2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of modern conservatism. But given Donald Trump's takeover of the Republican Party, it's an open question whether the word conservative has the same meaning it once did. At times like these, it's natural to ask, “What would Bill say?”
The problem is the flip side of the related argument that begins, “If Bill Buckley were alive today, he would…” This is what is being played out in conservative circles by people who are confused, troubled, and even furious about President Trump's ascendancy.
The phrase “drain the swamp'' is jarring to many conservatives. But that's Buckley's course of action. His end is indistinguishable from Trump's beginning.
He… what? Is it annoying? Are you angry about President Trump's influence on the current movement? Are you allied with those who believe that the Buckley tradition prioritizes civility?
perhaps. Or maybe not. What the man who once declared, “We would sooner live in a society governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by 2,000 faculty members at Harvard University,'' would think positively. It's not hard to imagine. As the movement grapples with powerful influences and long-standing challenges, including those first faced during the Eisenhower era, the next president, his populist tone, his policies, and even what is becoming a conservatism. . Early childhood.
At the same time, there is a reasonable argument that Bill Buckley will find favor with conservative Never Trumpism or find out that the 45th and soon 47th President of the United States wants otherwise. You can also do it. Mr. Buckley, for example, has written dozens of books, but Mr. Trump boasts that he doesn't even read them. And in a cigar aficionado's reminiscences about the 2000 presidential candidates, WFB called the Queens developer a narcissist and a demagogue, adding testily: “When he looks into the glass, he is fascinated by the reflection.''
However, there is also evidence that in the Year of the Lord 2024, the two may prove to be rather simpatico.
The evidence starts in Queens. Bill Buckley knew a thing or two about this place, as well as other “suburban neighborhoods” in the Big Apple. And about their voters too. Mr. Buckley, a former politician himself who challenged liberal Republican John V. Lindsey in the 1965 mayoral race, was born in the Bronx, despite his Ivy League background, where he became fodder for comedians and impersonators. There were connections to a police officer, a nurse from Staten Island, and a mechanic from Brooklyn. He was their enemy's enemy.
So is Trump. In a few election cycles, the scumbags from 1960s suburban districts and other areas of elitist disdain who supported Buckley would become better known as “Reagan Democrats.” Forty years later, their grandchildren are MAGA Republicans. The dots between Buckley in 1965 and Trump in 2016/2020/2024 are clearly there, if not always recognized.
what is old becomes new again
The two men also had something in common in their tone. In the first issue of National Review, Buckley famously committed the magazine to combating the destructive insanity of the establishment, writing in his diary that “no one would do it, or anyone would put up with it.'' “At this moment in time, we are standing up to history and shouting, 'Stop it!'” People who encourage that. ” The rant is exaggerated and off-putting to some aristocratic conservatives who prefer to sit on the sidelines and admonish the left through quips, tweets, and op-eds.
Any worthwhile activity. But it is not enough to stop the march of leftist ideology through history. The job requires a tough agent, a vandal, someone who does the dirty work, someone who sabotages the property, similar to John Wayne's Ethan Edwards in “The Searchers.” Donald J. Trump etc.
Associated with the Shout-Out is a more populist agitation that has long become famous as America's leading voice, mocking the dominant culture and system and offering hope, encouragement, and education to millions of people. It's like Rush Limbaugh. Rush became America's premier conservative. His style wasn't Buckley-esque, but then who is? Rush loved Bill, a man thrilled to see conservatism broadly and convincingly distilled through this radio giant. He loved me in return.
Later, Rush also defended Trump.
They would have formed the dreaded Triple Entente.
About the National Review premiere: In it, Buckley emphasized “our beliefs.” Seventy years later, his concerns remain. Au Courant. For example: “The greatest cultural threat in America is the conformity of intellectual circles who, with little success, are trying to impose modern trends and misconceptions on the population, not only in the arts but also in education. ” These and other thunderclaps are MAGA and are spoken in the stilted Buckley dialect.
On the other hand, the enemies that Buckley identified in 1955 were “social engineers” (who “try to conform humanity to a scientific utopia”) and “Fabian agents” (who “want to convert both our political parties”). “Big Brother government is trying to take over”), “Big Brother government “Clever conspirators”, communists (their beliefs are “diabolical utopianism”), “union monopolies”, and “ideologues” (they “do almost everything”) all”) — continues to do just about everything today.
The phrase “drain the swamp” is offensive to many conservatives. But that's Buckley's course of action. His end is indistinguishable from Trump's beginning. The two men are calm.
Narcissism aside, today's Buckley is the same entertainer (or have you never seen “Firing Lines”?) against the relentless cries of “fascist,” “racist,” and “Hitler.” I'm sure you'll feel some sympathy towards him. Long before young Donald J. Trump could vote, WFB was vilified as a “Nazi.” Gore Vidal is infamous for calling him a “crypto Nazi” during a nationally televised debate. Buckley's response — “I'll smear mud on your face, and you'll stay smeared” — would be echoed in various ways half a century later, addressed to a smug elite hate informant. You'll hear it calling.
Crustal deformation
Another similarity is that Trump and Buckley, proponents of the vilified “Muslim ban,” would likely share the same view when it comes to prioritizing the Islamic threat to the West. At the last National Review Board meeting he attended in 2006, Buckley gave the magazine's editors a special mission to focus on what he called “Islamofascism.” check.
Will WFB join the conservative movement? With its political vehicle, the Republican Party, in the hands of a man from Queens, is the party doomed to taint and even collapse? Some people say so. And some believe William F. Buckley Jr. would agree if he were alive today.
Then again, if he were here, Bill would use the latest election results to reject the identity politics he deeply despised and no longer rely on the racial and gender blocs mandated by progressives. One might think of it as a tectonic upheaval of political plates by formerly enslaved voters declaring, and the Neo-Marxist Democratic Party.
He may also conclude that the fundamental things that conservatism has long desired and fought for and against are best advanced, and perhaps accomplished by unlikely champions. An obnoxious populist, lacking in etiquette, with a dull tongue rather than silver, who could not get permission to lead from the movement's gatekeepers, even by default, but who was attractive to the people in the phone book. It turned out.
To use Buckley's terminology, one might say that Donald J. Trump has internalized the conservative apocalypse. Bill won't shout anything about it. Stop.
Editor's note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.
