Friends, I have a very personal article today on my political mentor, William F. Buckley, Jr. One of his last articles before his death was a highly perceptive piece entitled, 'Inside Obama.'
This is classic Buckley. And my commentary about it is at Columbia Conservative Examiner.
As a bonus feature I have included a special section entitled, 'Memories of Buckley,' as I recount some of my fondest memories of a man who taught me many lessons about conservatism and life in general. It is a very personal, brief memoir. I hope you will read it.
Showing posts with label William F. Buckley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William F. Buckley. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
The Conservative's Dilemma: What About the GOP?
During the years leading up to the election of President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and throughout his 2 terms of office, I had been a card-carrying member of the Republican Party.
As one of the original foot-soldiers in the Reagan Revolution, I had worked within William F. Buckley Jr.'s Young Americans for Freedom, which advocated for a fair hearing for conservative principles on college campuses, during almost the entirety of the 1970s.
One of the goals of that organization at that time was the election of Ronald Reagan to the Presidency.
Thus, I was proud to be a Republican and a very conservative one at that. I was even prouder when I watched Reagan take his first oath of office in 1981.
The GOP during those years was constrained by the sheer force of Reagan's personality to turn decidedly more conservative, although the liberal eastern establishment Republicans, such as those of the Rockefeller mindset, grumbled underneath their breaths.
Reagan's resounding success at home and abroad came with its downside. There is an aspect of winning that leads to a certain complacency...and a tendency to forget the core principles that led to the fight to win in the first place.
Unfortunately, the GOP exhibited (and still does) that complacency and that amnesia concerning the principles that made the Party so successful under Reagan.
Since the late 1990s I have not considered myself a Republican. I have rather enjoyed the freedom that goes with being Independent. But there is still a big part of me that longs for the GOP to recapture some of the greatness it achieved under Reagan.
It was the Party of distinct conservative values and ideas. Sometimes these ideas were entirely innovative and creative. But they were based upon sound OLD ideology born of the vision of the Founding Fathers--limited government, individual initiative and responsibility, individual liberty that is unfettered by oppressive government regulation, and free enterprise.
And this brings us to the present dilemma. The GOP seems to have forsaken its core values. Sure, the voices for liberty are still there, but right now they are in the minority, and they are being muzzled to a degree.
The answer for me is certainly not Democrats. And no, it is not the Libertarian Party, either.
There is a certain deep resistance yet toward abandoning the GOP altogether. And this goes much deeper than simply a nostalgic wish for the good old days. There is a very practical reason. To totally abandon the Republican Party at this point is to weaken the conservative voice and play directly into the hands of Democrats who WILL use it to their advantage.
Simply look at what happened in 2006 and 2008.
But one thing is for sure. Conservative patience with the GOP is not an endless virtue. Sooner or later, unless the GOP leadership gets the message, we will totally abandon the Party in order to forge a new venture somewhere else that values the conservative point of view.
For an even deeper look at this fascinating subject, read Larrey Anderson's excellent essay at American Thinker.
As one of the original foot-soldiers in the Reagan Revolution, I had worked within William F. Buckley Jr.'s Young Americans for Freedom, which advocated for a fair hearing for conservative principles on college campuses, during almost the entirety of the 1970s.
One of the goals of that organization at that time was the election of Ronald Reagan to the Presidency.
Thus, I was proud to be a Republican and a very conservative one at that. I was even prouder when I watched Reagan take his first oath of office in 1981.
The GOP during those years was constrained by the sheer force of Reagan's personality to turn decidedly more conservative, although the liberal eastern establishment Republicans, such as those of the Rockefeller mindset, grumbled underneath their breaths.
Reagan's resounding success at home and abroad came with its downside. There is an aspect of winning that leads to a certain complacency...and a tendency to forget the core principles that led to the fight to win in the first place.
Unfortunately, the GOP exhibited (and still does) that complacency and that amnesia concerning the principles that made the Party so successful under Reagan.
Since the late 1990s I have not considered myself a Republican. I have rather enjoyed the freedom that goes with being Independent. But there is still a big part of me that longs for the GOP to recapture some of the greatness it achieved under Reagan.
It was the Party of distinct conservative values and ideas. Sometimes these ideas were entirely innovative and creative. But they were based upon sound OLD ideology born of the vision of the Founding Fathers--limited government, individual initiative and responsibility, individual liberty that is unfettered by oppressive government regulation, and free enterprise.
