PBS Misremembers William F. Buckley Jr. — the Man Who Built a Movement

New York Post ^ | April 8, 2024 | Social Links forDaniel McCarthy

[nickcarraway]

Imagine making a documentary about one of the 20th century’s leading opponents of the Ku Klux Klan — without ever talking about the evil of the KKK itself.

If that sounds like malpractice, consider PBS’s new documentary on the life of William F. Buckley Jr. “The Incomparable Mr. Buckley,” the latest installment in the “American Masters” series, has much to say about anti-Communism but never reckons with the murderous reality of Communism itself.

In failing to do so, producer and director Barak Goodman unintentionally reminds his viewers why Buckley was needed in the first place — and why he still is. Never mind that Buckley died in 2008, and next year marks the centenary of his birth.

[Rummyfan]

Buckley’s institutions, notably National Review, opposed Trump ...

Buckley was deceased before President Trump's arrival in politics. But Jonah Goldberg and Rich Lowry and Christopher Buckley et al were mostly all never Trumpers.... which is one of the many reasons I gave up on National Review.

[Rummyfan]

He tried to take votes away from the relatively liberal Republican candidate and fellow Yale alumnus John Lindsay, who later became a Democrat.

And Lindsay was a disaster for New York.

[frank ballenger]

That “demand a recount” line is one of the classics of political wit. Thanks for posting it.

[frank ballenger]

I’ll count out the number of times PBS has not screwed up a biography by tainting it with leftist bias:

(still have ten fingers ready).

[frank ballenger]

Unusual fact.
“Born in New York City, Buckley spoke Spanish as his first language before learning French and then English as a child.”

[frank ballenger]

How many political talk show hosts have created a dvd like this one:

Celestial Navigation
https://www.celestaire.com/product/william-f-buckley-jr-dvd/

Actually they say the late singer David Crosby was an excellent sailor and was said after a long trip to be able to quickly maneuver his sailboat to a dock in a narrow area “like backing a Volkswagen Beetle into a parking space.”

[Liz]

y/v/w

[csn vinnie]

I read NR from the early 1970s. My first subscription was comped by NR for a college student. The quality of NR then was much higher, when it was run by WFB and William Rusher. WFB was a great advocate for traditional conservatism, and a great coach to improve one’s vocabulary.

[MacNaughton]

When I was in college, I’d often take a break from studying by pulling bound volumes of NR off the periodical shelves. In a way, it was a valuable part of my education.

A high school friend, who was also a senior at UGA, drug me to a presentation of WFB in 1977. Had never heard of him. It was interesting. A few years later as an NCSU grad student I came across a stack of political journals in the lounge area of the student union - The Nation, The New Republic, and National Review. Read them over about 6 months. Firmly grounded me in conservative values.

[mund1011]

I watched about half of this documentary until the last half hour. It went 0-60 in 2 seconds into a rightwing extremists Jan6 insurrection clusterf*k. At which point I decided to save electricity and get some sleep. Turned into a Trump hit piece.

[scrabblehack]

I understand Henry Kissinger had a brother — no thick German accent — he said he was the one who listened.