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Bradley Berman is the editor of HybridCars.com and writes about hybrids for BusinessWeek, The New York Times, and other publications.
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Buckley Bows Out of National Review
Christopher Buckley, in an exclusive for The Daily Beast, explains why he left The National Review, the magazine his father founded.
I seem to have picked an apt title for my Daily Beast column, or blog, or whatever it’s called: “What Fresh Hell.” My last posting (if that’s what it’s called) in which I endorsed Obama, has brought about a very heaping helping of fresh hell. In fact, I think it could accurately be called a tsunami.
The mail (as we used to call it in pre-cyber times) at the Beast has been running I’d say at about 7-to-1 in favor. This would seem to indicate that you (the Beast reader) are largely pro-Obama.
As for the mail flooding into National Review Online—that’s been running about, oh, 700-to-1 against. In fact, the only thing the Right can’t quite decide is whether I should be boiled in oil or just put up against the wall and shot. Lethal injection would be too painless.
I had gone out of my way in my Beast endorsement to say that I was not doing it in the pages of National Review, where I write the back-page column, because of the experience of my colleague, the lovely Kathleen Parker. Kathleen had written in NRO that she felt Sarah Palin was an embarrassment. (Hardly an alarmist view.) This brought 12,000 livid emails, among them a real charmer suggesting that Kathleen’s mother ought to have aborted her and tossed the fetus into a dumpster. I didn’t want to put NR in an awkward position.
Since my Obama endorsement, Kathleen and I have become BFFs and now trade incoming hate-mails. No one has yet suggested my dear old Mum should have aborted me, but it’s pretty darned angry out there in Right Wing Land. One editor at National Review—a friend of 30 years—emailed me that he thought my opinions “cretinous.” One thoughtful correspondent, who feels that I have “betrayed”—the b-word has been much used in all this—my father and the conservative movement generally, said he plans to devote the rest of his life to getting people to cancel their subscriptions to National Review. But there was one bright spot: To those who wrote me to demand, “Cancel my subscription,” I was able to quote the title of my father’s last book, a delicious compendium of his NR “Notes and Asides”: Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription.
Within hours of my endorsement appearing in The Daily Beast it became clear that National Review had a serious problem on its hands. So the next morning, I thought the only decent thing to do would be to offer to resign my column there. This offer was accepted—rather briskly!—by Rich Lowry, NR’s editor, and its publisher, the superb and able and fine Jack Fowler. I retain the fondest feelings for the magazine that my father founded, but I will admit to a certain sadness that an act of publishing a reasoned argument for the opposition should result in acrimony and disavowal.
My father in his day endorsed a number of liberal Democrats for high office, including Allard K. Lowenstein and Joe Lieberman. One of his closest friends on earth was John Kenneth Galbraith. In 1969, Pup wrote a widely-remarked upon column saying that it was time America had a black president. (I hasten to aver here that I did not endorse Senator Obama because he is black. Surely voting for someone on that basis is as racist as not voting for him for the same reason.)
My point, simply, is that William F. Buckley held to rigorous standards, and if those were met by members of the other side rather than by his own camp, he said as much. My father was also unpredictable, which tends to keep things fresh and lively and on-their-feet. He came out for legalization of drugs once he decided that the war on drugs was largely counterproductive. Hardly a conservative position. Finally, and hardly least, he was fun. God, he was fun. He liked to mix it up.
So, I have been effectively fatwahed (is that how you spell it?) by the conservative movement, and the magazine that my father founded must now distance itself from me. But then, conservatives have always had a bit of trouble with the concept of diversity. The GOP likes to say it’s a big-tent. Looks more like a yurt to me.
While I regret this development, I am not in mourning, for I no longer have any clear idea what, exactly, the modern conservative movement stands for. Eight years of “conservative” government has brought us a doubled national debt, ruinous expansion of entitlement programs, bridges to nowhere, poster boy Jack Abramoff and an ill-premised, ill-waged war conducted by politicians of breathtaking arrogance. As a sideshow, it brought us a truly obscene attempt at federal intervention in the Terry Schiavo case.
So, to paraphrase a real conservative, Ronald Reagan: I haven’t left the Republican Party. It left me.
Thanks, anyway, for the memories, and here’s to happier days and with any luck, a bit less fresh hell.
Related: Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama
Bravo. I'm a moderate independent who greatly respected your father for the reasons you cite. Thank you for living up to his high standards.
After your last 2 articles - Your dad would have certainly told you: Bravo, Son, I am proud of you!
