It is with great regret that I note the passing of William F. Buckley Jr. Upon reflection, this moderate to liberal democrat has more regret than he might have thought he would upon this news. I think I know why.
The founder of The National Review was, what I would consider, one of the last true conservative commentators of our time. He, along with Barry Goldwater, was instrumental in laying out the path of conservatism that needed to be followed to eventually enable a former actor and California governor to capture the White House in 1980.
He was the type of commentator with whom you could argue, who would listen to your argument and then present a cogent rebuttal in response. Even more astounding in today's world, whether he agreed with your position or not he would respect it. I have wracked my brain for nearly an entire day and, with a single exception, I cannot come up with any other living conservative commentator who can be described thusly. (George Will is the only one I can think of.)
He was not about talking points. He was all about deeply held beliefs intelligently argued against what he knew (or assumed) were the deeply held beliefs of others. That will be sorely missed.
There were, obviously, a great many subjects on which I disagreed with William F. Buckley Jr. over the years. Throughout all those disagreements I had with his views I never lost respect for either the man or his views he espoused. That is the greatest tribute I can pay to him and one which he well earned.
An era is passing, perhaps a new era can begin which will take some lessons from why this moderate-liberal democrat has such great respect for a man with such different views from his own. If a new era could learn from that, than that would, indeed, be Buckley's greatest legacy. Regardless, his loss is a great one. He will be missed.
Comments welcome,
Pat McGovern
There are a host of tributes at NRO, I recommend perusing them.
Morning
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