History Creator / WilliamFBuckleyJr

Though most of the books Buckley published were just collections of his essays and writings from the ''National Review'', he was also an avid novelist, specializing in SpyFiction with his ''Literature/BlackfordOakes'' series. He also wrote two autobiographies and a fictionalized account of the rise of the American right-wing.

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' criticized the unspoken orientation towards secularism and liberalism amongst the faculty in his alma mater.[[note]]He considered this a problem mainly because Yale was founded as, and ostensibly still was at the time of his attendance, a Christian university, though its religious orientation had been altered several times by then.[[/note]] The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to launch a crusade against what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, unifying the American right-wing into a coherent force by forging an alliance between traditionalists, anti-communists and libertarians, as well as firmly excluding right-wing extremists and "right-wing materialists" (read: [[UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} Randian Objectivism]]).

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' criticized the unspoken orientation towards secularism and liberalism amongst the faculty in his alma mater.[[note]]He considered this a problem mainly because Yale was founded as, and ostensibly still was at the time of his attendance, a Christian university, though its religious orientation had been altered several times by then.[[/note]] The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to launch a crusade against what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, unifying the American right-wing into a coherent force by forging an alliance between traditionalists and libertarians, as well as firmly excluding right-wing extremists and "right-wing materialists" (read: [[UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} Randian Objectivism]]).

* PompousPoliticalPundit: Buckley himself made every attempt to avert this, but several major network political commentators are consciously patterned off the Buckley-Vidal debates, i.e. for the purpose of generating controversy rather than insightful analysis. Many conservative political commentators ([[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment who shall remain nameless]]) have imitated Buckley's pugilistic debate style but, lacking Buckley's tact and erudition, have become this instead.

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' criticized the unspoken orientation towards secularism and liberalism amongst the faculty in his alma mater. The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to launch a crusade against what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, unifying the American right-wing into a coherent force by forging an alliance between traditionalists and libertarians, as well as firmly excluding right-wing extremists and "right-wing materialists" (read: [[UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} Randian Objectivism]]).

Buckley famously feuded with author Creator/GoreVidal, who he despised on principle. The two first met when invited by ABC to commentate on the 1968 political conventions, which the network did because they knew the two bitter rivals would boost ratings. The exchanges quickly deteriorated, culminating in Buckley, provoked by Vidal calling him a "crypto-Nazi" responded by calling him a "queer" and threatening to "sock [Vidal] in [his] goddamn face" on live TV. Buckley considered being cajoled into using a hateful slur and stooping to personal insults the absolute lowest point in his career, going so far as to pen an apology to the man he hated so much.

* BerserkButton: Buckley absolutely despised [[GodwinsLaw being called a fascist or a Nazi]], or any association of conservatism with those ideologies. Exchanges on his show would become noticeably more tense if this occurred or even hinted at, and Gore Vidal pressing it caused him to completely lose his cool. This might have been a response to dubious political choices early in his career (see OldShame below).

* ColbertBump: The attention he gave to UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan both on ''Firing Line'' and in the ''National Review'' are credited in large part to Reagan's eventual prominence in national politics and his successful run at the presidency.
* DirtyCommunists: As you can probably tell, Buckley hated Communism with a passion -- describing it as "satanic" -- and advocated for its destruction. He notably disowned UsefulNotes/RichardNixon over the latter normalizing relations with China and the Soviet Union, as well as withdrawing from Vietnam.

* FriendlyEnemy: George [=McGovern=] (a liberal Democratic politician who represented South Dakota in both houses of Congress) was Buckley's political antithesis and Buckley always gave him hell when he was on the show. However, off the record, the two were very close friends, with Buckley describing him as his "best friend" and "the nicest guy I've ever met." He was also feuded in writing and debate with liberal economist John K. Galbraith, but nevertheless considered the man a close personal friend.

* OldShame: [[invoked]]As a young man, Buckley was staunchly racist, anti-Semitic, and isolationist. For its first few years, ''National Review'''s editorial stance was white supremacist and strongly supportive of Jim Crow. As a teenager, he was involved with the non-interventionist America First Committee, which tended to harbor anti-Semites, and whose spokesperson -- Charles Lindbergh -- was a Nazi sympathizer.[[note]]Interestingly enough, Gore Vidal also participated with America First.[[/note]] These things deeply embarrassed Buckley later in life, which was why he tried so hard to write what he regarded as right-wing extremists out the conservative movement, and may have been why he was so sensitive about being accused of Nazism later in life.

* PretenderDiss: Despite the heavily pro-capitalist stance of her works, the ''National Review'' famously pilloried Creator/AynRand as an imposter, scathingly equating her worldview with that of Marxism.

* PunBasedTitle: "Firing Line" is in part a reference to how the show is meant to put ideas "in the line of fire" so to speak, but is also meant to recall a "Fire Line", an artificial break meant to slow or halt the advance of a wildfire.

