[freedomfiter2]

Long considered a fringe group, the John Birch Society’s sensationalist accusations (such as saying Dwight Eisenhower was a “dedicated, conscious agent of the Communist conspiracy“) once prompted William F. Buckley to effectively banish the group from the conservative movement.

That’s funny. From where we stand today, the Birchers seem to have been far more accurate in their assesment of reality. Buckley seems more like a NE elitist than a conservative.

[knarf]

That’s kind’a how I see it, also.

[panaxanax]

“...Birchers seem to have been far more accurate in their assesment of reality.”

True.

[achilles2000]

Sure makes sense to evaluate people and an organization in 2011 based on what some other people in the organization did over 50 years ago...

[Chiltepe]

That’s funny. From where we stand today, the Birchers seem to have been far more accurate in their assesment of reality. Buckley seems more like a NE elitist than a conservative.

Right, and right. Buckley also oversaw the purging of conservatives from National Review when he decided it would be a better political gamble to throw in with the neocons.

[Nextrush]

I still admire and respect Buckley.

He buckled under media pressure in dropping the Birchers in 1965.

But in the end, Bill B did throw in his lot with the GOP insiders like Dr. Henry Kissinger.