James J. Kilpatrick

Oklahoma City-born newsman/commentator James J. Kilpatrick died Sunday night in Washington, D.C. He was 89. He rose from cub reporter at the old Richmond (Va.) News Leader to become one of the most recognizable faces on television during the 1970s — as the conservative in the point/counterpoint segment on CBS’  “60 Minutes” program. “Before there was a Bill Buckley, before there was a Ronald Reagan or Rush Limbaugh, there was James Jackson Kilpatrick explaining public-policy issues from a conservative perspective,” direct-mail pioneer Richard Viguerie told The Washington Post. Kilpatrick became a national conservative voice on TV despite an earlier period in his career when he argued in editorials for segregation and state nullification of federal civil rights legislation, a position from which he later retreated. In between he wrote as a syndicated columnist and contributor to National Review magazine, his favorite topics being patriotism, self-reliance and freedom.

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