* StopBeingStereotypical: ''National Review'' was in part a response to Buckley's frustration that there was no such thing as a "conservative intellectual" in America at the time, academia being dominated by liberals and leftists, and the most prominent right-wing figures being crackpots whom Buckley scathingly described as "knuckle-dragging neanderthals."

* PretenderDiss: Despite the heavily pro-capitalist stance of her works, the ''National Review'' famously pilloried Creator/AynRand as an imposter, scathingly [[NotSoDifferent equating her worldview with that of Marxism]].

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Buckley occasionally referred to himself as a "libertarian," so he was somewhat annoyed by the rise of the Libertarian movement represented by Ron Paul and others. The feeling was at least a little mutual, as quite a few in the movement took issue with Buckley's traditionalism and militant anticommunism.

* WorthyOpponent: He and George McGovern considered each other this. McGovern was the most frequent participant against Buckley in the debate episodes of ''Firing Line,'' always opposite Buckley. Buckley also seems to have regarded UsefulNotes/RobertFKennedy this way, and later remarked that one of his greatest career regrets was never being able to get him on the show.

* OldShame: [[invoked]]As a young man, Buckley was staunchly racist, anti-Semitic, and isolationist. For its first few years, ''National Review'' strongly supported Jim Crow and white supremacy in its editorials. As a teenager, he was involved with the non-interventionist America First Committee, which was more than a little antisemitic, and whose spokesperson -- Charles Lindbergh -- was a Nazi sympathizer.[[note]]Interestingly enough, Gore Vidal also participated with America First.[[/note]] These things deeply embarrassed Buckley later in life, which was why he tried so hard to write what he regarded as right-wing extremists out the conservative movement, and may have been why he was so sensitive about being accused of Nazism.
* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad: He critiqued feminists on ''Firing Line'' for this, insisting that their attempts to make English gender-neutral was an unmusical abuse of the language. At least one -- Germaine Greer -- agreed with him. During one of his televised debates on UsefulNotes/{{feminism}}, however, he found himself using "PC" terms (e.g. insistently using the term "spokesperson") without thinking about it.

* WorthyOpponent: He and many liberal intellectuals considered each other this.

* UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents: Perhaps the most famous user of the Transatlantic accent, which is every bit as part a persona as anything else.

* EveryoneHasStandards: His ''modus operandi'' with the ''National Review'' was to make it clear who could and could not rightly call themselves "conservatives." Notably, Buckley excluded the rabidly anti-communist John Birch Society, whom he thought were wackos who gave genuine anticommunists a bad name. This also excluded Creator/AynRand, whose militant atheism offended him, and white supremacists ([[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness eventually]]).

* BerserkButton: Buckley absolutely despised being called a fascist or a Nazi, or any association of conservatism with those ideologies. Exchanges on his show would become noticeably more tense if this occurred or even hinted at, and Gore Vidal pressing it caused him to completely lose his cool. This might have been a response to dubious political choices early in his career (see OldShame below).

* PompousPoliticalPundit: Buckley himself made every attempt to avert this, but several major network political commentators are consciously patterned off the Buckley-Vidal debates, i.e. for the purpose of generating controversy rather than insightful analysis. Many conservative political commentators ([[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment who shall remain nameless]]) have imitated Buckley's pugilistic debate style but, lacking Buckley's tact and erudition, have become this instead.

* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad: He critiqued feminists whom he felt to be {{Straw Feminist}}s on ''Firing Line'' for this, insisting that their attempts to make English gender-neutral was an unmusical abuse of the language. At least one -- Germaine Greer -- agreed with him. During one of his televised debates on UsefulNotes/{{feminism}}, however, he found himself using "PC" terms (e.g. insistently using the term "spokesperson") without thinking about it.

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' criticized the unspoken orientation towards secularism and liberalism amongst the faculty in his alma mater. The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to launch a crusade against what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, unifying the American right-wing into a coherent force by forging an alliance between traditionalists and libertarians, as well as firmly excluding right-wing extremists and "right-wing materialists" (read: [[Randian UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}}).

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' criticized the unspoken orientation towards secularism and liberalism amongst the faculty in his alma mater. The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to launch a crusade against what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, unifying the American right-wing into a coherent force by forging an alliance between traditionalists and libertarians, as well as firmly excluding right-wing extremists and "right-wing materialists" (read: [[Creator/AynRand Randian]] UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}}).

