State Policy Network honors the memory of P.J. O’Rourke

Political satirist and phenomenal writer P.J. O’Rourke passed away on February 15, 2022, from lung cancer complications. He was 74. O’Rourke was a friend to State Policy Network over the years and we join thousands of others who are mourning his passing and celebrating his incredible life.

O’Rourke grew up in Toldeo, Ohio and was an alumnus of Miami University and Johns Hopkins. He went on to work at National Lampoon and Rolling Stone.

O’Rourke was famously known for his incredible sense of humor and wit. He wrote more than 20 books, including the bestsellers “Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government,” and “Give War a Chance: Eyewitness Accounts of Mankind’s Struggle Against Tyranny, Injustice and Alcohol-Free Beer.”

His columns appeared in The Weekly Standard (where he was also a contributing editor), The Atlantic, The American Spectator, Rolling Stone, and The Daily Beast.

O’Rourke was also a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and most recently a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait… Wait… Don’t Tell Me.

Friends and colleagues remember O’Rourke as prolific writer, great friend

But O’Rourke was more than his prose. Those closest to O’Rourke described him as warm, kind, and a joy to be around. Writer John Podhoretz noted P.J. “maybe the nicest person I’ve ever known.” Peter Sagal, O’Rourke’s colleague and host of Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, added: “Most well-known people try to be nicer than they are in public than they are in private life. PJ was the only man I knew to be the opposite. He was a deeply kind and generous man who pretended to be a curmudgeon for public consumption.”

Sagal also shared a note O’Rourke wrote to him after the death of his mother. The touching note speaks to O’Rourke’s character and who he was as a person—generous, thoughtful, and caring.

SPN President Tracie Sharp remarked: “I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of P.J. O’ Rourke, an exceptional writer with an incredible ability to use humor to illuminate the foolishness that so often plagues American politics. As the tributes pour in from friends, colleagues, and even strangers, it’s clear P.J.’s writing had a profound impact on people. But in addition to his remarkable voice, and perhaps what makes this loss even greater, P.J. was a fearless truthsayer. He was one of a kind, and will be sorely missed.”

O’Rourke was also honest. He wasn’t afraid to highlight government hypocrisy and corruption—no matter what side of the political aisle it emanated from.

He famously said: “The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer and remove the crab grass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then get elected and prove it.”

What a hard act to follow.