William F. Buckley Jr.

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Feb 29, 2008 | by Deseret Morning News editorial

For someone who often sent listeners and readers scampering for dictionaries, William F. Buckley Jr. was remarkably effective at communicating ideas. As he told an Associated Press interviewer three years before his death this week at age 82, "There isn't anything I reasonably hoped for that wasn't achieved."

Those hopes must have included influencing a conservative movement that dominated the American political landscape during the late 20th century and into the 21st. Buckley brought a measure of sophistication and credibility to the movement, typified by his tendency to raise his eyebrows and use words generally heard only in advanced spelling bees.

Buckley's passing, and the 2006 death of economist Milton Friedman, have taken two of the most innovative and influential minds on the American political landscape. Both moved the nation and mainstream thought in significant ways.

To understand Buckley's influence, one has to appreciate the political landscape at the time he emerged from Yale University in the early 1950s. The post-war United States was dominated by liberal thought, influenced greatly by Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and the economics of John Maynard Keynes. Conservatives were linked with pre- Depression era politicians who were thought to know little about economics, foreign policy or modern society, and by a handful of marginal groups that espoused extreme views.

Buckley infused conservatism with youthful energy and flamboyance. His first act was to attack his alma mater, Yale, in a book that skewered the school as being run by atheists and collectivists. A few years later, he founded the magazine National Review. Eventually, he wrote an estimated 55 books and hosted the long-running talk show "Firing Line." His wit and provocative nature made him a devastating debater.

His brand of conservatism did not always endear him to others on the right. He sparred with the John Birch Society and devotees of philosopher Ayn Rand, among others. Nor did he always find himself on the right side of history. Early on, he was a staunch supporter of racial segregation, once suggesting blacks not be allowed to vote.

But as any good thinker, he was able to change and adapt. In the end, he can take a good deal of credit for the rise of conservatives from Barry Goldwater to Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Perhaps most importantly, he broadened the spectrum of political discourse in America -- a land that ought to value ideas and free thought.