John Terrence "Terry" Dolan (1950 – December 28, 1986) was an American New Right political activist who was a co-founder and chairman of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC).[1] Dolan was also, during the mid to late 1970s, in the leadership of Christian Voice, "the nation's oldest conservative Christian lobby".[2]

While Dolan was a proponent of family values and the organizations he led were persistently critical of gay rights, he was revealed to have been a closeted homosexual,[3][4][5][6] who frequented gay bars in Washington, D.C.[7] At a Washington fundraising event in 1985, the renowned AIDS activist Larry Kramer reportedly tossed a glass of water in his face.[8] Dolan died from complications of AIDS at the age of 36.[9] He is one of many with panels dedicated to them (in his case three panels) in the AIDS Quilt.[10]

Political activities

College Republicans

A native of Connecticut, Dolan became active in politics during his teens as a Republican volunteer. At age 21, he worked as a paid organizer in Richard Nixon's 1972 presidential re-election campaign.[11] The following year, he was a candidate for chairman of the College Republican National Committee but lost to Karl Rove.[12]

Christian Voice to Moral Majority

After Christian Voice co-founder Dr. Robert Grant ousted Dolan, Howard Phillips, and Richard Viguerie from the Christian Voice organization, the trio went on to help persuade Jerry Falwell to build a new Christian Right organization, the Moral Majority.

National Conservative Political Action Committee

Dolan was later a co-founder and chairman of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC).[1] He co-authored Reagan: A President Succeeds with Gregory Fossedal. His brother, Anthony R. Dolan, was also a political activist and Ronald Reagan's chief presidential speechwriter.[13]

Dolan was a member of the Council for National Policy Board of Governors, a member of the advisory board for CAUSA International (an educational, anti-communist organization founded by Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon),[14][15] and Director of Conservatives Against Liberal Legislation (CALL).[16]

References

  1. 1 2 Elizabeth Kastor (1987), The Cautious Closet of the Gay Conservative; In the Life and Death of Terry Dolan, Mirror Images From the Age of AIDS, The Washington Post, May 11, 1987.
  2. ↑ Christian Voice, Inc., archive.org.
  3. ↑ Gallagher, John; Bull, Chris (May 13, 1997), Perfect Enemies, Crown Publishers, ISBN 0-517-70198-7, retrieved 2010-05-25
  4. ↑ Rich, Frank (2005-05-15), "Just How Gay is the Right?", The New York Times, archived from the original on 2012-01-18, retrieved 2007-09-06
  5. ↑ Shilts, Randy (2000), And the Band Played on, St. Martin's Press, p. 407, ISBN 0-312-24135-6
  6. ↑ Lauerman, Kerry (June 23, 2012). "Terry Dolan". LGBT's worst foe: The Closet Monster. Salon.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  7. ↑ Steve Endean (2006), Bringing Lesbian And Gay Rights Into the Mainstream: Twenty Years of Progress Archived 2014-07-05 at the Wayback Machine, Haworth Press; ISBN 1-56023-526-8, p. 269
  8. ↑ Larry Kramer, writer who sounded alarm on AIDS, dies at 84,The Washington Post, May 28, 2020 Archived 2020-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Henry, III, William A. (1990-01-29), "Forcing Gays Out of the Closet", Time, archived from the original on September 30, 2007, retrieved 2007-09-06
  10. ↑ "Interactive AIDS Quilt". www.aidsmemorial.org.
  11. ↑ The New Right Takes Aim, Time magazine, August 20, 1979.
  12. ↑ Karl Rove: The Strategist Archived 2011-11-06 at the Wayback Machine, by Dan Balz, Washington Post, July 23, 1999.
  13. ↑ Dolan, Tony: Files, 1981-1989 – Reagan Library Collections, archived from the original on 2007-07-14, retrieved 2007-09-06
  14. ↑ Michael Isikoff, Church Spends Millions on its Image Archived 2019-09-01 at the Wayback Machine, The Washington Post, September 17, 1984, page A1.
  15. ↑ Sun Myung Moon's Followers Recruit Christians to Assist in Battle Against Communism Archived 2021-01-16 at the Wayback Machine Christianity Today June 15, 1985.
  16. ↑ John T. (Terry) Dolan Archived 2007-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, The Council for National Policy: Selected Member Biographies
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