Nationality American Education University of Michigan Role Commentator | Name Jonathan Chait Spouse(s) Robin Chait | |
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Occupation Journalist, editor, author Notable credit(s) senior editor at The New Republic; former assistant editor of The American Prospect; author of The Big Con; former fellow at New America Foundation; frequent guest on BloggingHeads.tv Books The Big Con, Big Con, The: Crackpot Economics and the Fleecing of America Similar People Kevin Drum, Paul Krugman, Conor Friedersdorf Profiles | ||
Chait vs. Frum: Is Romney Dishonest?
Jonathan Chait (; born 1972) is an American liberal commentator and writer for New York magazine. He was previously a senior editor at The New Republic and an assistant editor of The American Prospect. He writes a periodic column in the Los Angeles Times.
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Early life and education
Chait was born to a Jewish family. He attended the University of Michigan.
Career
Chait began working at The New Republic in 1995. In January 2010, The New Republic replaced The Plank, TNR's group blog, with the Jonathan Chait Blog. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, and Reason. He took over The New Republic's TRB column from Peter Beinart in March 2007. Chait was named a finalist for the 2009 Ellie (National Magazine Award) in the Columns and Commentary category for three of his 2008 columns.
On March 16, 2009, Chait appeared on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report to counter conservative arguments that the New Deal was a failure. The impetus for that appearance was an article that he wrote for The New Republic, "Wasting Away in Hooverville".
Chait appears in The Rivalry, a 2007 HBO documentary about the history and culture of the Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry. Chait joined the staff of New York magazine on September 6, 2011, leaving his post of Senior Editor at The New Republic. He explained his move: "Obviously I love TNR and had no plans to leave, but the opportunity at New York was irresistible. Everybody who works there raves about it, and my friends in journalism have noticed for a while it's become phenomenal — 'the best magazine in America', as one editor friend of mine told me."
Positions
Chait usually writes about domestic politics and policy. Many of his writings are critiques of what he perceives to be illogical positions taken by conservatives. A self-described liberal hawk, he has written pieces critical of left-wing figures such as Naomi Klein, and wrote a TNR cover article condemning the state of Delaware.
He drew considerable attention with his "Case for Bush Hatred" in which he defended his dislike not only of Bush's policies but also his personality and mannerisms of his persona.
Chait occasionally writes about sports, particularly stories involving his alma mater, the University of Michigan. He strongly criticized the editorial staff of the Detroit Free Press after a controversial article by Michael Rosenberg that alleged systematic infractions of NCAA rules by the Michigan football program under former head coach Rich Rodriguez. Chait suggested Rosenberg's editor should "lose his job" and called the investigation's methodology "journalistic malpractice."
On February 22, 2010, following an investigation stemming from allegations raised in Rosenberg's article, the university announced that the NCAA has found probable cause that the school committed five major violations, corroborating some of the allegations in Rosenberg's article. On May 24, 2010, the University of Michigan responded to the NCAA Notice of Allegations, stating in part, "the University is satisfied that the initial media reports were greatly exaggerated if not flatly incorrect." Chait then claimed Rosenberg's allegations that Rodriguez "operated a football sweatshop has been totally debunked."
On January 27, 2015, Chait wrote an article for New York Magazine on political correctness, which he labeled "a system of left-wing ideological repression" and cited examples from academia and social media. His article was met with criticism, largely, although not entirely, negative. Chait later responded to the criticisms in a second article for New York Magazine.