And this brings us to the present dilemma. The GOP seems to have forsaken its core values. Sure, the voices for liberty are still there, but right now they are in the minority, and they are being muzzled to a degree.
The answer for me is certainly not Democrats. And no, it is not the Libertarian Party, either.
There is a certain deep resistance yet toward abandoning the GOP altogether. And this goes much deeper than simply a nostalgic wish for the good old days. There is a very practical reason. To totally abandon the Republican Party at this point is to weaken the conservative voice and play directly into the hands of Democrats who WILL use it to their advantage.
Simply look at what happened in 2006 and 2008.
But one thing is for sure. Conservative patience with the GOP is not an endless virtue. Sooner or later, unless the GOP leadership gets the message, we will totally abandon the Party in order to forge a new venture somewhere else that values the conservative point of view.
For an even deeper look at this fascinating subject, read Larrey Anderson's excellent essay at American Thinker.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Buckley, Koppel, and St. Patrick's
An overflow crowd gathered Friday at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York to remember William F. Buckley, Jr. Members of Buckley's family, and Henry Kissinger, eulogized Buckley and read scripture in his memory.
The greatness of Bill Buckley has been spelled out many times on The Liberty Sphere, and he was certainly deserving of all of the accolades.
But the thing most of us will miss as much as his fierce defense and offense in the conservative movement is his sharp wit.
One of my favorites involves Ted Koppel and his long-running ABC News program entitled, 'Nightline.' When Buckley retired from his 33-year run on PBS's 'Firing Line,' he appeared on the Koppel program.
At the end of the show Koppel turned to Buckley and stated, 'We only have one minute left. Would you like to sum up your 33 years on Firing Line?'
To which Buckley replied, 'Um, no.'
He was truly one of a kind.
For the complete news story on the Buckley service at St. Patrick's, click here:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200804/NAT20080404b.html
The greatness of Bill Buckley has been spelled out many times on The Liberty Sphere, and he was certainly deserving of all of the accolades.
But the thing most of us will miss as much as his fierce defense and offense in the conservative movement is his sharp wit.
One of my favorites involves Ted Koppel and his long-running ABC News program entitled, 'Nightline.' When Buckley retired from his 33-year run on PBS's 'Firing Line,' he appeared on the Koppel program.
At the end of the show Koppel turned to Buckley and stated, 'We only have one minute left. Would you like to sum up your 33 years on Firing Line?'
To which Buckley replied, 'Um, no.'
He was truly one of a kind.
For the complete news story on the Buckley service at St. Patrick's, click here:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200804/NAT20080404b.html
Thursday, February 28, 2008
William F. Buckley Jr.: A Fond and Sad Farewell
Conservative intellectual icon William F. Buckley, Jr. died today while working at his office at his home. He was 82 years old.
Words cannot even begin to convey the impact Buckley had on the political process and the wide influence he had on America.
I have often said that if the conservative movement gained its greatest political triumph with Ronald Reagan, it was William F. Buckley, Jr. who gave the movement its intellectual foundation. And, it was Buckley who was the movement's most feared and most ardent defender against liberal attacks.
Buckley's power was with words alone rather than vitriol. His rise to fame came at a time when political debate was more focused on ideas, concepts, and the power of rhetorical acumen than the shouting contests to which we have all become accustomed.
Yet it was a big mistake to equate his gentlemanly demeanor with weakness. He was known to quickly dismantle his opponents' entire premise with wit, humor, sarcasm, and pure intellectual prowess. Nonetheless, he was largely respected by people of all political persuasions simply because they knew he was the real deal and had the intellectual authority to back up his arguments with facts and sheer logic.
When Buckley first burst onto the scene in the early 1950s with his classic book, 'God and Man at Yale,' he found himself the target of the intellectual elite at his Alma mater, who attempted to portray the young Buckley as a snarky upstart with no gravitas to be taken seriously.
Buckley, however, proved to be anything but an 'angry young man.' To be sure, he had a bone to pick with Yale and its liberal bias, including its tendency to hold up to ridicule all things religious despite its history as a religiously-oriented school. But Buckley set out to tackle Yale not with rage or vengeance but with ideas, all neatly and impressively expressed through the power of words and a manner of putting those words together in such a way as to maximize impact.
