by John F. McManus
ARTICLE SYNOPSIS:
After suffering from diabetes and emphysema according to his son Christopher, William F. Buckley, Jr. was found dead at his Connecticut home on February 27th.
Follow this link to the original source: “William F. Buckley, Leading Conservative, Dies at 82”
COMMENTARY:
The author of 45 books about sailing, fictitious spies, and political topics, William F. Buckley, Jr. also earned fame for his long-running PBS interview program Firing Line, and for his twice-weekly syndicated newspaper column “On the Right.” Considered the scourge of liberals by some and a clever collaborator with liberals by others, he launched his journalistic career with his National Review magazine in 1955. Staffed at the start by a team of veteran Trotskyite socialists who would be labeled neoconservatives today, the magazine earned a following among many conservatives who claimed the nation was moving too far to the left.
Buckley has long been hailed as “the man who made conservatism respectable.” Many who enjoyed his tweaking of liberals and frat-house humor agreed, but they found it increasingly disconcerting when many outspoken liberals tagged him as their favorite conservative. To many proud leftists he was an adversary who was no serious threat. In a raucous debate with Buckley as far back as 1971, hard leftist Boston University Professor Howard Zinn told a packed college audience that if Buckley didnt exist, “the Establishment would have to invent him. Maybe they did.” His stinging remark earned an ovation.
Wall Street Journal writer Paul Gigot credited Buckley in 1991 with having “played the indispensable role of casting out the movements Birchers, haters and conspiracy theorists.” Buckley had indeed targeted The John Birch Society, though dishonestly. He also regularly scoffed at any suggestion that conspiracy explained self-defeating U.S. policy. What is significant is that Gigot, a member of the Establishments Council on Foreign Relations, had to know he was praising a fellow member of the semi-secret and world-government-promoting group. Buckley had proudly announced his elevation to membership in the New York-based CFR in 1974, even lamenting at the time that he hadnt been accepted years sooner by the David Rockefeller-led organization.
Buckley endeared himself to conservatives with his strong support of the candidacies of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. But he lost support among many when he backed the giveaway of the Panama Canal, called for legalization of marijuana, touted compulsory national service, excused the deficiencies of the United Nations, and even advocated wage and price controls. His choice of close friends included such liberals and internationalists as economist John Kenneth Galbraith, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and self-identified neoconservative leader Irving Kristol.
In 2002, The John Birch Society published my unauthorized biography of the conservative leader, a 240-page critical survey entitled William F. Buckley, Jr.: Pied Piper for the Establishment. Having discovered that, as a young man, I had been misled by the man I originally trusted, I thought it worthwhile to put into print a history of many disagreements I came to have with liberaldoms favorite conservative. Surprisingly, Buckley obtained a copy of the book and commented in an interview that he “treasured” it while claiming “it was mostly about how I was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.” Yes, that significant item is mentioned, but only as the apex of a lifetime of service to the neoconservative movement. For those of us who once admired Buckley, he became an enigmatic and troubling figure until the end.
Stiff Right Jab contributing editor, John F. McManus, is president of the John Birch Society, and publisher of The New American Magazine.
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