RIP William F Buckley Jr.

[xeus]

William F. Buckley Jr. (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8V2PN3O0&show_article=1)

[XUglow]

"Hello, Is this Mr. Fubuckley?"

http://www.celebrityimpersonators.com/cp/lillytomlin.jpg

[Snipe]

A great American. I really need to finally read God and Man at Yale.

Milton Friedman and Bill Buckley are gone, and judging by George Bush and the last Republican Congress, so is any hope for American Conservatives.

[Snipe]

Bill Buckley also wanted to legalize drugs. A founding father of the conservative movement no less.

[Stonebreaker]

Rest in piece, man.

[Billy]

I only have mad respect for Mr. Buckley. God bless him.

[vee4xu]

Never really a fan of his politics, but I was always impressed with his wit, intellect and the respectful way he engaged in debate with those who didn't agree with him. The talking heads and politicians of today should take a page from Mr. Buckley's play book. I never read National Review, but did watch Firing Line pretty faithfully. Oddly enough, Firing Line was on PBS.

[Fred Garvin]

Just finished watching Charlie Rose's homage. Fantastic. In their penultimate interview Buckley talks about death. Not suicidal, just tired of it all. He and Rose were good friends and Rose chokes up during his epilogue.

I taped it. I know the local PBS rereuns Rose the following afternoons. But wow, what interviews that covered the gamut: God and Man(written when he was 25); Ayn Rand and a young Alan Greenspan; Whitaker Chambers; Joe McCarthy;Communism and Socialism; Reagan; National Review; Catholicism;and his dear son Christopher.

I loved the old Firing Lines. I remember the passionate yet civil arguments with his friend, and socialist, Michael Harrington. (Whose "The Other America" would influence JFK and ultimately LBJ.) I remember seeing Jack Kerouac on Firing Line. Anybody who has seen that appearance laughs at the way the Left has appropriated Jack Kerouac.

[GuyFawkes38]

Buckley put libertarianism into conservatism.

[Snipe]

Buckley put libertarianism into conservatism.

Yeah he did, and that is dead now.

George Bush put Big Government into conservatism. Can't let Congress off the hook either. Buckley was never part of the party apparently, because any movement that he started died somewhere with Republican politicians.

Buckley helped make Republicans the "party of ideas". Too bad they never followed those ideas. It is hard to see a distinction between big government Republicans and big government Democrats. At least the Dems are honest about wanting a big government. Have to give them credit.

Anyone who has had their view shaped by people like Buckley has to feel betrayed. I certainly do. He was a great man.

[GuyFawkes38]

Yeah he did, and that is dead now.

George Bush put Big Government into conservatism. Can't let Congress off the hook either. Buckley was never part of the party apparently, because any movement that he started died somewhere with Republican politicians.

Buckley helped make Republicans the "party of ideas". Too bad they never followed those ideas. It is hard to see a distinction between big government Republicans and big government Democrats. At least the Dems are honest about wanting a big government. Have to give them credit.

Anyone who has had their view shaped by people like Buckley has to feel betrayed. I certainly do. He was a great man.


My feeling are more mixed towards George W.

There is A LOT to dislike. On the positive side, Bush has showed a commitment towards strengthening and creating free trade deals. Bush also has been a strong advocate for reducing taxes (through tax free accounts and lowering tax rates).

Hearing Obama and Clinton trying to outdo each other's negative rhetoric on NAFTA makes Bush look a lot better than he did before.

The GOP is still vastly more libertarian than the democratic party.

But yeah, there is a lot to dislike about George W. and his big government conservatism.

[Snipe]

The largest expansion in government since LBJ and the Great Society. That is not a name you want to be associated with. Look at Medicare. Look at the expansion of the Department of Education. That guy throws money around like a drunken sailor. Given that he does that, cutting taxes isn't very responsible. Anyone can cut taxes, we need someone to cut government. Congress gets blame too. The Republicans were at least as bad as the Democrats once they got the power of the purse. It seems the only ideology left is power for the sake of power itself.

[Billy]

The largest expansion in government since LBJ and the Great Society. That is not a name you want to be associated with. Look at Medicare. Look at the expansion of the Department of Education. That guy throws money around like a drunken sailor. Given that he does that, cutting taxes isn't very responsible. Anyone can cut taxes, we need someone to cut government. Congress gets blame too. The Republicans were at least as bad as the Democrats once they got the power of the purse. It seems the only ideology left is power for the sake of power itself.

Amen, brother (for the most part).

Of course, if you believe the numbers, which show that cutting taxes actually increases the treasury revenue (trickle down)...then there isn't really a direct correlation between a optimal tax rate and the amount spent by Congress.

Right now, the budget needs to be cut until there's a surplus as you infer...and then the debt needs to be paid.

Of course, this expensive foreign policy (of yours) isn't helping matters.

[GuyFawkes38]

What frustrates me most is the large percentage of government towards those over 60.

It makes absolutely no rational sense for our government to invest so much money in the over 60 crowd.

Anyone who lives to the age of 60 should have saved enough money for retirement and health care.

It drives me crazy. Why on earth should 25 year olds have to transfer so much money to the bloated and irresponsible over 60 crowd who irresponsibly didn't save enough money.

[Snipe]

Of course, this expensive foreign policy (of yours) isn't helping matters.

The budget I approved for that was a lot less.

[Snipe]

What frustrates me most is the large percentage of government towards those over 60.

It makes absolutely no rational sense for our government to invest so much money in the over 60 crowd.

Anyone who lives to the age of 60 should have saved enough money for retirement and health care.

It drives me crazy. Why on earth should 25 year olds have to transfer so much money to the bloated and irresponsible over 60 crowd who irresponsibly didn't save enough money.

We transfer wealth to baby boomers and we take that wealth from both the young and future generations. We are about to do this on a massive scale.