The mere fact that the Yale establishment felt it necessary to attack one of its own stellar graduates so vehemently is ample proof of Buckley's impact. They feared his influence, and indeed, he set the intellectual elite spinning on their heels as they circled the wagons.
Buckley capitalized on his new-found fame by launching what became the longest running TV program in television history in 1955--The Firing Line. The program was the perfect vehicle by which Buckley's powerful rhetorical skills could be placed on display to a national audience.
The Firing Line exhibited Buckley's famed skill as a debater. His guests included persons from across the political spectrum, many of whom would serve as Buckley's debate opponents on the program.
At times there was no formal debate format, but an informal exchange of ideas and ideology as Buckley and his guest sat comfortably facing each other at an angle. Even then, Buckley would deliver his famous good-humored barbs that his guests would have to endure.
On one show during the 1980s one such exchange occurred when a liberal was defending a certain politician for having a picture of Lenin hanging in his office. Buckley, of course, was horrified. The liberal, attempting to defend the display, stated, 'Oh, Bill, you know as well as I do that having such a picture proves nothing. I mean, even I probably have a picture of Lenin somewhere in my office.'
To which Buckley quickly replied, 'And you act like it.'
The Firing Line continued as a staple of PBS programming for over 30 years.
By the late 1950s Buckley had reached a level of fame not known to a conservative since the days of President Calvin Coolidge. He wrote another book, which became a classic in American political literature entitled, 'Up From Liberalism,' in which he postulated that liberalism as a political ideology appealed to the absolute lowest of human motivators, and that only a conservatism based upon the liberties delineated in the Constitution could provide the impetus for Americans to truly rise to their highest potential.
During this same period Buckley launched his magazine, 'National Review,' which for over 50 years has contained some of the most in-depth and thoroughly researched articles and commentary on the American political process.
It was Buckley through the National Review who first began to push the idea that former actor Ronald Reagan would be the ultimate great communicator for the conservative movement in the political arena, meaning of course, that the goal was to eventually elect Reagan to the Presidency.
When asked in an interview a year or so ago about the Reagan triumph during the 1980s, Buckley said merely, 'Finally, we won.'
I can say with pride that I served on the Buckley-Reagan team back in the early to late 1970s in an organization that Buckley founded called, 'Young Americans for Freedom.' This organization was nationwide but was focused on spreading the conservative message on college campuses...and to elect Ronald Reagan to the Presidency.
In later years Buckley continued to write articles for National Review, his syndicated newspaper column, and other publications, in addition to writing his popular spy novels and appearing in debates across the country.
The final few years of his life were not kind to Buckley in terms of health issues, however. He suffered from emphysema and sometimes exhibited the depression and despair that sometimes accompanies such devastating chronic illnesses. He even stated in an interview a while back that he wanted to die. As a man of deep faith--he was a devout Roman Catholic--Buckley felt that the afterlife would be a great relief to him.
Yet his still managed to treat us to a bit of the famous Buckley humor. He said that his doctor had placed him on an exercise regimen and that he hated exercise. Better to die than to be forced to exercise every day for the rest of your life.
Of course, this came from a man of 82 years after having lived one extraordinary life.
Ronald Reagan once said that Buckley was 'the most influential thinker and political commentator in modern times.'
And that one extraordinary life may well have saved our Republic.
Godspeed, Mr. Buckley, and thank-you.
Words cannot even begin to convey the impact Buckley had on the political process and the wide influence he had on America.
I have often said that if the conservative movement gained its greatest political triumph with Ronald Reagan, it was William F. Buckley, Jr. who gave the movement its intellectual foundation. And, it was Buckley who was the movement's most feared and most ardent defender against liberal attacks.
Buckley's power was with words alone rather than vitriol. His rise to fame came at a time when political debate was more focused on ideas, concepts, and the power of rhetorical acumen than the shouting contests to which we have all become accustomed.
Yet it was a big mistake to equate his gentlemanly demeanor with weakness. He was known to quickly dismantle his opponents' entire premise with wit, humor, sarcasm, and pure intellectual prowess. Nonetheless, he was largely respected by people of all political persuasions simply because they knew he was the real deal and had the intellectual authority to back up his arguments with facts and sheer logic.
When Buckley first burst onto the scene in the early 1950s with his classic book, 'God and Man at Yale,' he found himself the target of the intellectual elite at his Alma mater, who attempted to portray the young Buckley as a snarky upstart with no gravitas to be taken seriously.
