Free Republic

“The bottom line here is you’re worth taking seriously.”

I appreciate your generosity, and I certainly agree with the great majority of what you said in your last post.
He wasn’t perfect.
And I wasn’t trying to characterize the entirety of his career.
Without him, there would have been a vast gulf between the conservatism of Welch and the John Birch society, Ayn Rand and others, and the general need of the American populace for an approachable alternative to the socialism of the anti-religious left.
Unfortunately for him, and us, the foibles of a few of his beliefs became de rigeur for the politico-fashionistas of the Establishment Republicans who were more than happy to wear the mantel of Buckley’s conservatism at the same time that they were perverting the primary message.
In my opinion this is how the neocons slowly came to be regarded as both conservative, and torch bearers of legacies of Reagan, Buckley, and Goldwater.

It’s generally the chinks in the armor that expose the weakness of the warrior.
I believe the modern neocon movement exploited those weaknesses in order to control the original conservative movement to which they were so antithetical. And still are.

And, by the way, you and I both share the belief that we fight not against flesh and blood. And that the name of Jesus is like garlic to the secular left.

So, I’m not being ‘stupid”. I’m simply too old to care much for people who believe in human perfection, like some do when thinking about our friend WFB.

If you’re really interested in engaging in an assault on our (mainstream American) preconceptions and beliefs, you might appreciate the book “American Betrayal” written by Diana West.

Hard book, challenging.

You’re not only disingenuous, you’re violating the recommendation you left on your “About” page here at FR.
Perhaps you remember writing this:
“Name-calling, stereotyping, and childish insults do not substitute for rational thought and intelligent discussion”

In any event, here’s a few extra morsels to munch on.
It’s hard when it’s your ox being gored. I get it.

“Buckley supported the legalization of marijuana and some other drug legalization as early as his 1965 candidacy for mayor of New York City.[158][159] But in 1972, he said that while he supported removing criminal penalties for using marijuana, he also supported cracking down on trafficking marijuana.

Buckley later said he wished National Review had been more supportive of civil rights legislation in the 1960s.[142] He grew to admire Martin Luther King Jr. and supported the creation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Buckley became a close friend of liberal Democratic activist Allard K. Lowenstein. He featured Lowenstein on numerous Firing Line programs, publicly endorsed his candidacies for Congress, and delivered a eulogy at his funeral.[104][105]

Buckley was also a friend of economist John Kenneth Galbraith[106][107] and former senator and presidential candidate George McGovern,[108] both of whom he frequently featured or debated on Firing Line and college campuses. He and Galbraith occasionally appeared on The Today Show, where host Frank McGee would introduce them and then step aside and defer to their verbal thrusts and parries.”

You should never ask a question to which you do not know the answer.

Became a conservative in 1970, read NR assiduously for two and half decades.
But why brag?

Would you have supported the government implementation of affirmative action, as did WFB?
I think I know the answer.

Yeah, you’re right, I expect to be taken seriously.

Perhaps you can sit back and, like Buckley once said, “enjoy your former eloquence.”

Truth is too important for hagiographies, FRiend.

The tendencies were evident early:

“During his campaign, Buckley supported many policies that have been perceived as uniquely and unusually progressive. He supported affirmative action, being one of the first American conservatives to endorse a “kind of special treatment [of African Americans] that might make up for centuries of oppression”. Buckley also espoused welfare reform to emphasize job training, education and daycare. He criticized the administration of drug laws and in judicial sentencing, and promised to crack down on trade unions that discriminated against minorities. This is considered notable, as his political opponents on the left would have resisted anything that alienated trade union-affiliated voters.[92]

To relieve traffic congestion, Buckley proposed charging drivers a fee to enter the central city and creating a network of bike lanes. He opposed a civilian review board for the New York Police Department, which Lindsay had recently introduced to control police corruption and install community policing.[93] Buckley finished third with 13.4% of the vote, possibly having inadvertently aided Lindsay’s election by instead taking votes from Democratic candidate Abe Beame.”

Not a Neocon.
Father of neocons?
Yes.

Used to buy National Review religiously.

Believed that it, and as a counter balance, Foreign Affairs were giving me insight into the real struggles of right versus left in this nation and abroad.

Took me a while, but I don’t hold Buckley in any esteem any more. The father of the modern neocons, IMHO.

“Legislators don’t like being told who they should pick as their leaders.”

Unless that leader is going to pump their personal wallets full of money.
But, for now, let’s pretend that it’s something other than protecting themselves from getting their cash cows gored by some relatively principled conservative.

It has nothing to do with principled people in the permanent political class wanting the constitutional freedom to democratically choose their leaders. It’s greed, power, and control.
A pox on their house(s).

You wouldn’t happen to like Mitch McConnell, would you?
Just asking for a friend.

Kenny Roger’s and The First Edition.
Tripped on a cloud and fell 8 miles high.

Have you read “American Betrayal” by Diana West?

But apparently God approves of your criticism?
Call me confused.

Honestly?
Maybe in the top 30, if they’re lucky.

And your analysis is exactly right.
Guess we should have scheduled Bethune-Cookman or Boston College instead, eh?

In other news, the state of Texas is represented in the Top 25 by exactly one team.

Oh, sure. Of course not.
But, did you enjoy the Outer Islands when you were there?

You didn’t grow up there, Jersey boy, you just swallowed their racist beliefs.
You should have spit them out.

Best as anyone on FR can see, there’s only one racist bomb thrower on this thread, and it’s not me.

So, standing up against another grown man who’s defending and promoting his irrational racial insecurity?

Sure. You bet. I’ll do it every time.

Must have been rough growing up a skinny white boy in the South.
From Golden, NC, maybe?

Regarding CU recruits and the recruits skin color:

Their top 2024 QB recruit, Danny O’Neill, rated a four star is as white as an Irishman can be.
Maybe he’s one of those highly recruited cucks you’re talking about?

Or the sign of someone who cares about truth and your salvation.

You forgot the quote where infallible Pope Urban VI complained that his Vatican minions weren’t torturing his Cardinals well enough because he couldn’t hear the screams.

I can’t figure what part of this church example is represented in current day Catholic liturgy or how this tradition harmonizes with scripture.
Maybe you can help?

The main question to be answered is “Why aren’t you Greek Orthodox?” They have much more claim to being the true Church than the Romans, even though I don’t believe in either of them over the Scriptures.

Pope John XII
Pope Julius II
Pope Stephen VI
Pope Urban VI

Sterling examples of the infallibility of popes (except for the syphilis, murders, simony, torture, etc.).