* AcceptablePoliticalTargets: [[invoked]]Most of Buckley's career was spent attempting to invert this, as he felt that a liberal orthodoxy tolerated ideas that should be unacceptable (most notably, Communism) and took the falsity of ideas that he held dear for granted. To wit, his first two books were (1) an iconoclastic look at one of the most respected institutions of higher learning in the country and (2) a spirited defense of UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy, of all people.[[note]]It should be noted that Buckley wrote the latter book before the Army hearings and [=McCarthy=]'s appearance on ''Face the Nation'', and afterward he was very critical of the excesses of [=McCarthy=]'s methods.[[/note]]

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' criticized the unspoken orientation towards secularism and liberalism amongst the faculty in his alma mater. The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to launch a crusade against what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, unifying the American right-wing into a coherent force by forging an alliance between traditionalists and libertarians, as well as firmly excluding right-wing extremists and "right-wing materialists" (read: [[UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} Randian Objectivism]])

Buckley is most famous for his public affairs television show ''Series/FiringLine'', which ran for a whopping 33 years. While ultimately designed to promote his ideas, the series often featured incredibly sophisticated conversations between Buckley and his political opponents or allies, with Buckley interviewing the guest and both being cross examined by a panel formed from the audience. The show was distinguished from others of its kind from its (usually) unfailingly polite and civil atmosphere and high-brow nature, combined with Buckley's distinctive mannerisms and barbed wit. The show boasted an illustrious catalogue of guests to discuss various topics surrounding then-current events. Here and elsewhere, Buckley proved himself a masterful debater, impressing even his ideological opponents.

Though most of the books Buckley published were merely collections of his essays and writings from the ''National Review'', he was also an avid novelist, specializing in SpyFiction with his . He also wrote 2 autobiographies and a fictionalized account of the rise of the American right-wing.

Buckley famously feuded with author Creator/GoreVidal, who he despised on principle. The two first met when invited by ABC to commentate on the 1968 political conventions, which the network did because they knew the two bitter rivals would boost ratings. The exchanges quickly deteriorated, culminating in Buckley, provoked by Vidal calling him a "crypto-Nazi" responded by calling him a "queer" and threatening to "sock [Vidal] in [his] goddam face" on live TV. Buckley considered being cajoled into using a hateful slur and stooping to personal insults the absolute lowest point in his career, going so far as to pen an apology to the man he hated so much.

* AcceptablePoliticalTargets: Most of Buckley's career was spent attempting to invert this, as he felt that a liberal orthodoxy tolerated ideas that should be unacceptable (most notably, Communism) and took the falsity of ideas that he held dear for granted. To wit, his first two books were 1) an iconoclastic look at one of the most respected institutions of higher learning in the country and 2) a spirited defense of UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy, of all people.[[note]]It should be noted that his book was written before the Army hearings and [=McCarthy=]'s appearance on Face the Nation, and was very critical of the excesses of [=McCarthy=]'s methods.[[/note]]

* BlackAndGrayMorality: In his ''Blackford Oakes'' novels, Communists are the ultimate evil,and their abettors are, at best, misguided [[WideEyedIdealist Wide Eyed Idealists]]. The heroes are heroes by virtue of being in opposition to the Communists, but are firmly entrenched on the IDidWhatIHadToDo end of heroism.

* DirtyCommies: As you can probably tell, Buckley hated Communism with a passion -- describing it as "satanic" -- and advocated for its destruction. He notably disowned UsefulNotes/RichardNixon over the latter normalizing relations with China and the Soviet Union, as well as withdrawing from Vietnam.
* EveryoneHasStandards: His ''modus operandi'' with the ''National Review'' was to make it clear who could rightly call himself a "conservative" and who couldn't. This notably excluded the rabidly anti-communist John Birch Society, whom Buckley thought were wackos who gave genuine anticommunists a bad name. This also excluded Creator/AynRand, whose militant atheism offended him, and white supremacists ([[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness eventually]]).

* FriendlyEnemy: George [=McGovern=] was Buckley's political antithesis and Buckley always gave him hell when he was on the show. However, off the record, the two were very close friends, with Buckley describing him as his "best friend" and "the nicest guy I've ever met." He was also feuded in writing and debate with liberal economist John K. Galbraith, but nevertheless considered the man a close personal friend.
* LongRunners: ''Firing Line'' was one of the longest running TV shows in history when it went of the air, having been on for 33 years and aired over 1500 episodes. This also makes it ''the'' longest running show with a single host.
* MyGreatestFailure: The incident with Vidal haunted Buckley for the rest of his life. So much so that when he saw the clip during a retrospective of his life, some 50 years later, he had a minor FreakOut and chewed out his producer for not having the footage destroyed.
* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad: He critiqued feminists on the show for this, insisting that their attempts to make English gender-neutral was an unmusical abuse of the language. At least one -- Germaine Greer -- agreed with him. During one of his televised debates on feminism, however, he found himself using PC terms (e.g. insistently using the term "spokesperson") without thinking about it.
* PretenderDiss: Despite the heavily pro-capitalist stance of her works, the ''National Review'' famously pilloried Creator/AynRand as an imposter, scathingly equating her worldview with that of Marxism.

