Coming Out Conservative

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Determined to do what he could to stop the rising tide of bigotry perpetuated by the right wing and frustrated by not being able to acknowledge his sexual preference, Marvin Liebman - a major strategist and fund-raiser for the conservative movement - decided in 1990 to reveal his homosexuality.With the demise of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union - the "enemy" that has long held the conservative movement together - Liebman fears that the American Right has begun a frenzied search for a new villain. He warns that gays and lesbians may be the next targets of hate, just as blacks, Jews, and foreigners have been victimized in the past.Writing with exceptional charm, candor, and insight, Liebman opens up both the "back rooms" of American politics and his personal life. He has been a political insider who has worked closely with William F. Buckley, Jr., and his National Review, and with conservative politicians from Barry Goldwater to Ronald Reagan; an activist who struggled for the radical Irgun to free Palestine; a religious convert from Judaism to Catholicism; a producer of theater and films in London; and now, after many years of hiding, an outspoken gay man.Whether creating influential organizations like Young Americans for Freedom and the Committee of One Million, staging political rallies and Presidential conventions, or raising and quietly channeling funds to friendly groups worldwide, the author has been instrumental in shaping the conservative movement.Coming Out Conservative is more than one person's account of being gay and being conservative; it is about individual freedom and the future of American politics.