National review used to be a cutting edge conservative publication. They were not followers of the Rinos who ran the GOP; they were pushing for ideas for reform and change for small government and freedom. They published important information cut out of the main stream media and supressed in liberal political discourse. They were politically incorrect.
I think they have grown fat and lazy like a lot of conservative elitists. They are followers, not leaders. They are lazy in wielding Western ethics and tradition against liberals having become more humanistic with the rise of amoral libertarianism among the once conservative elite. At one time the National Review could be counted on for cutting edge critical analysis of liberalism’s social engineering, for example. Equipped with information and data provided by NR, conservatives were successful at winning over political and social arguments with liberals.
The conservative movement is adrift because of the loss of such educated, independent conservative thinkers as used to populate the National Review.
I began reading National Review in 1963, when my brother got a subscription for Christmas.
I learned things - factual, historical things - every time I read it.
I learned startling, new political arguments - every time I read it.
Since 1995, as Buckley withdrew from day to day editorial control, the magazine has drifted steadily towards the political Center.
Sadly, the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, another Conservative mainstay in my life, began its own journey to the Center almost at the same moment.