Quin Hillyer
Encyclopedia
R. Quin Edmonson Hillyer (born March 16, 1964) is an American newspaper
columnist and writer.
and graduated from Trinity Episcopal School
in 1978 and the Isidore Newman School
in 1982 before matriculating at Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C.
, graduating with a A.B. in government and theology (cum laude) in 1986. While at Georgetown, Hillyer held major editorial positions at the student newspaper, The Hoya
, and wrote extensively during the school’s Final Four
basketball appearances in 1984 and 1985.
Following graduation, Hillyer joined the New Orleans Times-Picayune
as a correspondent before a term as research/issues director for the Louisiana gubernatorial campaign of Bob Livingston
in 1987. He served as an unpaid director in the state campaign for Pete Dupont’s 1988 GOP presidential bid. A former page at the 1980 Republican National Convention
, Hillyer attended the 1988 Republican convention as an alternate delegate from the state of Louisiana.
David Duke
switched parties in an attempt to reach higher office. Duke’s rise in Republican circles were troubling to many Louisiana public and private sector officials. Hillyer, serving as state chairman of the Louisiana Young Republicans, was among a group of ten that founded the Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism, a bipartisan group which sought to publicly counter assertions that Duke had severed ties to the Ku Klux Klan
and white supremacist groups. The Coalition opposed Duke’s revisionist history and exposed a number of his ongoing associations with these groups, and as a result Duke was an unsuccessful candidate in statewide races for U.S. Senate in 1990 and governor in 1991.
Hillyer returned to journalism in 1989, serving as managing editor of Gambit, a weekly newsmagazine in the New Orleans area.
(R-LA) in 1991, rising to the position of press secretary as Livingston rose to the chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee in 1995. Hillyer left the staff role after the 1996 elections to return to the private sector, where he returned to journalism and political commentary.
, focusing on both local and national issues during the term of then-governor Mike Huckabee
, who Hillyer sharply criticized at the onset of Huckabee’s 2008 presidential run. In 1998, Hillyer joined the editorial desk at the Mobile Register, gaining widespread acclaim for his coverage of statewide politics and its effect on the city as a whole, receiving the Carmage Walls Commentary Award from the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association and the Green Eyeshade Award for commentary from the Society of Professional Journalists
. "The Register is a fantastic place to work. I’m not sure the people of Mobile realize what a quality newspaper they have,” he said.
Hillyer was soon in demand among a number of Washington-based organizations. He returned to the Nation’s Capital from 2006 through 2011, serving as a managing director at Qorvis Communications, and executive editor of the American Spectator before assuming the post of Associate Editorial Page Editor at the Washington Examiner
in 2008. From 2009 through 2011, he was a senior editorial writer at the Washington Times. He remains a senior editor and columnist at the Spectator.
Hillyer’s articles have appeared in over 100 publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Review
, the New Republic
, The Guardian
(UK), and Investor’s Business Daily. Television appearances included Fox News, MSNBC
, CNN
and CBN
on various political issues, particularly in the 2008 campaign. Hillyer has also appeared on a number of radio talk shows, including those of Michael Reagan
, Lars Larson
and Roger Hedgecock
.
and most closely held in recent years by Ronald Reagan
. Hillyer’s writings are also respectful of the Madisonian
contribution to American liberty and politics. His writings distance itself from the single-issue focus of some religious conservatives, and is especially distrustful of big government conservatives, particularly over taxation and deficit spending policies. Among a number of columnists, including that of George Will
and Charles Krauthammer
, Hillyer was resolutely critical of the spending policies of Bush administration. Hillyer has also expressed concern of the administration of Barack Obama
.
In addition to politics, Hillyer has written frequently on U.S. Supreme Court
nominees over the last two decades. He has strongly supported many Republican-nominated candidates, including Chief Justice
John Roberts
, Associate Justice
Samuel Alito
, and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas
, but took the Bush administration to task over the proposed appointment of Harriet Miers
in 2005. Hillyer is a frequent contributor to the Court-centric web site Confirm Them.
, a 1998 Washington Post column by Al Kamen labeled him the “Oracle of Mobile” for his accuracy in predicting the number of Congressional seats to be held by both parties after the election.
In 1998 and 2000, his Mobile Register columns correctly predicted the number of seats won nationwide in the United States Congress
by each party. In 2002, he missed the total by one seat.
