Wednesday, February 27, 2008
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William F. Buckley, Jr., RIP
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Posted by:
Hugh Hewitt at
3:15 PM
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In the summer of 1974 before I began college, I submitted an article to National Review, along with a cover note to Wlliam F. Buckley, Jr.
I cannot recall what the piece was about, and I suspect it wasn't very good, but Buckley very quickly and unexpectedly sent me back a very kind and encouraging note, as well as the recommendation that I look up Charles Kesler when I got to school, as he too was about to begin his undergraduate studies and he too had corresponded with Buckley.
I did meet up with Charles and have remained friends through the next 30-plus years, but what I never forgot was Buckley's example of graciousness that struck me as inspiring then and since. The exceptionally talented staff at NRO will be honoring WFB for the next few days, and the magazine he founded for as long as it is published (may it be centuries more) but my guess is that there are thousands and thousands of people who Buckley encouraged in a similar fashion that we won't be hearing from, a silent legacy that is vast and enduring.
There may have been more influential conservative pundits and intellectuals over the past half century, though none come immediately to mind, and there may have been more accomplished interviewers and authors of such numerous, diverse and always interesting books, though, again, no names jump out.
But I don't think there is anyone who combined accomplishments of this order with such widespread, genuine and deep affection across the center-right except for Ronald Reagan, who owed much to Buckley, which means we all do.
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William F. Buckley was a conservative lion. A hero to most of us.
He is gone, but his ideas definitely live on. |
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The years of toil and effort of men like William F. Buckley. Buckley's contribution was greater than Barry Goldwater's in many respects (although Goldwater is a hero of mine too). Buckley's legacy is enormous. |
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William F. Buckley will be missed.
John McCain will not be. He'll be gone after November. He is going to resign his Senate seat, isn't he? |
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Buckley was a giant. Christopher said he was probably writing a column at his desk when he went home to be with His Lord.
I knew I was slightly different than most kids when I would stay in on Saturday morning to watch Firing Line. No one debated with more intelligence and wit than he. Thank God Christopher inherited much of his father’s charm and brains, if only as a reminder to the greatness we lost.
So sad to see that some are so petty they will use this moment to attack someone who was a friend of Buckley's and whose parents were close friends. But what should I expect from a liberal? |
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His were the butterfly wings that launched the conservative hurricane. I always wished that he was one of ours. A Renaissance Man if ever there was one: multi-faceted, multi-talented, a very compelling historical figure. Humanity is poorer, much poorer, with his passing.
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I am also devastated, there were times in college
when he was lifeline of sensibility and I feel as if I have lost a family member. Recenlty, I had thought I might even send him a thank you note, even though we had never met and now I regret not doing so. |
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Godspeed him on his final sail.
Now we have just ourselves to fight the Vogon-leftoids who want to run a freeway through the Constitution and are busy rewriting History. |
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I once had the opportunity to help in hosting William F. Buckley for the better part of a day when he visited the university where I was doing my undergraduate degree.
What astonished me, besides his sense of humor, was his genuine interest in the students he was interacting with. He was full of questions, for example, about my two years of service as a Mormon missionary, my studies, etc. And it wasn't just pretend. He remembered what we had discussed. The next day, when he was visiting with a friend of mine and learned that my friend had served in the same mission as I had (German-speaking Switzerland), Buckley said, "That's the same mission where Dan XXXXX served, isn't it?" A very small thing, but, given all the people he had met during the trip, and all the people he had been meeting for many years, and my complete insignificance, it impressed me deeply.
He was an enormous influence on me. He had been so since my freshman year in high school, and has been ever since. And his importance to the conservative movement is simply incalculable. Not merely for his own writing and speaking and debating, but because of the engine he created at National Review.
This is the passing of an era. |
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...Now it's our turn...
What will others say about our legacy? What will they say about what we taught?
I think we need to be very sober-minded as we address the future of Conservatism. There needs to be a deeper reflection on where we came from and where we want to go.
The writings of Mr. Buckley offer that opportunity. Who will take it?
I never met him, never exchanged letters or even emails with him, never considered myself actuall "conservative" until I realized how far left the country has gone.
Time to yell "STOP!" again, I think... |
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His legacy of Wit, Humility, Graciousness, shall live for all he inspired and will aspire.
Heaven's gain, our loss.
