WASHINGTON—Heritage Foundation founder and former president Dr. Ed Feulner issued the following statement Monday on the death of author, journalist, and former Heritage trustee Midge Decter:
“Midge Decter’s keen intellect was invaluable to the conservative movement. She wrote and lectured incisively on a range of topics, from family values to foreign policy. Not least were her contributions to The Heritage Foundation while she was a trustee here for more than 30 years, from 1981 until 2015.
“A glance at some of the titles of Midge’s lectures at Heritage over the years begins to hint at the sweep of her acumen: ‘The U.N. Under Scrutiny,’ ‘What Do Women Want?’, ‘Long Live the [Conservative] Revolution,’ ‘Shaping a Foreign Policy Agenda for the 1990s,’ ‘Is Conservatism Optimistic or Pessimistic?’, and—perhaps my favorite—‘Why American Families Are So Unhinged.’
“Of course, Midge’s choice words also graced the pages and challenged the readers of Commentary, First Things and Harper’s (where she once was executive editor), among other publications.
“She was a master of long-form prose, as well. Her books included ‘Liberal Parents, Radical Children,’ ‘The New Chastity and Other Arguments Against Women's Liberation,’ and ‘Rumsfeld: A Personal Portrait.’
“The New York Times Book Review encapsulated much truth about Midge in this single phrase: ‘A woman who keeps her eyes on the big things and the small ones and makes the connection between the two.’
“Midge and her husband, fellow journalist Norman Podhoretz, share much of the credit for starting what came to be called the neoconservative movement.
“She stood for freedom like few other women of her generation. She helped found the Independent Women’s Forum. She relished causing a bit of a stir as senior fellow at the Institute on Religion and Public Life in her beloved New York City.
“And she inspired many of us with her dogged work as co-chairman and executive director of the Committee for a Free World. She gladly disbanded that organization after the fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the Soviet Union, but liberty remained her passion.
“Liberty has lost a great thinker and a great champion. We at Heritage mourn her passing, but look back at her life with gratitude and affection. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her marvelous family."
