Posted by
beltway girl on Tuesday, April 08, 2008 1:51:19 AM
(WFB remembered)
William F. Buckley, the quintessential conservative of all times, did not run for president. He did, however, once run for mayor of New York City. Someone asked him what he'd do if he won; he replied that he'd demand a recount.
That's Buckley all over, and some of us were lucky enough to have lived in the same times with this iconic figure, this shining spirit with a truly razor-sharp wit. New York is a colorful, spirited place in its own right, but Buckley was too shrewd to actually think he'd be elected there.
Real conservatives do not win too many elections. They are filled with spirit, optimism, and brilliance, just as Buckley was. They are devoted to their causes, they celebrate superior intellect, and they enjoy wealth. One point of curiosity on that last point is whether they require it. And that, in a nutshell, is what the teaming of the Reagan Revolution and Buckley's brilliance is all about.
You cannot win national elections by appealing to wealth. There simply are not enough of wealthy people out there to capture hundreds of millions of votes. You arguably should not cater to the wealthy in an election because hundreds of millions of your constituents will not be wealthy and therefore will not be represented. A president has obligations to every citizen, not just his base.
If he is foolish enough to have a base made up largely of substantial wealth, he will quite possibly never serve in office. Was this the case with Buckley? No, Buckley's wealth was not the problem. He was simply too principled and spirited for any political office. Too brilliant, perhaps, at that.
But ideology is a strange bedfellow to politics. Ideology will require fervor and devotion; politics will require the exact opposite.
Was Ronald Reagan a conservative? He was one of the most conservative presidents of recent times. But not everything Reagan did was conservative. In fact, many of Reagan's maneuverings were anything but. Reagan had amnesty. Reagan had Sandra Day O'Connor. Reagan watched entitlement spending balloon in his presidency. The list is longer for those prompted to engage in an investigation.
Ronald Reagan was about conservatism and politics. Reagan may have been the most conservative president in recent times, and he may have personally been a conservative. But he was not, and could not have been, William F. Buckley in office. He'd never have been in office.
Buckley was about conservatism in politics, too, but Buckley remained devoted to his ideology. He did not compromise it, and wasn't foolish enough to think that advancing it politically wouldn't require some compromise.
Much of this discussion is contingent upon whether wealth is the equivalent of conservatism. We know this is not the case because if it were, there would be pornographers, abortion doctors, and jihadists who could proudly acknowledge their conservatism.
However, wealth may be a part of it. If this is the case, it is the weakest part.
Conservatism is about ideas. People who share those ideas may even be dirt poor, but if they have them, they are not precluded from considering themselves to be conservatives. They are no more precluded than people who parade themselves past audiences in the supposed spirit of WFB, while engaging in cheap, petty attacks, puffing themselves up in pride, and finding unfortunates in society to prop themselves up upon.
William F. Buckley was a hero for the conservatives who genuinely loved him and his message. He was a gentle soul and a sharp, hot knife cutting through butter. Expecting politicians to carry the real torch of conservatism is like asking your subprime lender for the best possible rate about ten years ago. Buckley was pragmatic enough to know he was not pragmatist enough to end up in office.
As long as conservatism is out there, you'll have true conservatives and conservatism hustlers, just as you do with anything else.
A lot of so-called conservatives engage in behavior that is anything but conservative. Conservatism is not just all about wealth and position. It is first and foremost about ideas. Politicians can come close to the flame on some of this, but only someone like a Buckley can come away unscorched. Buckley is ensconced in the ideas which may one day be reality; politicians are imbued in the current realities.
William F. Buckley was a scholar and a soul. He will leave behind a legacy of great, great value. When I think of William F. Buckley, I think of a young Irishman with a glint in his eye, a drink in his hand, a thought in his head, and a pen in his fingers.
And I think of a gentleman. A truly gentle man.
Let's leave the war-monger remarks and other such charms to the liberals. Judgments are a funny thing. Buckley had the gift for being able to make them not just with discernment but with wit. There aren't too many Buckleys out there, which is why one should be careful about how one allows others to define this word, "conservative."
There are many conservatives out there.
Let the buyer beware.