Blogs and Stories
My Brush With Rush
How Limbaugh tried (and failed) to replace my dad.
Note: This article was first posted on October 27, 2008.
Let me say for the record, as I prepare to stab him with my pen-knife, that I like Rush Limbaugh.
After my father (WFB, Jr) died in February, Rush wrote me a condolence email that brought tears to my eyes. His pain at my father’s loss was genuine and deep. After Reagan, WFB was Rush Limbaugh’s great conservative hero. My father was also personally kind to him when he arrived in New York in the late 1980s and found himself being cold-shouldered by his bigfoot broadcasting brethren because of his Gotham-unfashionable conservative views. My father was personally fond of Rush, and after the Gingrich coup of 1994, National Review anointed him on its cover “The Leader of the Opposition.” They kept up socially. He visited WFB at our home in Stamford, Conn., and proudly showed off his $450,000 Maybach car. At any rate, I responded to Rush’s email in kind. I was greatly touched.
As Limbaugh's words were going out over the Excellence in Broadcasting network, my father’s corpse was still warm. As me old mater might say, I found them a bit…de trop.
A few days later, as I was planning WFB’s memorial service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, I was approached by an intermediary, a big player in the vast right-wing conspiracy, with the suggestion (“Wouldn’t it be appropriate….”) that Rush should give the eulogy. I declined, partly on the grounds that Mother Church maintains that a mass is a sacrament and not a Friar’s Club roast. To enforce this, she sets a strict limitation on eulogies: a max of two. I had asked Henry Kissinger to give one, and had myself planned to give the other.
I am not generally a listener to day-time radio, but in the days following WFB’s death, a number of people mentioned having listened to Rush’s show that day. I’ve dug up the February 27 transcript:
CALLER: Long-time listener. It is my pleasure. When you began speaking about Mr. Buckley, my first thought was that you are now being passed the torch to continue that fight for conservatism.
RUSH: You think so?
CALLER: Yes, I do, sir. You are more important now to this fight than ever before.
RUSH: You're right.
CALLER: Yes. I know I'm right.
RUSH: One of the questions I always ask, "What would Bill say?" When I was stuck on an issue or an opinion, "What would Bill say? What would Bill think?" and I think Bill would probably thank you and say, "Yes, madam, you're very intelligent, very wise, and you're right."
How Rich People Smoke Pot
Paul Schrodt is a writer living in New York City. He has contributed to New York magazine, Radar, and Esquire.com.
Justice Clinton?
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today's rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
One Hell of a Speech
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
The Audacity of Oops
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
Too Big to Succeed
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
JAlexander
...and to you Chritopher: Chritopher, I read William F. Buckley, Jr. William F. Buckley, Jr. was a favorite of mine. Chritopher, you're no William F. Buckley, Jr..............sad but true.
enthymeme
I find it near incomprehensible that any Buckley would find the intellectual black hole that is Rush Limbaugh, et alia, anything other than vile. Hate-porn is not argument. Foaming at the mouth is not reason. The radical right has gone beyond radical all the way to unreason. Truly. I find "these people" dangerous, small and mean-spirited, totally lacking in anything approaching "good humor" (the very thing, by the way, which made the illustrious Buckely senior so very compelling, interesting, and engaging), and devoid of substance.Rush Limbaugh peddles nothing but hate, hate, hate daily -- the more venomous and divisive, the better. The undistributed middle is the bait devious pseudo-intellectuals use relentlessly to trap the unwary.
There is no "heir" to the conservative world view; there is no credible conservative voice. There is only the brittle scream of poison and despair from the right; the sounds of confused and bitter children giving voice to a desperate desire to be noticed.
The so-called right (actually the radical, silly, unschooled right) is irrelevant. Given the absence of erudition, logic, reason, and skilled argument, they have only demonization as a strategy. And that is wearing a bit thin with the world.
Rush Limbaugh's bloated brayings are not in and of themselves frightening. The fact that anyone other than himself listens, is.
Rush Limbaugh in the same sentence as William F. Buckley? Nonsense.
