An assortment of conservative activists demanded the Washington Post stop referring to columnist Jennifer Rubin as a "conservative" -- and hire one who meets their approval.
The right-wing think tank American Principles Project sent a letter to the newspaper complaining that Rubin, an outspoken opponent of President Donald Trump, could not credibly be described as a conservative.
"Given the Post’s standing as an important platform for political opinion in our nation’s capital, we also respectfully request that you consider hiring a voice who can eloquently and effectively defend the positions held by our President, his party, and the millions of voters who elected him," the letter says. "We would be happy to provide recommendations.”
“In truth, it is nearly impossible to discern any conservatism in Rubin’s contemporary writing,” the activists added.
They cited Rubin's recent writings on climate change, gun control, Middle East policy, tax cuts, immigration and abortion as evidence that she had drifted away from conservative orthodoxy.
"Anyone following Rubin’s writing closely at this point would rightfully find the claim that she is ‘conservative’ laughable," the letter claims. And yet, she is still regularly touted in the media as a conservative voice — and by your own paper as ‘reporting from a center-right perspective."
The letter was signed by the think tank's leadership, along with anti-LGBT activists William Boykin and Gary Bauer, and Tea Party activists Jenny Beth Martin and Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