Buckley, however, proved to be anything but an 'angry young man.' To be sure, he had a bone to pick with Yale and its liberal bias, including its tendency to hold up to ridicule all things religious despite its history as a religiously-oriented school. But Buckley set out to tackle Yale not with rage or vengeance but with ideas, all neatly and impressively expressed through the power of words and a manner of putting those words together in such a way as to maximize impact.
The mere fact that the Yale establishment felt it necessary to attack one of its own stellar graduates so vehemently is ample proof of Buckley's impact. They feared his influence, and indeed, he set the intellectual elite spinning on their heels as they circled the wagons.
Buckley capitalized on his new-found fame by launching what became the longest running TV program in television history in 1955--The Firing Line. The program was the perfect vehicle by which Buckley's powerful rhetorical skills could be placed on display to a national audience.
The Firing Line exhibited Buckley's famed skill as a debater. His guests included persons from across the political spectrum, many of whom would serve as Buckley's debate opponents on the program.
At times there was no formal debate format, but an informal exchange of ideas and ideology as Buckley and his guest sat comfortably facing each other at an angle. Even then, Buckley would deliver his famous good-humored barbs that his guests would have to endure.
On one show during the 1980s one such exchange occurred when a liberal was defending a certain politician for having a picture of Lenin hanging in his office. Buckley, of course, was horrified. The liberal, attempting to defend the display, stated, 'Oh, Bill, you know as well as I do that having such a picture proves nothing. I mean, even I probably have a picture of Lenin somewhere in my office.'
To which Buckley quickly replied, 'And you act like it.'
The Firing Line continued as a staple of PBS programming for over 30 years.
By the late 1950s Buckley had reached a level of fame not known to a conservative since the days of President Calvin Coolidge. He wrote another book, which became a classic in American political literature entitled, 'Up From Liberalism,' in which he postulated that liberalism as a political ideology appealed to the absolute lowest of human motivators, and that only a conservatism based upon the liberties delineated in the Constitution could provide the impetus for Americans to truly rise to their highest potential.
During this same period Buckley launched his magazine, 'National Review,' which for over 50 years has contained some of the most in-depth and thoroughly researched articles and commentary on the American political process.
It was Buckley through the National Review who first began to push the idea that former actor Ronald Reagan would be the ultimate great communicator for the conservative movement in the political arena, meaning of course, that the goal was to eventually elect Reagan to the Presidency.
When asked in an interview a year or so ago about the Reagan triumph during the 1980s, Buckley said merely, 'Finally, we won.'
I can say with pride that I served on the Buckley-Reagan team back in the early to late 1970s in an organization that Buckley founded called, 'Young Americans for Freedom.' This organization was nationwide but was focused on spreading the conservative message on college campuses...and to elect Ronald Reagan to the Presidency.
In later years Buckley continued to write articles for National Review, his syndicated newspaper column, and other publications, in addition to writing his popular spy novels and appearing in debates across the country.
The final few years of his life were not kind to Buckley in terms of health issues, however. He suffered from emphysema and sometimes exhibited the depression and despair that sometimes accompanies such devastating chronic illnesses. He even stated in an interview a while back that he wanted to die. As a man of deep faith--he was a devout Roman Catholic--Buckley felt that the afterlife would be a great relief to him.
Yet his still managed to treat us to a bit of the famous Buckley humor. He said that his doctor had placed him on an exercise regimen and that he hated exercise. Better to die than to be forced to exercise every day for the rest of your life.
Of course, this came from a man of 82 years after having lived one extraordinary life.
Ronald Reagan once said that Buckley was 'the most influential thinker and political commentator in modern times.'
And that one extraordinary life may well have saved our Republic.
Godspeed, Mr. Buckley, and thank-you.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Buckley Warns Iraq May Bury Republicans
Washington, DC (TLS). The quintessential conservative intellectual, the venerable William F. Buckley, is warning today in a special article in National Review that the War in Iraq has the potential of burying the Republican Party.
All of the signs point to a Republican free-fall of historical proportions over one single issue--the war. The Rasmussen organization, in its latest poll, indicates that the number of people who call themselves Republicans is at its lowest point in 6 years. The only issue that is precipitating the exodus is the War in Iraq.
Public sentiment has turned against the war and against the President. It wasn't so much that they did not see the need to invade Afghanistan or Iraq, but they simply do not believe the Bush administration has conducted the war in an effective and efficient manner. They wanted us in and out in timely fashion.