God Bless |
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I am very profoundly saddened to hear of the passing of William F. Buckley Jr. and offer my deepest condolences to the Buckley family. Bill had many friends, including my parents, who he even took time to visit when they were stationed at the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii. My father and mother very much admired him and so did their son. With Bill’s passing, freedom has lost one of its greatest defenders. Bill was a great American who helped change the course of history. When conservatism was a lonely cause, he bravely raised the standard of liberty and led the charge to renew the principles and values that are the foundation of our great country. A man of tremendous vision and big ideas, he founded the National Review in 1955 and through its pages and his other endeavors, as a lecturer, commentator, debater and author of dozens of books, inspired many and advanced an intellectual rigor that transformed American politics. Bill was an American giant who shall be missed.
Senator John McCain |
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Even if he was a Yalie, Hugh!
I loved listening to the guy.
I still get word of the day from Dr. Dictionary.
What I loved about him was that he was a sincere individual, probably the most eloquent guy anywhere on the tube.
I always read his editorials.
Rush always talked well of him-that he was a great help to Rush.
And he was a Maine sailor.
Even if he was a Yalie, Hugh!
God Bless William F. Buckeley.
That Yale education must really mean something.
res ipse loquitor.
Forget the Harvard degree.
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I have fond memories of watching the "Firing Line" debates where distinguished panels of conservatives and liberals squared off and debated over major isssues of the day. The discussions were vigorous but fair, no ad hominem allowed. I was always much more engaged with the conservative positions argued in such forums than the juvenile shouting matches and "gotchas" that pass for debate these days.
I rarely agreed with WFB but I always respected him. RIP, sir. |
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I keep thinking of watching him on TV during the Democrat Convention in Chicago, 1968. Was it Cavett hosted? Can't remember. It was when he offered to kick Gore Vidal's butt--on national TV. Priceless! I was a young Graduate Student and, at that time, not on his side of the barricades, but I thought he was wonderful. My parents subscribed to National Review all through the 60's. Now, I've followed suit for many, many years. God Bless you, Bill. Godspeed. |
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What an immeasurable loss suffered by America today. WFB was a national treasure. His ability to express with the pinpoint precision of his prose the intuitions of conservative logic was a priceless asset through the past few decades. By all accounts he was well liked by his ideological foes as a kind and gracious man, despite the intellectual mercilessness with which he might refute their arguments. It is hard to accept that I no longer can look forward to the wit and wisdom of his column.
Rest in Peace.
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To honor the life and memory of a true conservative servant of principle, I propose a new tactic to put the liberal Genie back in her bottle of Constitutional restraint.
Why can't conservatives use the court system in the same way that progressives do to get around government restraint? What if "charity" was rightly ordained by statute to be a formal tenet of religion as it is mandated in both the Old and New Testaments? Wouldn't prohibition against religious establishment be a wonderful bulwark to stem the slide toward the socialist utopia preached on the Democrat campaign stump every waking hour? Wouldn't Bill delight if the land he loved finally shirked the stifling redistribution of wealth schemes by its government and returned the practice of charity back to those who perform it in obedience to God?
Surely the Constitutional prohibition of the First Amendment extends to a practice that has effectively replaced the influence of religion on society the way that welfare, food stamps, Medicade, Social Security, etc., etc., have.
All we need is a test case and a fine legal scholar. How about it Hugh? |
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27 February 2008. "Huckabee Praises Buckley"
http://newsmax.com/insidecover/Huckabee_Praises_Buckley/200 8/02/27/76093.html
Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee has issued the following comment in response to the death of William F. Buckley:
"Janet and I were sad to hear the news of William F. Buckley's passing. As one of the founders of the modern conservative movement, William Buckley helped turn the intellectual and political tide, shifting America from liberalism to conservatism. Our country, and our world, are better for his 82 years on this earth.
"Bill Buckley was also one of a kind-a scholar, an activist, a wit, a harpsichord player. As a young man, he wrote God and Man at Yale, an enduring critique of secular liberalism. In 1955, his National Review burst into prominence, influencing many millions of young conservatives, including one youngster from a little town in Arkansas.
To this day, his magazine stands as one of the most important voices of conservative opinion. In addition, he produced a seemingly endless quantity of books, novels, articles, columns, and TV shows.
"So all conservatives owe Bill Buckley a great debt. Today, while our thoughts and prayers are with the Buckley family, we conservatives continue to draw inspiration from his life and work. But there is more to be done. It is up to us to carry on, fulfilling his enormous legacy."
