Posted on 12/26/2016 6:55:31 AM PST by Zakeet
Has ‘’Newsweek’’ gone out of business: I missed that, but hav en’t seen an issue in some time too.
Richard Fernandez used to post here on FR as “wretchard”
Is THAT Ken Williamson?? AN EARRING...a DANGLING EARRING??? OMG....my GAYDAR is going off.
NR = DOA
Stop posting their crap. They no longer exist.
Don't forget David French. Some of his anti-Trump writing reaches Michael Mooreish levels of insanity.
Towards the later part of his career, Buckley started to play footsie with political correctness by firing some of his more controversial writers and former colleagues, and by serving as little more than a mouthpiece for the party line. It's a big step down from Kirk and Burnham to Williams and Shapiro, but not such a big step from Buckley.
In many ways, the transition from authentic conservatism to today's milquetoast liberal GOP establishment was paved by William Buckley in his later years. A prominent example of Buckley's eagerness to please the liberal establishment was his joining forces with the Left and the neoconservatives to attack Pat Buchanan (while backing Bush and Dole) during the 1992 and 1996 Presidential elections. If Buckley were around today, he would no doubt have backed Jeb Bush in the last election.
Furthermore, even during its best years, Buckley was far from the most interesting or original thinker and writer at NR. I think he realized that too, so he hid behind a smokescreen of intentionally elaborate wordiness and other affectations.
One trait that French and Williams have in common with the Left is their contempt towards working and lower middle class white Americans. Their attitude towards Trump's grassroots supporters was more or less the same as Hillary's.
French used to live in Ithaca (City of Evil) so I’m not surprised.
When I was growing up, I used to read the editorial pages of the local paper which was decidedly to the right. I read Sowell and many others but I could never read Buckley. His writing was wordnado of verbiage the likes of which my feeble mind could not comprehend. I don't think I have a ever been a stupid person but I never made it through one of his columns. I'm sure I missed out on some real intellectual treasure.
“Furthermore, even during its best years, Buckley was far from the most interesting or original thinker and writer at NR.”
That was all too true, and somewhat of a surprise and a disappointment. Buckley never wrote one memorable piece that I can recall in all the years that I subscribed to NR. He entertained himself with short comments notable for their selection of obscure words. And he wrote spy novels. But there was nothing that he contributed to NR that would make you think of what he was doing over at Firing Line.
“In many ways, the transition from authentic conservatism to today’s milquetoast liberal GOP establishment was paved by William Buckley in his later years”
“Towards the later part of his career, Buckley started to play footsie with political correctness by firing some of his more controversial writers and former colleagues, and by serving as little more than a mouthpiece for the party line.”
My impression as well.
We could make an interesting list of NR alumni WFB saw fit to purge as he apparently decided to curry favor with his liberal dinner campanions. Buchanan. Sobran. Did Sam Francis ever appear in NR? Chilton Williamson left when he could see a better home over at Chronicles.
“I’m sure I missed out on some real intellectual treasure.”
Probably not. He was mostly being clever rather than sharing great insights. The “gems” in those pieces were rare words selected for their obscurity. If he had wanted to share something important, which he was capable of doing, he would have done it with language a good deal more accessible.
He was trolling his readers with the unabridged Oxford English Dictionary.
I noticed quite a few years ago and quit reading it.
I still am amazed, though, at how brilliant Buckley was, even at such a young age, when he wrote “God and Man at Yale”. Infiltration of anything with power over perceptions of the masses will be taken over by the Leftists eventually. That article proves that magazine is a complete joke now and controlled by the Marxists.
Buckley was often more interested in trying to awe readers with his vocabulary than he was with ideas. Sometimes he just came across as the kid in class who just needs to show off the new $5 word he just learned from the Thesaurus that he got for Christmas.
We could make an interesting list of NR alumni WFB saw fit to purge as he apparently decided to curry favor with his liberal dinner campanions. Buchanan. Sobran. Did Sam Francis ever appear in NR? Chilton Williamson left when he could see a better home over at Chronicles.
Sam Francis wasn't a regular columnist so far as I can recall, but his articles did appear in NR occasionally. His articles probably stopped appearing around the same time the Washington Times fired Francis for political incorrectness, or when Buckley joined the hatefest against Pat Buchanan alongside liberals and neocons.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.