Matthew John "Matt" Labash (born 1970 or 1971)[1] is an American author and journalist who is a senior writer at The Weekly Standard, where his articles frequently appear. He is also a regular contributor to the Daily Caller.
He has been described as “one of the best long-form journalists working today.”[2] P.J. O'Rourke has called him “Hunter S. Thompson on acid”[3] and the America's Future Foundation dubbed him “America’s greatest living treasure.”[4]
Labash's pieces are noted for their wry, sardonic wit and their relative lack of political or ideological content, given their appearance in conservative publications. “I've never been a real hard-core political writer,” he has said. “I sort of live on the fringes and find stories that amuse me.”[5] Joseph Y. Calhoun has written that “Matt Labash is not your typical Weekly Standard conservative dweeb writer. He’s witty, gritty and always finds the real story.” A left-wing contributor to L.A. Weekly commented: “I really do try not to read the Weekly Standard. But every so often, Labash gives a reminder as to why, politics aside, he's a great magazine writer.”[1][7]
Labash specializes in long-form, humorous reportage. Many of his pieces are profiles, often of crooked and disgraced politicians; others are accounts of offbeat conferences or portraits of cities on the skids, such as Detroit and New Orleans. In 2010, Simon & Schuster published a very well-received collection of his pieces entitled Fly Fishing with Darth Vader: and Other Adventures with Evangelical Wrestlers, Political Hitmen, and Jewish Cowboys.
He has been described as “one of the best long-form journalists working today.”[2] P.J. O'Rourke has called him “Hunter S. Thompson on acid”[3] and the America's Future Foundation dubbed him “America’s greatest living treasure.”[4]
Labash's pieces are noted for their wry, sardonic wit and their relative lack of political or ideological content, given their appearance in conservative publications. “I've never been a real hard-core political writer,” he has said. “I sort of live on the fringes and find stories that amuse me.”[5] Joseph Y. Calhoun has written that “Matt Labash is not your typical Weekly Standard conservative dweeb writer. He’s witty, gritty and always finds the real story.” A left-wing contributor to L.A. Weekly commented: “I really do try not to read the Weekly Standard. But every so often, Labash gives a reminder as to why, politics aside, he's a great magazine writer.”[1][7]
Labash specializes in long-form, humorous reportage. Many of his pieces are profiles, often of crooked and disgraced politicians; others are accounts of offbeat conferences or portraits of cities on the skids, such as Detroit and New Orleans. In 2010, Simon & Schuster published a very well-received collection of his pieces entitled Fly Fishing with Darth Vader: and Other Adventures with Evangelical Wrestlers, Political Hitmen, and Jewish Cowboys.