Right decision

What led to David Mamet’s denunciation of liberalism? | Janie B. Cheaney

Krieg Barrie/WORLD

It was treated as a coup for the right: a cultural icon renouncing the creed of his liberal comrades-in-art. If not a household name, David Mamet's work is common knowledge, as prize-winning playwright, screenwriter and/or director of Speed-the-Plow, Wag the Dog, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Spanish Prisoner, Ronin, and more. He has published fiction, essays, and children's stories, drawn cartoons for the Huffington Post, created a TV series and Ford commercials. Made a dent, in other words. That's why his coming-out sent shock waves through the arts and letters community.

Conservatives cheered his intellectual honesty and welcomed him to the ranks. "The right has gained an artist," exulted novelist Andrew Klavan. Left-leaning commentators rolled their eyes. "David Mamet is a little sissy," according to one blogger. "Let's stop with the fake conversions. You just don't like paying your taxes."