Let's end in the blog-created tradition of misquoting Shakespeare"
Sweep on, you fat and greasy citizens,
'Tis just the fashion.
Protagoras
Well, this is how Rush has been treating others--as well as encouraging others to treat others--for years.
BTW, I too was moved by BO's books and consider them one of the reasons he was able to best Ms. Clinton.
jennaq
Thank you.
njnoecker
Could you would provide three examples of Barack Obama's "thinking clearly?" Your only constraint is this: the examples you provide may not be loser ideas...after all, even a loser idea can be expressed clearly.
Indevoter9
Christopher Buckley is truly amazing. End of story.
lorijen
After reading the brilliantly-written piece by CB, I read the first (and only comment)...THREE times in order to figure out what it meant. I still don;t know. If anyone can explain it, please do. I'll be checking back.
bilsay3
Christopher, as a left leaning usless liberal, I have always enjoyed your writing although seldom agreeing with it, except of course for your recent essays. Keep up the good work. Bon Voyage...
msgranny
One comment about thinking clearly. We all know that the republicans have been in charge for 8 years with the exception of the last two when Dems had a slight majority in congress and could get nothing past "Shrub's" veto. I think Obama's thinking is pretty clear when he says we cannot have 4 more years of that. No matter what he does, it can't do as much harm as has been done the last 8 years. When a president walks over the constitution as Bush has, he should be impeached, but we Dems didn't have a enough majority to do it. Yes, Bill Clinton lied under oath, about something personal, Bush has lied and lied and lied about official stuff. That should be a far more an impeachable offense.
mikemiller56
Good sir;
How about these three;
A ,a fifty state campaign.
B, a vice presidential selection that is superior to the GOP's I know that Sen. Biden will be fodder for comedians for years to come but also bring to the equation his service in the senate he will only augment Sen. Obama's agenda has LBJ did during the Kennedy years.
C, Private funding , now being a lowly Democrat born on the southside of Chicago I suspect that was very well thought out.
Omnia vincint amovr;
Mike Miller
njnoecker
Correction for CB (thank you, lorijen):
Could you provide three examples of Barack Obama "thinking clearly?" Your only constraint is this: the examples you provide may not be loser ideas...after all, even a loser idea can be expressed clearly.
Extra credit for lorijen: provide three examples of brilliance from the "brilliantly-written piece by CB. No constraints.
jjfranco
Great piece Chris. It astounds me that people like Limbaugh and Coulter even take on the mantle of 'conservative'. They're demagogues, nothing more. WJB was a conservative, an entirely different creature from these two
JAlexander
...and to you Christo: Christopher, I readWilliam F. Buckley, Jr. William F. Buckley, Jr. was a favorite of mine. Christopher, you're no William F. Buckley, Jr........sad, but true.
njnoecker
Mr. Miller.... I grade you "E" for effort.
A. "Fifty state campaign?" Obama is on record saying that there are 57 states. Bad example.
B. "a VP selection superior to the GOP's". Even you nullified this in your own post. Enough said
C. "Private funding..." Ok, this would have been a decent example had Obama's thinking been clear on the matter. In fact, he went back and forth on which way to go and finally swerved into private funding. at the eleventh hour. It was an advantageous choice, but his thinking was anything but clear.
The challenge stands.
wordsbybecca
It's interesting to note that a Republican campaign has been run on the notion that there is something "elitist" about superior intellect and to sneeringly refer to anyone with manners, good taste, class or (dare I use the word "breeding") as possibly not being a "real" American or Patriot. As though the use of slang or dropping the g's on your words and "gosh darn it" hanging out with "Joe Six Pack" was not just a cultural choice in a free society but a virtue and a rite of passage into this common society of " Real" Americans.(The ones I suppose who listen to Rush Limbaugh and his ilk) I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that a VP candidate who chooses not to accept the science of evolution wouldn't believe that the progression of the human brain and consequentially, the advance of civil society is the greatest impetus towards human advancement that we have.(BTW-a sharp mind is one of the sexiest attributes any man or woman can have and bubble-headed Stepford wives went out of style after the fifties so what's the attraction with this caricature? I don't get it...)
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.