In 2004, he predicted the House numbers within one seat, and missed one state in the electoral battle between George W. Bush
and John Kerry
.
On September 12, 2008, Hillyer correctly predicted the 52.9 percent popular vote for Barack Obama
received in November.
Hillyer noted a misfire he made in the 2006 elections, in which he incorrectly predicted the Republicans would hold the U.S. House of Representatives by one seat.
fan, as his family have held season tickets for the club since the Saints arrived in the Crescent City in 1967. Hillyer is married and lives in Mobile, Alabama
, where he serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Individual Freedom and a writer-in-residence at the University of Mobile
.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
columnist and writer.
Education and early career
Hillyer was born and raised in New Orleans, LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and graduated from Trinity Episcopal School
Trinity Episcopal School
Trinity Episcopal School is independent school, founded in 2000, serving 421 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The campus is located at 750 E. 9th Street in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States...
in 1978 and the Isidore Newman School
Isidore Newman School
Isidore Newman School is a private, nondenominational, co-educational college preparatory school located on an campus in the Uptown section of New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:...
in 1982 before matriculating at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, graduating with a A.B. in government and theology (cum laude) in 1986. While at Georgetown, Hillyer held major editorial positions at the student newspaper, The Hoya
The Hoya
The Hoya, the oldest and largest student newspaper of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, was founded in 1920. The Hoya prints an edition every Tuesday and Friday during the academic year and has a circulation of 6,500...
, and wrote extensively during the school’s Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
basketball appearances in 1984 and 1985.
Following graduation, Hillyer joined the New Orleans Times-Picayune
New Orleans Times-Picayune
The Times-Picayune is a daily newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.-History:Established as The Picayune in 1837 by Francis Lumsden and George Wilkins Kendall, the paper's initial price was one picayune—a Spanish coin equivalent to 6¼¢ .Under Eliza Jane Nicholson, who inherited the...
as a correspondent before a term as research/issues director for the Louisiana gubernatorial campaign of Bob Livingston
Bob Livingston
Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...
in 1987. He served as an unpaid director in the state campaign for Pete Dupont’s 1988 GOP presidential bid. A former page at the 1980 Republican National Convention
1980 Republican National Convention
The 1980 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States convened at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, from July 14 to July 17, 1980. The 32nd Republican National Convention nominated former Governor Ronald W. Reagan of California for President of the United States and former...
, Hillyer attended the 1988 Republican convention as an alternate delegate from the state of Louisiana.
Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism
Following the 1988 elections, former Louisiana DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...
switched parties in an attempt to reach higher office. Duke’s rise in Republican circles were troubling to many Louisiana public and private sector officials. Hillyer, serving as state chairman of the Louisiana Young Republicans, was among a group of ten that founded the Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism, a bipartisan group which sought to publicly counter assertions that Duke had severed ties to the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
and white supremacist groups. The Coalition opposed Duke’s revisionist history and exposed a number of his ongoing associations with these groups, and as a result Duke was an unsuccessful candidate in statewide races for U.S. Senate in 1990 and governor in 1991.
Hillyer returned to journalism in 1989, serving as managing editor of Gambit, a weekly newsmagazine in the New Orleans area.
Congressional press secretary
Hillyer joined the staff of U.S, Representative Robert LivingstonRobert Livingston
Robert Livingston may refer to:* Robert Livingston the Elder , New York colonial official, and first lord of Livingston Manor*Robert Livingston the Younger , mayor of Albany...
(R-LA) in 1991, rising to the position of press secretary as Livingston rose to the chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee in 1995. Hillyer left the staff role after the 1996 elections to return to the private sector, where he returned to journalism and political commentary.
Return to journalism
In 1997, Hillyer joined the editorial staff of the Arkansas Democrat-GazetteArkansas Democrat-Gazette
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell...
, focusing on both local and national issues during the term of then-governor Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
, who Hillyer sharply criticized at the onset of Huckabee’s 2008 presidential run. In 1998, Hillyer joined the editorial desk at the Mobile Register, gaining widespread acclaim for his coverage of statewide politics and its effect on the city as a whole, receiving the Carmage Walls Commentary Award from the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association and the Green Eyeshade Award for commentary from the Society of Professional Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
. "The Register is a fantastic place to work. I’m not sure the people of Mobile realize what a quality newspaper they have,” he said.
