriot: We just saw in Virginia’s elections, what can happen when grassroots conservatives get educated and take action. Doing either in the absence of the other will not result in better communities or a better country. Get educated, determine in your own spheres of influence how you can best apply your time and energy to issues that matter most, and take action individually or corporately, framing solutions in the fundamentals of individual rights and responsibilities, the core principles of Liberty.