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Bill Buckley was all there was for conservatives in the beginning. It started with "God and Man at Yale".
There was no alternative medium in the intelligentsia, schools and media to established liberal dogma. In the beginning there was Buckley and his ideas. Conservatives have come a long way since then.
Bill Buckley brought Burke and the classic struggle between right and left (see "Reflections on the Revolution in France" ) back into the popular political dialogue. He championed the Austrian economists (Mises and Hayek), and later, Friedman. With only a set of ideas and a fledgling magazine, he in large part brought about the repudiation of Keynesian economics and the supply side revolution that followed.
Buckley laid bare the lie of communism. He published the writings of one communism's former insiders, Whittaker Chambers, and showed the world what the left really was.
Buckley was what conservatives needed most at that particular time in history: an erudite intellectual with a razor sharp wit and mind who could and would eviscerate an opponent, and do it politely. John Kenneth Galbraith comes to mind.
Bill Buckley will be missed.
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Bill Buckley was the first writer I discovered at Yale during my transition to ideological sanity.
He gave me hope in the midst of some CRAZY times. Alice in Wonderland meets Che Guevera.
He taught me to think like a conservative and for myself. One of the trends I foresaw in the midst of a liberal ocean was the coming infringement on the 1st amendment.
Today we have the Tecumseh Project, which unites groups and persons to fight oppression in the West. God bless you Bill, and I hope our site honors you.
http://www.tecumseh@tecumsehproject.com |
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I appreciated his unique choice of words and his wonderful delivery of thoughts along with that humorous sparkle in his eyes. He'll will be greatly missed. |
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Hopefully, the passing of a great thinker like WFB will give Republicans a reminder of why we embrassed Conservatism with open arms.
I really hope his death leads to a re-birth in real Conservative thinking. Sadly, most people that vote for anyone with an (R) after their name think they are being true to the conservative cause. They are wrong.
Please re-learn the truths of true conservatism. Maybe you will then undertsand why so many of us could never pull the lever for McCain. |
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His influence on me began in the early '50's. I was 15 and had read God and Man at Yale as I remarked on MaryKath.Ham's blog.It changed my life politically. In '55, when Nat. Review began, I subsribed and my parents could not figure out why. I entered a contest, silly one and won. He mocked my answers in great jest and I was really hooked. He answered letters from me as a frosh at AU and I never forgot him. May he rest with his Savior Jesus as we struggle on without his brilliance. |
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It is often said that the measure of a man is what he did when no one is watching. By all accounts, WFB was a standard to measure to ourselves by. |
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I started watching Firing Line as a child with my father, and I started reading NR as a teenager. As a young adult he exposed my ignorance, and reminded me that I had much more to learn. He more than anybody forced my interest in political philisophy. In fact, I'd probably not be re-reading The Illiad right now were it not for him.
I knew that he was going to be leaving us soon and I thought I'd prepared myself for his death. The lump in my throat suggests otherwise.
I owe him more than I'll ever be able to repay. |
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one with which I must reluctantly agree, even though I respected Buckley's mind immensely. He did not run the race well, except in the beginning, and his failure to do so has left us with a very emaciated, compromised "conservatism", illustrated most recently by the GOP's coronation of John Mequeno:
http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/010017.html
Here's hoping that the neocon Trojan Horse will have been destroyed completely, and true conservatism rediscovered, by the time Obama leaves office.
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That eulogy of Buckley reminds me that the great man made many enemies - namely of the John Birchers who are alive and well in today's conservative movement.
What is a shame is that he didn't put you fully out of your misery. How sad it is to read the whining rhetoric of losing nativists more at home in the Party of John C. Calhoun than Abraham Lincoln. You and your ilk remind me that extremism is a deadly plague that would eat the fruits of conservatism from within just as the leftist radical fascists would devour us from the out.
I thank God that the Republican Party has once again followed the moral and intellectual brilliance of Buckley by rejecting your elitist influence in support of Senator McCain.
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Well, I figured on such a response, perhaps the first of many.
"That eulogy of Buckley reminds me that the great man made many enemies - namely of the John Birchers . . . ."
Ah, so to be a critic of Buckley is to be a "John Bircher." Well, there's some compelling logic.
"What is a shame is that he didn't put you fully out of your misery."
