Big Daddy Conservative goes out on a limb in stating the obvious, and it is news because of who he is, with a pseudo-intellectual named William Kristol being paid as an editor of Big Daddy’s hallowed National Review, and all the discredit that is festering within from too much cheer leading over the years combined with close to zero self-reflection on the part of many, who now collectively are managing to attach the publication to a sinking ship, playing their instruments the entire time, oblivious to the woeful situation they are helping to exacerbate. I suppose it’s what separates the bona-fide from the shill, though in Buckley’s case, I’d be reluctant to simply hand him the virtuous stamp of approval over all this (perhaps a “spirit award” would be more appropriate), though it does earn him a place in my heart, as this is the paramount issue of these times we are living through right now. The first paragraph of his column follows:
“The political problem of the Bush administration is grave, possibly beyond the point of rescue. The opinion polls are savagely decisive on the Iraq question. About 60 percent of Americans wish the war ended — wish at least a timetable for orderly withdrawal. What is going on in Congress is in the nature of accompaniment. The vote in Congress is simply another salient in the war against war in Iraq. Republican forces, with a couple of exceptions, held fast against the Democrats’ attempt to force Bush out of Iraq even if it required fiddling with the Constitution. President Bush will of course veto the bill, but its impact is critically important in the consolidation of public opinion. It can now accurately be said that the legislature, which writes the people’s laws, opposes the war…”
(“The Waning of the GOP“, Buckley, 4/28/07)
Note: Below the fold I will be posting some of my favorite clips of Buckley off of YouTube, I just have to seek all of them out. And FYI, I’m working to have a plugin installed that will allow readers using IE to view what is posted. Once that goes up and I’ve tested it, I’ll have a portion of my most cherished clips to share.
Video to come – – – by 10PM EST
William F. Buckley vs. Noam Chomsky Pt. 1
William F. Buckley vs. Noam Chomsky Pt. 2
Gore Vidal vs. William F. Buckley (1968)
Cue up the Bill “Nostradumbass” Kristol reel going on about how brave Dubya is to implement the surge.
Buckley is great. His contrtibution to NPR’s “This I Believe” series is one of their best. I can’t think of anyone whose working vocabulary is more complete. And best of all he’s brave enough to say what need to be said and let political fashion take a leap. If more Conservatives thought like he does, the public square in America would be more civil.
Regarding Kristol, check out the Live Leak snip from C-SPAN of a military wife carefully, politely and effectively skinning him alive on Washington Journal.
[By the way, your content is now between the sidebars on the main page, but hyperlinks push everything to the bottom of the scroll. Still no videos, either. Thanks for reading.]
My brother should be hooking up the plugin for video today…
I’ve got that clip of the military wife calling into washington journal – – – powerful stuff. Wanted to post it last night, but the problem with not everybody being able to see it is keeping me from doing so.
Hootsbuddy – I enjoy reading your site and Ron’s as well, both of you put a lot of time into your work and it shows!
Everything looks fine and neat to me.