The Death of Conservatism….Yet Again

The son of the patron saint of American conservatism, William F. Buckley, has endorsed Obama. As the elder Buckley once said: “You know, I’ve spent my entire life separating the Right from the kooks.” Say what you will about William F. Buckley, but at least he was a conservative one could have a respectable disagreement with. The great liberal economist John Kenneth Galbraith counted Buckley among his best friends, and his [Buckley’s] show ‘Firing Line‘ still stands up as what an in-depth political program should look like (compared to an age where sound bites and pundits have replaced serious, hard-hitting debate). I disagree with many things Buckley said over the years, but there’s no question that recent scenes at McCain rallies would have horrified him.

Of course, many (George F. Will and Andrew Sullivan included) have realized that Buckley’s kind of conservatism has been dead for a long time. The irony is apparently lost on the magazine he founded, which continues to acquiesce in denial, disingenousness, and fear-mongering. That today’s National Review and McCain do not share some of the reactionary sentiments emanating from ‘the base’ doesn’t amount to shit if their silence continues to be deafening. It’s far past time that this movement engages in some serious self-reflection, and once again purge its members of the deluded and dangerous.