Rather, what a shame that his malfeasance brought you to your current misery. But should you ever seek a cure, yes, we Old Rightists are still here.
"How sad it is to read the whining rhetoric of losing nativists more at home in the Party of John C. Calhoun than Abraham Lincoln."
How sad it is to see so-called conservatives engage in the PC tactic of name-calling. However, this is Hugh's board and "nativist" is one of his favorite "argument stoppers." But I obviously agree with your comment as to Calhoun vs. Lincoln.
"You and your ilk remind me that extremism is a deadly plague. . . ."
An "extremist" in addition to a "nativist." You can't imagine my surprise over the employment of this argument stopper as well. But I wonder, do you recall who spoke these words?: "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice!"
"I thank God that the Republican Party has once again followed the moral and intellectual brilliance of Buckley by rejecting your elitist influence in support of Senator McCain."
Well, I personally don't think God has anything to do with that, as we will likely see this November. I believe that many of us who were around in the heady days of Goldwater and the "Reagan Revolution", if we could have seen that Buckley was really leading us to McCain, would have gotten off the train.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl32Y7wDVDs
I hope Virginia Patriot and NeoConScum pay attention. |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl32Y7wDVDs
I think this clip is real. Pay attention. |
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Thank goodness the GOP has rejected elitists like Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo, and has now embraced the anti-elitist Rockefeller-wing of the GOP.
It shows too. The Dem party has $35M in the bank, the GOP has $6M.
McCain, Boehner, Martinez, and McConnell will lead the GOP down the primrose path to victory!
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,
Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads
And recks not his own rede.
heh heh.
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The following was part of Ann Coulters farewell yesterday to WFB. Read it and digest...
"With liberal Republicans still bothering everyone even after Reagan, Buckley went all out against liberal Republican Sen. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. When Democrat Joe Lieberman challenged Weicker for the Senate in 1988, National Review ran an article subtly titled: "Does Lowell Weicker Make You Sick?"
Buckley started a political action committee to support Lieberman, explaining, "We want to pass the word that it's OK to vote for the other guy or stay at home." The good thing about Lieberman, Buckley said, was that he "doesn't have the tendency of appalling you every time he opens his mouth." |
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“Ah, so to be a critic of Buckley is to be a "John Bircher." Well, there's some compelling logic.”
To be a critic from Buckley’s right and to make conspiratorial-minded critiques – pretty compelling to me.
“Rather, what a shame that his malfeasance brought you to your current misery.”
Malfeasance? In the first place Buckley wasn’t a public official and secondly what law did he break? Thirdly, the only misery I suffer is the passing of a great man.
“How sad it is to see so-called conservatives engage in the PC tactic of name-calling.”
So by your logic ‘conservative’ is also a pc tactic of name-calling. You are a nativist. It is not a ‘mean’ personal attack but an accurate and objective definition for what you believe. What’s sad is that you have to engage in the pc tactic of whining.
“But I obviously agree with your comment as to Calhoun vs. Lincoln.”
Wow, so you admit it? You agree more with Calhoun than Lincoln and you call yourself a Conservative? BTW, Calhoun was my great(5) grandfather so I take some pride in denouncing you.
“An "extremist" in addition to a "nativist."
Again to condemn a man who agrees with you on 80% because of 20% is an objective definition of extremist. Clearly your embrace of that disgusting eulogy was outside of the norm (again the definition of extremist).
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"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice!"
And I would remind you that LBJ won 54% of the vote and an electoral landslide. I would also remind you that in his later years Goldwater advocated for gay rights.
“Well, I personally don't think God has anything to do with that”
Of course you don’t which is why you are hardly, in truth, a conservative.
“in the heady days of Goldwater and the "Reagan Revolution", if we could have seen that Buckley was really leading us to McCain, would have gotten off the train.
Reagan? You mean the man who raised the payroll tax, legalized abortion in California, signed amnesty into law and fled Lebanon after a terrorist attack? That Reagan? Or do you mean you worship false idols?
You are a Bircher extremist. Your kind railed against Buckley in the 50’s, against Reagan in the late 70’s and early 80s and now against McCain. Your kind must be defeated if conservatism is to ever prosper. That’s one of the lessons that pragmatist Buckley wisely engrained into Conservative movement and is why Conservatives have actually influenced the direction of the Republic in the last 28 years.
