A Conservative Hero

In the early 60’s if you were young and a conservative your hero was Barry Goldwater. From the 1980’s until today the conservative hero was and still is President Reagan. But in the 1970’s there were very few men for a young conservative to admire. In fact, to be a conservative in college in the mid to late 70’s was to be totally uncool.

But there was one man who was the epitome of conservative cool. He showed us that it was not only ok to be right wing but we felt as if he had let us in on some witty joke that our liberal peers would never understand. He was the man we emulated but no matter how many big words we used, we knew we would never come close to being his equal.

Of course I am writing about William F. Buckley, Jr. who passed away today. Before cable news, even before the rise of the conservative radio talk shows there was Firing Line hosted by William F. Buckley, Jr. In the days when the only conservative voice anywhere on TV was that of Archie Bunker, Buckley was a revelation. He was the first famous person we knew who not only dared to espouse conservative views but he then made his opponents appear ignorant for disagreeing with him. His sardonic wit skewered everyone no matter who they were. And it was such fun.

William Buckley should be considered the true father of conservative talk shows, the idol of the thinking conservatives and the precursor to Reaganism. His was a lone voice when one was needed the most. And so the best tribute to him is to simply repeat his own words. The following are some great quotes I was able to get from ThinkExist.com (and that website name seems so apropos for this man). Thank you Bill Buckley for your words, your wit and your wisdom….

“I won’t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.”

“Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.”

“It is not a sign of arrogance for the king to rule. That is what he is there for.”

“I get satisfaction of three kinds. One is creating something, one is being paid for it and one is the feeling that I haven't just been sitting on my ass all afternoon.”

“Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.”

“There is an inverse relationship between reliance on the state and self-reliance.”

“Liberals, it has been said, are generous with other peoples' money, except when it comes to questions of national survival when they prefer to be generous with other people's freedom and security.”

“I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.”

“The academic community has in it the biggest concentration of alarmists, cranks and extremists this side of the giggle house.”

“Conservatives should be adamant about the need for the reappearance of Judeo-Christianity in the public square.”

“I mean to live my life an obedient man, but obedient to God, subservient to the wisdom of my ancestors; never to the authority of political truths arrived at yesterday at the voting booth.”