Hillyer was soon in demand among a number of Washington-based organizations. He returned to the Nation’s Capital from 2006 through 2011, serving as a managing director at Qorvis Communications, and executive editor of the American Spectator before assuming the post of Associate Editorial Page Editor at the Washington Examiner
Washington Examiner
The Washington Examiner is a free daily newspaper published in Springfield, Virginia, and distributed in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It is owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz....
in 2008. From 2009 through 2011, he was a senior editorial writer at the Washington Times. He remains a senior editor and columnist at the Spectator.
Hillyer’s articles have appeared in over 100 publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, the New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
(UK), and Investor’s Business Daily. Television appearances included Fox News, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and CBN
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
on various political issues, particularly in the 2008 campaign. Hillyer has also appeared on a number of radio talk shows, including those of Michael Reagan
Michael Reagan
Michael Edward Reagan is a former American radio host and Republican strategist. His nationally syndicated radio show, The Michael Reagan Talk Show, aired on stations throughout the United States on the Premiere Radio Networks before being dropped, after which it moved to Radio America...
, Lars Larson
Lars Larson
Lars Larson is a conservative U.S. talk radio show host based in Oregon. Larson hosts a national talk radio show, which as of 2009 is syndicated by Compass Media Networks...
and Roger Hedgecock
Roger Hedgecock
Roger Allan Hedgecock is a conservative talk radio host and former mayor of San Diego, California. His show is syndicated by Radio America. Hedgecock still resides in San Diego...
.
Political views
Hillyer is a classical conservative; his writings maintain the principles of limited government first theorized by James MadisonJames Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
and most closely held in recent years by Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. Hillyer’s writings are also respectful of the Madisonian
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
contribution to American liberty and politics. His writings distance itself from the single-issue focus of some religious conservatives, and is especially distrustful of big government conservatives, particularly over taxation and deficit spending policies. Among a number of columnists, including that of George Will
George Will
George Frederick Will is an American newspaper columnist, journalist, and author. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winner best known for his conservative commentary on politics...
and Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer, MD is an American Pulitzer Prize–winning syndicated columnist, political commentator, and physician. His weekly column appears in The Washington Post and is syndicated to more than 275 newspapers and media outlets. He is a contributing editor to the Weekly Standard and The New...
, Hillyer was resolutely critical of the spending policies of Bush administration. Hillyer has also expressed concern of the administration of Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
In addition to politics, Hillyer has written frequently on U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
nominees over the last two decades. He has strongly supported many Republican-nominated candidates, including Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
John Roberts
John Roberts
John Glover Roberts, Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He has served since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist...
, Associate Justice
Associate Justice
Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...
Samuel Alito
Samuel Alito
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
, and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
, but took the Bush administration to task over the proposed appointment of Harriet Miers
Harriet Miers
Harriet Ellan Miers is an American lawyer and former White House Counsel. In 2005, she was nominated by President George W. Bush to be an Associate Justice of the U.S...
in 2005. Hillyer is a frequent contributor to the Court-centric web site Confirm Them.
“Oracle of Mobile”
Over the last decade, Hillyer’s prognostications of national elections has landed him some unusual acclaim in political circles. While a columnist in Mobile, AlabamaMobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, a 1998 Washington Post column by Al Kamen labeled him the “Oracle of Mobile” for his accuracy in predicting the number of Congressional seats to be held by both parties after the election.
In 1998 and 2000, his Mobile Register columns correctly predicted the number of seats won nationwide in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
by each party. In 2002, he missed the total by one seat.
In 2004, he predicted the House numbers within one seat, and missed one state in the electoral battle between George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
.
On September 12, 2008, Hillyer correctly predicted the 52.9 percent popular vote for Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
received in November.
Hillyer noted a misfire he made in the 2006 elections, in which he incorrectly predicted the Republicans would hold the U.S. House of Representatives by one seat.
Other interests
Hillyer has been deeply involved in leadership positions for organizations ranging from work with at-risk youth to historic preservation. Outside of politics he enjoys jazz music, golf, and is a passionate New Orleans SaintsNew Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
fan, as his family have held season tickets for the club since the Saints arrived in the Crescent City in 1967. Hillyer is married and lives in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, where he serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Individual Freedom and a writer-in-residence at the University of Mobile
University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is an American four-year, private, Baptist-affiliated university in Mobile, Alabama. The master's-level university has an enrollment of 1,577.-History:...
.