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Which Buckley do you mean?
"That’s one of the lessons that pragmatist Buckley wisely engrained into Conservative movement and is why Conservatives have actually influenced the direction of the Republic in the last 28 years."
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When you answer that question then you will understand human nature. And once you understand human nature then you will understand conservatism. And once you understand conservatism you will praise Buckley.
Until then you are just a liberal lost in your conservative principles. |
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Thank you. I just wanted to be sure you meant WFB Jr.
And yes, I have a reason why I wanted you to clarify, even if you did try insults instead of a straight answer. If you are an admirer of WFB Jr. and a true conservative, why do you constantly talk down to those of us that will not vote for McCain? |
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Are you afraid to answer? |
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"why do you constantly talk down to those of us that will not vote for McCain?"
For the same reason Buckley talked down to the John Birchers and anti-Semites in our Party back in the day.
And why do you Birchers keep saying I am 'trying insults". Your whines are getting tedious. The truth cannot insult. It may offend but never insults. In fact it illuminates.
And anyone who doesn't vote for McCain is voting for Obama. And no true conservative would ever want Obama to win. |
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"Are you afraid to answer? "
Yes shaking in my boots...
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
I am at work dumb a$$ and will answer when I have the time!
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More later. Lunch beckons. |
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I knew I had you when you confirmed that you were talking about WFB Jr. one of my ideological heroes.
If you knew about true conservativism you would not berate those that say they cannot vote for McCain, or those that will write-in their choice, or even those that say they will stay home and skip voting. If you were a true conservative, you would agree with my hero WFB Jr., but I have shown you to be a fake. I thank you for that. WFB Jr. NOT agree with your stand on John McCain, and I can prove it! |
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a dump on the place for respect and God Speed for Bill Buckley. Why am I surprised. Their need to spread their self-centerd crap--even here--outweighs all.
Mr.Buckley, Thank You, for all you did for America and Conservatism. Thank you for the brains, class, vast writing & thinking & chapioning abilities. I had the pleasure of running into him on a sidewalk in Lucerne some years ago. He seemed to be just killing time window shopping and was generous, while waiting for a friend, to join me for 15-minutes for some coffee and a brief conversation I shall treasure always. A magnificent human being. RIP. |
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"If you were a true conservative, you would agree with my hero WFB Jr., but I have shown you to be a fake. I thank you for that. WFB Jr. NOT agree with your stand on John McCain, and I can prove it!"
Wrong! Get you head out of your a$$. Being a conservative does not mean following the leader. It does not mean walking in lock-step. It does not mean AGREEING 100% with WFB, Jr. The fact that you don't get that proves, ONCE AGAIN, that you are not a conservative.
Buckley was not Jesus Christ. The fact that you wingnuts keep looking for a Messiah figure to worship instead of coming to the rational conclusion that man is fallen and we must make the best with what we got shows how far removed from Bucklet's pragmatic conservatism you Birchers are.
Why do you think Buckley fought you extremists so strongly? |
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The most obnoxious among you, those like Mc_Tex and Shannon, are NOT -- I repeat -- ARE NOT doing your cause ANY favors by continuing to insult conservatives.
As CabalMember pointed out, this is a place to honor WFB and mourn his passing.
God speed, Bill. We owe you one. |
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“To be a critic from Buckley’s right and to make conspiratorial-minded critiques – pretty compelling to me (that Cicero is a Bircher).”
Uh, what “conspiratorial-minded critiques” would those be? I simply posted criticisms of Buckley from Auster’s page. For the record, I’m not a member of the JBS and I’m not into conspiracy theories.
“Malfeasance? In the first place Buckley wasn’t a public official and secondly what law did he break? Thirdly, the only misery I suffer is the passing of a great man.”
He doesn’t have to be either to commit malfeasance, since that word can refer to simple wrongdoing. Buckley did wrong in not holding fast to true conservative principles.
“So by your logic ‘conservative’ is also a pc tactic of name-calling. You are a nativist. It is not a ‘mean’ personal attack but an accurate and objective definition for what you believe. What’s sad is that you have to engage in the pc tactic of whining.”
You mean “neoconservative”? Sure, certain descriptive terms can be turned into pejoratives, but context is determinative. “Neoconservative” is quite descriptive, and that’s the sense in which I used it. “Nativist” and “extremist”, however, are much more easily employed as pejoratives, and as I mentioned previously, Hugh commonly uses the former in a pejorative sense. As have you. Who’s “whining” by the way? Not me. But you most certainly are ranting and raving. Just remember what St. John Cassian said: “Anger dulls the intellect.”