It is so amusing that Christopher Buckley is suddenly this hero of the left. Almost as amusing as his vilification at the hands of the right. He endorses Obama, and all is forgiven, apparently. I have a deep respect for both Buckley the Elder and his son. I read them often, find their work interesting and thoughtful almost all the time, and even find myself agreeing with them occasionally. Heck, even with all their public debates and disagreements, Norman Mailer gave WFB money for NR, not because he agreed with its conservative platform, but because he respected it (although I'm not sure he still would.) What is not at all amusing is that an intelligent man decides to vote with his head rather than follow some ridiculous party line, and everybody is in an uproar. It's brave, sure, endorsing Obama when you're a NR columnist and the son of its founder, but come on! Such crossover should happen more often, going both ways. I'd rather see Obama lose votes to McCain, if they were thoughtfully cast and based on a well-reasoned rational, then watch a bunch of zombies march to the voting booth and pull for the blue team. Well, maybe not in an election where a total wingnut reactionary is on the ticket...But we need free thought above all else.
Wow - a principled conservative? I thought you guys were extinct! Great, great article... sane.
Mr. Buckley
I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your stories about your father. I would have loved to have met him. I have found your writing on the last page of the NR to usually be pretty good as well. Unfortunately, not near as good as Mr. Steyn's. Sorry! That wasn't meant as a back-handed comment. I just really like Mark Steyn's work.
I've have also read the "Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama" piece. What I don't understand is that given Obama's excessive negatives, that are at least as numerous as McCain's, why you choose to vote for Obama. Obama is a liberal socialist type whose philosophy tends to run counter to your so-called conservative values. It seems to me that the best choice in this case would be not to vote for either candidate. Your decision is most puzzling!
I'm sure I'll continue to enjoy much of your writing. Keep up the good work.
I commend you for having the courage to speak the truth, unlike most conservative journalists these days. What surprises me is that the republicans like to wrap themselves on the flag and claim to be more patriotic than the democrats and yet they don't respect the basic principles in which this country was founded. They don't respect freedom of speech and they persecute people that don't think like them. Is this the land of the free? Remember the travesty of the Iraq war where anybody who spoke out against it was deemed unpatriotic? Next step for Mr. Buckley should be to leave the republican party.
I had never heard of you before your column endorsing Obama, but I knew of your father. Although I consider myself to be an "independent progressive" and really faulted most of what the conservative movement has represented over the past several decades, I always liked and respected your Dad. What I respected most about him is that he had the courage of his convictions, but those convictions came from deep thought and insightful dialog. I would watch his program on PBS for this very reason. It was obvious that even when he had liberals on his show that he adamently disagreed with, his disagreement did not in anyway cloud the obvious respect that he had for those liberal's opinions. He almost seemed to relish the process of engagement, either to confirm his already firmly held views, but you also got the sense that he was willing to evolve his view if given information which would enlighten him beyond his presently held position. That rarely happened, but the fact that he was obviously open to it based on the thoughtfulness of the discussions was both admirable and rare. The Conservatives/Republicans are at a crossroads now. The soul of the Conservative Movement is at a crisis point. When McCain chose Sara Palin as his running mate, the dividing line could not have been made more clear. I have no personal dislike or animosity for Palin, but she is so obviously unqualified for the job and the prospect of her becoming President based on the fact that McCain would be the oldest President Elect in history is a game changer. McCain has said that terrorism and national security is the most important issue, at a time when we are fighting two wars with dangerous rumblings from Iran, Russia, etc. Just on this issue alone, how could any conservative be willing to risk our country and the world by supporting Palin, either vocally or by taking a "no comment" approach as Collin Powell and others have done? This one issue reveals the state of the soul of the entire Conservative Movement. I admire your courage Mr. Buckley. I admire your character. I admire your integrity. Yes, conservatism is at a crossroads, but I do not believe that this should mean it should be abandoned. All voices are necessary and vital from all sides of the political spectrum, as well as they all should be valued and respected. It is my hope and prayer that the Republican Party can one day reclaim the mantle of "The Party of Lincoln". I also pray for the Democrats to achieve their ideal. We need the best and the brightest from all political spectrums to make this country and world great. I salute you Mr. Buckley in being one of a handful of conservatives to begin to fight for the soul of the Republican Party. Peace and Best Wishes! I have a feeling that this door closed for you, because you are ready for a brand new and exciting beginning! I will be following what you do in the future with great interest!
Why does the headline say you were sacked? Your article clearly says you resigned voluntarily.
So you made statements that disagreed with Republican dogma, and now your friends on the right are calling for your head. You'll understand if we of the liberal persuasion feel no sympathy for your plight. We have been called traitors, terrorist sympathizers and worse for the crime of dissenting with rightwing dogma, and we've endured it for years. I would say "welcome to the club," Mr. Buckley, but you're not welcome. You conservatives have allowed your party to be hijacked by racists, fundamentalists, and extremists, who will use any method fair or foul to push their radical viewpoints into mainstream conversation. You're now reaping what you've sown, sir.