Buckley indicates that Bush may well be the demise of the Republican Party, not because people do not like him personally but because of the stubbornness exhibited in the face of a growing catastrophe in Iraq, which seems to have no end in sight.
Admittedly, I have been one of the President's most ardent supporters in the War on Terror. I believed that Saddam Hussein had to go. But, I also trust the wisdom of William F. Buckley, who for 50 years has been a steady voice of reason, reliability, and resilience on the conservative side of politics.
In short, I take Buckley's latest warning very seriously. His voice must be heard and heeded in the highest levels of the Republican Party.
Read Buckley's article here:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MWZjMDBlZDg2MDlmMDM4MmE1MGFmNjlkOTE5OWVkOTc=
All of the signs point to a Republican free-fall of historical proportions over one single issue--the war. The Rasmussen organization, in its latest poll, indicates that the number of people who call themselves Republicans is at its lowest point in 6 years. The only issue that is precipitating the exodus is the War in Iraq.
Public sentiment has turned against the war and against the President. It wasn't so much that they did not see the need to invade Afghanistan or Iraq, but they simply do not believe the Bush administration has conducted the war in an effective and efficient manner. They wanted us in and out in timely fashion.
Buckley indicates that Bush may well be the demise of the Republican Party, not because people do not like him personally but because of the stubbornness exhibited in the face of a growing catastrophe in Iraq, which seems to have no end in sight.
Admittedly, I have been one of the President's most ardent supporters in the War on Terror. I believed that Saddam Hussein had to go. But, I also trust the wisdom of William F. Buckley, who for 50 years has been a steady voice of reason, reliability, and resilience on the conservative side of politics.
In short, I take Buckley's latest warning very seriously. His voice must be heard and heeded in the highest levels of the Republican Party.
Read Buckley's article here:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MWZjMDBlZDg2MDlmMDM4MmE1MGFmNjlkOTE5OWVkOTc=
Monday, April 09, 2007
New Additions to The Liberty Sphere
Good Morning!
You may have noticed a new look for The Liberty Sphere. We have upgraded to the new blogger offered by Google, and we are very pleased with the results. We will continue to make a few changes here and there to make the blog more user-friendly and readable.
We have also added some new links to the site. You will find interesting and informative material at 'Front Sight, Press' and at 'The Smoking Gun,' which tracks public information on Hollywood Stars, politicians, news reporters, and others in the public eye.
Another link is to 'Consumer Freedom,' the freedom watchdog group led by Attorney Rick Berman, known to some as 'Dr. Evil' due to his relentless attacks on the forces of anti-freedom, such as the food police. I encourage you to read his stuff. It will open your eyes to the wiles of collectivists who use 'protecting the public health' as a ruse to gain more government intrusion into our lives.
Another great addition to The Liberty Sphere is our video section. We will periodically add video snips of items of interest in the world of politics and culture. Presently, you will see a selection of visual clips on 9/11, President Ronald Reagan, Presidential contenders Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson, and some vintage footage of the venerable conservative thinker, William F. Buckley, Jr.
Take a look at these new additions and let me know what you think. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
Have a great Monday, everyone!
D. Martyn Lloyd-Morgan
You may have noticed a new look for The Liberty Sphere. We have upgraded to the new blogger offered by Google, and we are very pleased with the results. We will continue to make a few changes here and there to make the blog more user-friendly and readable.
We have also added some new links to the site. You will find interesting and informative material at 'Front Sight, Press' and at 'The Smoking Gun,' which tracks public information on Hollywood Stars, politicians, news reporters, and others in the public eye.
Another link is to 'Consumer Freedom,' the freedom watchdog group led by Attorney Rick Berman, known to some as 'Dr. Evil' due to his relentless attacks on the forces of anti-freedom, such as the food police. I encourage you to read his stuff. It will open your eyes to the wiles of collectivists who use 'protecting the public health' as a ruse to gain more government intrusion into our lives.
Another great addition to The Liberty Sphere is our video section. We will periodically add video snips of items of interest in the world of politics and culture. Presently, you will see a selection of visual clips on 9/11, President Ronald Reagan, Presidential contenders Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson, and some vintage footage of the venerable conservative thinker, William F. Buckley, Jr.
Take a look at these new additions and let me know what you think. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
Have a great Monday, everyone!
D. Martyn Lloyd-Morgan
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