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“You agree more with Calhoun than Lincoln and you call yourself a Conservative?”
Well, of course. Agreeing with Calhoun somehow makes me a *liberal*?
“BTW, Calhoun was my great(5) grandfather so I take some pride in denouncing you.”
I’m sure he’s proud of you.
“Of course you don’t which is why you are hardly, in truth, a conservative.”
Say again? Because I believe that God had nothing to do with the McCain conservative, that makes me a non-conservative? What planet are you living on, anyway?
“You are a Bircher extremist.”
Well, there you go again, drawing illogical conclusions and calling names.
“Your kind railed against Buckley in the 50’s, against Reagan in the late 70’s and early 80s and now against McCain. Your kind must be defeated if conservatism is to ever prosper.”
Defeated? My dear man we have hardly any influence in the “conservative” movement at all.
“That’s one of the lessons that pragmatist Buckley wisely engrained into Conservative movement and is why Conservatives have actually influenced the direction of the Republic in the last 28 years.”
Well, that’s certainly one analysis, and you’re welcome to it. The other analysis you can read at Auster’s blog. History will justify one or the other. I’m pretty confident about which one it will be.
Adieu. |
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How original, Mc_Tex. What's next, "potbangers?"
;) |
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I admired WFB Jr. and I have to admit I put him up on a pedestal. However, I did not blindly follow him 100% as you mentioned. But I do agree with him on his thoughts on voting. Here's one you should digest. You can appologize later....
"With liberal Republicans still bothering everyone even after Reagan, Buckley went all out against liberal Republican Sen. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. When Democrat Joe Lieberman challenged Weicker for the Senate in 1988, National Review ran an article subtly titled: "Does Lowell Weicker Make You Sick?"
Buckley started a political action committee to support Lieberman, explaining, "We want to pass the word that it's OK to vote for the other guy or stay at home." The good thing about Lieberman, Buckley said, was that he "doesn't have the tendency of appalling you every time he opens his mouth." |
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"Because I believe that God had nothing to do with the McCain *candidacy*, that makes me a non-conservative?" |
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From that Auster blog entry I linked above:
"He (Buckley) handed over a once magnificent political magazine to a bunch of children who did to it what children will do ... they destroyed it."
"Buckley became a catatonic Theoden, king of Rohan, and Rich Lowry, his Grima Wormtongue. The conservative movement is overrun by pillaging orcs, and traditionalists are expelled from the city." |
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I had had an article idea sitting in the back of my head and after I read your post on William F. Buckley, Mr. Hewitt, I went and submitted it to the National Review. I have no idea if they'll read it, publish it or if the editors will contact me in a similiar way to how they contacted you, but reading your post pushed me in that direction. |
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So you do what you dont want me to do? What a hypocrite you are!
LMAO
Buckley would be proud of me, that I am sure of, since I am continuing the tradition he started.
And I am sure your hypocitical comment would make him chuckle. |
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“I simply posted criticisms… from Auster’s page.”
Why would you post a critical piece on a site honoring the man after his death? What class. Couldn’t you have waited a week?
Are you saying now you don’t prescribe to the conspiratorial points made on Auster’s page?
“that word can refer to simple wrongdoing. Buckley did wrong in not holding fast to true conservative principles.”
Malfeasance primarily refers to public officials and secondarily refers to violations of the law.
And who made you God? Where in the hell do you get off thinking you get to define who is and who isn’t a true conservative? What an elitist demagogue you are!
”Sure, certain descriptive terms can be turned into pejoratives, but context is determinative.”
Both nativist and extremist are proper descriptive terms for you as your writings reveal. If you want to whine about that now because your bleeding heart feels them pejorative then go whine to someone who cares.
“Well, of course. Agreeing with Calhoun somehow makes me a *liberal*?”
Um yeah since Calhoun rejected the essential truth of conservatism which is that all men are created equal. And if my great granddad received God’s gift of salvation then I know he is proud of me. How despicable that you would align yourself to the greatest defender of the ‘goodness of slavery’ and the man who’s leadership lead to more deaths of Americans than any other person.
