Buckley Leaves Conservatism Up the Creek

Influential conservative columnist founded National Review

(NEWSER) - Conservative columnist and editor William F. Buckley Jr. died today at age 82; he suffered from diabetes and emphysema. Buckley founded the opinion magazine National Review, hosted the show “Firing Line” and wrote 45 books. The author of God and Man at Yale and defender of Joe McCarthy was “replete with $10 words and a darting tongue,” the New York Times eulogizes. More»

What ended his brand of conservatism—or does it endure?

(NEWSER) - William F. Buckley Jr. was a titan on the political scene, carving out his own brand of conservatism. But one day after his death, writers differ on his legacy:

• At Slate, Timothy Noah notes Buckley’s more noxious stances—defending segregationists and Joe McCarthy—and says it’s good fortune “Buckley’s man Ronald Reagan” didn’t accomplish goals of turning back civil-rights law and shrinking government. George W. Bush’s ascendance thankfully marked a return to Republicanism at peace with the New Deal.

A former liberal, he sparked ideas behind the Reagan Revolution

(NEWSER) - Irving Kristol, the "godfather" of neoconservatism and a key intellectual force behind the Reagan Revolution, died today from lung cancer in Arlington, Va., the Washington Post reports. He was 89. Once a New York liberal, Kristol grew disaffected with liberalism in the 1940s and founded conservative magazines like Encounter and the Public Interest, which had small circulations but influenced powerful audiences. More»

Still, National Review looks forward to having Dems in power after tumultuous year

(NEWSER) - The nasty tone of the presidential campaign dealt a blow to the National Review, considered the print home for conservative intellectuals and a standard-bearer for genteel debate, the New York Times reports. The death of founder William F. Buckley was followed by the ouster of his son Christopher following his endorsement of Barack Obama; now prominent blogger David Frum has departed. More»

Son of great conservative thinks Limbaugh's a bit de trop

(NEWSER) - Christopher Buckley, having been savaged by Rush Limbaugh for endorsing Barack Obama, fires back at the talk-show host for daring to think he can assume the conservative mantle of his father, the late William F. Buckley Jr. Writing in the Daily Beast, Buckley brandishes French, that tool of the “card-carrying member of the Eastern seaboard, proletarian-despising media elite” in pronouncing Limbaugh “de trop”—"a bit much." More»