Linguist George Lakoff has written that the term is a pejorative mainly used by American liberals to refer to people who vote conservative against their own interests, and assumes they do it because they lack sufficient information. Liberals, he said, attribute the problem in part to deliberate Republican efforts at misinforming voters
I also found this:
Buckley is openly gay and has faced opposition to his sexuality since his first election to the State House in 1986. Before that election, he helped found the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Rights. Of his own sexuality, Buckley has said "You cannot make me straight, so get over it."
Buckley has been campaigning for Democrats since he was 12 and volunteered for Ed Muskie. At 14 he was town Democratic chairman (his mother held the post officially for legal reasons). So I guess his politics aren't going to change any time soon, either.
I guess he's sort of the ideal Democratic Party state chairman.