“Because I believe that God had nothing to do with the McCain conservative [sic], that makes me a non-conservative? What planet are you living on, anyway?”
The one whom the Lord spent 33 years on. If you had bothered to read his teachings you would understand my point.
“Defeated? My dear man we have hardly any influence in the “conservative” movement at all.”
I wish that were true. And if I get my way it will be true. But at least you are now admitting that there is a ‘we’. |
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No, William F. Buckley Jr. would be appalled by your comments, and would most definately not be proud of you.
You need to go back and study what WFB was trying to teach. It's important that you know the true meaning of his thoughts.
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"Here's one you should digest. You can appologize later...."
My God – don’t you get it? Buckley supported the candidate he believed was more conservative and that man happens to be one of John McCain’s best friends who agrees with McCain on many issues especially on Defense. That same man endorsed John McCain for President. And in fact the only time in John McCain’s life that he endorsed a non-Republican candidate for office was in 2006 when he endorsed and campaigned for Lieberman.
Now are you arguing that Obama is more conservative than McCain?
I won’t wait for your apology.
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"You need to go back and study what WFB was trying to teach. It's important that you know the true meaning of his thoughts."
He would be proud because I am making the same arguments he had made and fighting the same Birchers that he fought in his day.
He would find you reminiscent of his old Yale professors. What's hilarious is that you actually believe he would agree with you.
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You remember that smackin' you delivered verbally and nearly literally to the frilly Vidal in August '68, Sir? Feel free to reach down and do it to Dumb & Dumber here cluttering your memorium at HH with their all-consuming self-centered scheiss. The cheering you'll here is from all here who respect the sanctity of farewells.
God Speed, Giant of the 20th Century. |
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Like a lot of us who disagreed with him on most social & political issues, I always had mixed feelings about William F. Buckley. On Firing Line in the 60s & 70s, he was usually very entertaining to listen to, but he would sometimes use his virtuoso wordplay to obscure the weakness of some of his arguments. Unlike the cartoonish pundits who predominate today, he often displayed genuine respect and affection toward those of his left-leaning opponents whose intellects he admired, but he would sometimes shamelessly soft-pedal his interrogations of conservatives who espoused positions he supported even if they did so with inane reasoning and bigoted exaggerations (I particularly recall a cringe-inducing interview with Phyllis Schlafly in the late 70s). And while I respected his sincere religious faith which he supported with impressive intellectual underpinnings, I was never comfortable with how he seemed to conflate his religious convictions with his political ones (as if conservatism too were for him the "revealed word of God").
But putting aside philosophical differences, in some ways I felt that William F. Buckley and I were kindred spirits. When he interviewed Jorge Luis Borges, my favorite writer at the time, I saw him display genuine, humble awe in the face of such unaffected genius. He was a passionate aficionado, as am I, of the music of J.S. Bach. And he once wrote a column in which he expressed his lifelong love of peanut butter. When I read that, I felt as if he and I shared some kind of virtual, anonymous friendship. I believe that he is now in a place where there is great literature, great music, great food, and conversation that totally transcends such trivial constructs as “conservatism” and “liberalism.”
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I already said, Adieu, expecting full well another response, but indicating at the same time that I was done with you.
Except to say here that there isn't anything wrong with your argument that a dictionary, a logic text, a course in the intellectual history of conservatism, and a tranquilizer wouldn't cure. |
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"I already said, Adieu, expecting full well another response, but indicating at the same time that I was done with you."
Apparently you lied... lol
"Except to say..."
Oops
"that there isn't anything wrong with your argument that a dictionary, a logic text, a course in the intellectual history of conservatism, and a tranquilizer wouldn't cure."
Funny you referenced none.
Next...
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"WFB made two financial contributions last year to John McCain, in April and November. He didn't support any other presidential candidate with his checkbook. Was WFB against the war and the surge as well as for the candidate who has been the most forceful and eloquent in his support of the war and surge? Perhaps, though it seems like an odd set of positions to hold.
Yet that's how I should have left matters: I should have said WFB was a critic of the war who nevertheless supported John McCain for president. Those are the facts. My apologies for suggesting differently."
http://corner.nationalreview.com/
Con4Obama - I will require your apology now!
lol |
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There are five Conservatives that come to mind.
1. President Reagan
2. Senator Goldwater
3. Rep. Henry Hyde
4. Rush Limbaugh
5. And WFB
Sadly, only one is left. |
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