In respect to Albert Jay Nock (also mentioned), who was a friend of the Buckleys, it is important to remember in his book, Memoirs of a Superfluous Man, he denied the need for public education. His preference was for the masses to be illiterate; in this fashion they would be less likely to be manipulated by the government.
Both Kirk and Nock did have flaws but they remain worth reviewing, but IMHO they are not required reading for most conservatives since we are more inclined to be people of action and affairs rather than withdrawn polemecist, intellectuals.
As far as Coulter, she came late into the punditry business by being Paula Jones confidante and encourager. Allegedly by some accounts Coulter kept the Clinton investigation alive but Lucianne Goldberg gave it life.
Coulter provides credence goods for conservatives. That is she tells us what we want to hear. She is also contemporary in that she is a person of action more than a person of reflection--although she can do both. What surprises me is all the testosterone panting wasted on a 47 year old woman who doesn't seem to fit the category of a nubile, sensuous Miss America.
For me it is her witt, backed up by a dumptruck load of facts. The panzie libs go bonkers because they get their head handed back to them in a sack when they try to go up against her in a debate.And.... She is beautiful.