RIP: William F. Buckley, Jr.

In my romantic youth, I flirted with the conservatism espoused by William F. Buckley and Russell Kirk. In fact, I cast my first presidential vote for Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) in 1964. My tattered record as a political philosopher and a presidential voter are no credit to Buckley. However, in recent times, Buckley wanted no truck with The Dubster because Buckley was no lockstep supporter of a POTUS just because that officeholder was a Republican. In that animus for The Dubster, I was in good company. If this is a (fair & balanced) ave atque vale, so be it.

[x NPR]
William F. Buckley, Conservative Bulwark, Dies
By Scott Neuman

William F. Buckley Jr., the man regarded by many as the father of the modern conservative movement, died Wednesday morning at his home in Stamford, Conn. He was 82.

The leading commentator and author was famous for his erudite — some would say arrogant — style in writings in the magazine he founded, the National Review, as well as his PBS television show "Firing Line," which ran for more than two decades.

The cause of death was unknown, but his assistant Linda Bridges said he had been ill with emphysema.

Buckley founded National Review in 1955, declaring that he proposed to stand "athwart history, yelling 'Stop' at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who urge it."

He and his magazine are credited with revitalizing the American conservative movement, long in the political wilderness, and with the rise of right-wing thinkers, many of whom wrote for the National Review and eventually became key players in the Reagan revolution.

Buckley ended his tenure on "Firing Line" in 1999, telling the audience that he'd "just as soon not die onstage." Five years later, he relinquished control of the National Review, citing health concerns.

Despite his unassailable conservative credentials, Buckley never shied away from standing up to the right when he thought it was wrong. In 1965, he denounced the ultra-conservative John Birch Society as a lunatic fringe. As recently as 2006 in an interview with CBS News, Buckley said President Bush was not a true conservative and criticized his administration's focus on the war in Iraq.

"I think Mr. Bush faces a singular problem best defined, I think, as the absence of effective conservative ideology."

He said the Bush administration had become "engulfed by Iraq" in a way that prevented it from entertaining "perspectives … with respect to … other parts of the Middle East, with respect to Iran in particular."

Among Buckley's other interests were music, wine and sailing, which he extensively chronicled in his 2004 "literary autobiography" Miles Gone By.

His wife Pat Buckley died last year. They had been married since 1950. Their son, Christopher, is a satirist and author of Thank You for Smoking, which was made into a movie in 2006.

[Scott Neuman is with NPR, National Public Radio, in Washington DC.]

Copyright © 2008 National Public Radio

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