INAT
03-05-2008, 06:21 PM
The passing of William F. Buckley, Jr., who died this past Thursday at 82, represents the loss of one of the greatest of Americans. WFB, who successfully brought disparate and sometimes factionalized right-leaning factions together under a united Republican banner, developed an unmatched political movement rooted in conservative ideas. It ultimately led to the 1980 election of a self-described movement conservative as our 40th President, Ronald Reagan. If conservatism owes its national political ascent to Reagan's election, it owes even the possibility of that ascent to WFB.
WFB is credited for accomplishing this because he was one of the rare individuals who comprised the multiple qualities of intellectualism, charm and rapier wit, genuineness, practicality and most importantly, unsurpassed verbal and writing skills. Many intellectuals lack some or most of those qualities, which impedes them from accomplishing much outside of their ivory towers. Politicians usually have the charisma, but lack the intellectual ability. The two areas rarely overlap. There are two kinds of politics; 1) policy, and 2) campaigns and elections. Most people involved in politics are involved with one but not the other. WFB was one of the few who was able to fuse the two together to substantially change America’s political scene, and gave conservative thought intellectual credibility as its spokesperson. Although he was never successful himself running for office, he had a profound effect on leaders like Reagan, who said he’d read every issue of National Review, and former Senator Barry Goldwater, who helped revive an interest in conservative principles.
interesting read. http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2008/03/03/william-f-buckley-jr-the-most-influential-conservative-of-the-20th-century/
WFB is credited for accomplishing this because he was one of the rare individuals who comprised the multiple qualities of intellectualism, charm and rapier wit, genuineness, practicality and most importantly, unsurpassed verbal and writing skills. Many intellectuals lack some or most of those qualities, which impedes them from accomplishing much outside of their ivory towers. Politicians usually have the charisma, but lack the intellectual ability. The two areas rarely overlap. There are two kinds of politics; 1) policy, and 2) campaigns and elections. Most people involved in politics are involved with one but not the other. WFB was one of the few who was able to fuse the two together to substantially change America’s political scene, and gave conservative thought intellectual credibility as its spokesperson. Although he was never successful himself running for office, he had a profound effect on leaders like Reagan, who said he’d read every issue of National Review, and former Senator Barry Goldwater, who helped revive an interest in conservative principles.
interesting read. http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2008/03/03/william-f-buckley-jr-the-most-influential-conservative-of-the-20th-century/