It appears that those of us who are still seriously engaged in the marketplace of ideas have to buck the home team this time around. There's nothing surprising about that. Liberals and Conservatives and all manner of particular sub-sets have to deal with the unthoughtful in their midst.
I'm a Burkean-Reaganite who's voting Obama.
I should point out that this has nothing to do with being smart. It has to do with being thoughtful and willing to engage the idea instead of the argument. We must always fight the good fight against those who are just in it for the fight.
But with thoughtless people on both sides, I just can't lose much sleep over giving the lefties their gloat-space for a while.
You do realize that conservatives are on God's side and all others are not, conservatives know God's will while all others do not, and that conservatives want to use the power of government to advance their understanding of God's Kingdom. Finally, them being the only possessors of God's wisdom gives them the right to ignore his teachings when dealing with others who do not see the light that they do.
Dear Chris,
logic will always prevail even among conservatives, I admire you for the intellectual courage you displayed in endorsing Obama.
I'm impressed with your stimulating writing style, perhaps you should consider writing for the Economist magazine.
I'm looking forward to read more of your work.
Mr. Buckley,
I suspect that there are many conservatives, myself included, who share the feeling that conservatism has been hijacked, its principles diluted at best and reappropriated for agendas counter to conservatism at worst. Conservatism has left me as well. I'm not sure what "conservative values" refer to any more. The definition has clearly changed and many of us feel we need a new platform. If the current administration reflects the true modern meaning of conservatism, then I guess we need something new. And if National Review doesn't believe your reasoning belongs in its pages, then the publication of your father doesn't need me or many others.
Good luck. And if you find a party or platform that embraces "old school" conservatism of limited government, free markets and entrpreneurship, please pass along the word.
Whoever wins this presidency, I wish them luck. They're inheriting one hell of a mess.
I think your father would be quite proud of you. I think that both liberal and conservative thinkers have witnessed their parties being hijacked by extremist wingnuts over the last forty years. What the extremists never seem to see is that the political planet is round and that the far right and far left always meet as one in totalitarianism on the other side of that metaphorical world. Thanks for carrying on the Buckley wit and insight so splendidly.
I'm proud of you for being tall enough to state your true opinions with pride. Beats cringing like a coward, no?
I admire both your principled endorsement of Obama and your principled exit from the NRO. I have a new columnist to read on a regular basis now. Has any of your feedback mentioned that you're a fun and engaging writer? I enjoyed the form and the content of both columns, or post, or whatever they are. Please carry on...
Fantastic! Now the next great move you can make is to follow your father's footsteps and establish a new magazine for TRUE conservatives! I am a moderate democrat, though I hate their big spending ways. But I am repelled even more by the orgy of the rich that the republican party has become. You have a golden opportunity to claim the middle ground for people like me, not poor, but middle class, who still love lower taxes and less government. Go give us a voice. Start a new publication on lines of the original national review. Great opportunity!
Mr. Buckley I'm sorry to see this. I've enjoyed your writings and had a great respect for your father. I will be canceling my subscription..not for the same reasons others have given, "you betrayed" the movement...but, because your no longer there. I hate seeing the intellecual curiosity, that was once a big part of the conservative movement, leave..but I guess this why "It left me"...as well. Bravo, for your honor and convictions. I hope to see more of your musings on here.
Christopher, as a College Democrat, I welcome you with open arms. I don't know if you really care about party affiliations at this point, but the Republicans are about to collectively become your psychotic ex-girlfriend. I mean, sure, they're already sending you hard drives full of hate mail, but when you look at how they talk about you amongst each other and how quickly they transfer their pitchforks-and-torches ire to the next apostate, you will realize that they were simply crazy all along and you're better off distancing yourself as much as possible.
The sad truth is that even if Obama's presidency ends with universal healthcare, energy independence, the Dow above 20,000, and manned missions to Mars, they will call you an stuck-on-stupid moonbat with Bush Derangement Syndrome who should let go of Pup's coattails now that he's spinning in his grave, et cetera.
You're dead to them. Come, join your new family. Don't be afraid...
Mr. Buckley,
I suppose it is very diificult to live up the old man's greatness. I don't think he wouold be terribly proud of your departure from NR...it sounds as you quit, you weren't sacked at all.
Enjoy your new found celebrity in the liberal movement while you can. Oh, say hello to Ron Reagan jr. for me. Thanks.