The original debates are on Youtube. Buckley destroys him. Vidal is obviously drunk and Buckley calls him a queer and says he’ll sock him in the face so he stays plastered.
After calling Buckley a crypto nazi. Whatever that is and Buckley calls him a queer he says we shouldn’t resort to name calling...
You are right. Vidal got him out of his element with the Nazi comment. Many of his Firing Line discussions throughout the decades are on Youtube. It’s a very good mental exercise where you can pick your episodes depending on the guest and subject. You gotta admit the discussion level is more than a little above Free Republic.
“After calling Buckley a crypto nazi. Whatever that is...”
It would mean “secret nazi”, or “hidden nazi”. Vidal was saying Buckley was really a nazi on the inside, and just pretending not to be.
Derives from the “crypto jews” of medieval Spain, who pretended to convert to Catholicism to appease the Inquisition, but continued to practice their original religion in private.