* PompousPoliticalPundit: Not Buckley, who made every attempt to avert this, but more than a few major network political commentators are consciously patterned off the Buckley-Vidal debates, i.e. for the purpose of generating controversy rather than insightful analysis. Some conservative political commentators ([[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment who shall remain nameless]]) have attempted to imitate Buckley's pugilistic debate style, but lack Buckley's tact and erudition, making them this instead.
* OldShame: As a young man, Buckley was staunchly racist, anti-Semitic, and isolationist. When he first founded National Review, its editorial stance was strongly supportive of Jim Crow and White Supremacy. As a teenager, he was involved with the non-interventionist America First Committee, which was more than a little antisemitic, and whose spokesperson -- Charles Lindbergh -- was a Nazi sympathizer.[[note]]Interestingly enough, Gore Vidal also participated with America First.[[/note]] These things deeply embarrassed Buckley later in life, which was why he tried so hard to write what he regarded as right-wing extremists out the conservative movement, and may have been why he was so sensitive about being accused of Nazism.
* PunBasedTitle: "Firing Line" is in part a reference to how the show is meant to put ideas "in the line of fire" so to speak, but is also meant to recall a "Fire Line", an artificial break meant to slow or halt the advance of a wildfire.
* RaisedCatholic: Buckley's Catholic faith was a prominent part of ''Firing Line'', not only frequently discussing current events regarding the Church, but also airing a special episode each Christmas where he discusses his faith with friend and colleague Malcolm Muggeridge.
* SophisticatedAsHell: Absolutely loved interrupting an elegantly constructed sentence with a well-timed swearword. His famous tirade against Gore Vidal was an unintentional and far less comedic example.
* StopBeingStereotypical: ''National Review'' was in part a response to Buckley's frustration that there was no such thing as a "conservative intellectual" in America at the time, academia being dominated by liberals and leftists, and the most prominent right-wing figures being crackpots that Buckley scathingly described as "knuckle-dragging neanderthals."
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Buckley was a virulent critic of the liturgial changes brought about by the Catholic Church's Second Vatican Council, going so far as to call it "an aesthetic ordeal". He editorialized about it frequently, even in other publications, and dedicated an episode of ''Firing Line'' to discussing the question.

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' criticized the unspoken orientation towards secularism and liberalism amongst the faculty in his alma mater. The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to launch a crusade against what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, unifying the American right-wing into a coherent force by forging an alliance between traditionalists and libertarians, as well as firmly excluding right-wing extremists and "right-wing materialits" (read: [[UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} Randian Objectivism]])

* LongRunners: ''Firing Line'' was one of the longest running TV shows in history when it went of the air, having been on for 33 years and aired over 1500 episodes.

* AcceptablePoliticalTargets: Most of Buckley's career was spent attempting to invert this, as he felt that a liberal orthodoxy tolerated ideas that should be unacceptable (most notably, Communism) and took the falsity of ideas that he held dear for granted. To wit, his first two books were 1) an iconoclastic look at one of the most respected institutions of higher learning in the country and 2) a spirited defense of UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy, of all people.[[note]]It should be noted that his book was written before the Army hearings and McCarthy's appearance on Meet the Press, and was very critical of the excesses of McCarthy's methods.[[/note]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pic_nrd_20180305_brookhiser.jpg]]

* StopBeingSoStereotypical: ''National Review'' was in part a response to Buckley's frustration that there was no such thing as a "conservative intellectual" in America at the time, academia being dominated by liberals and leftists, and the most prominent right-wing figures being crackpots that Buckley scathingly described as "knuckle-dragging neanderthals."

->''"Decent people should ignore politics, if only they could be sure that politics would ignore them"''

Buckley is most famous for his public affairs television show ''Series/FiringLine'', which ran for a whopping 33 years. While ultimately designed to promote his ideas, the series often featured incredibly sophisticated conversations between Buckley and his political opponents or allies, with Buckley interviewing the guest and both being cross examined by a panel formed from the audience. The show was distinguished from others of its kind from its (usually) unfailingly polite and civil atmosphere and high-brow nature, combined with Buckley's distinctive mannerisms and barbed wit. The show boasted an illustrious catalgogue of guests to discuss various topics surrounding then-current events. Here and elsewhere, Buckley proved himself a masterful debater, impressing even his ideological opponents.

Though most of the books Buckley published were merely collections of his essays and writings from the ''National Review'', he was also an avid novelist, specializing in SpyFiction. He also wrote 2 autobiographies and a fictionalized account of the rise of the American right-wing.

Buckley famously feuded with author Gore Vidal, who he despised on principle. The two first met when inivited by ABC to commentate on the 1968 political conventions, which the network did because they knew the two bitter rivals would boost ratings. The exchanges quickly deteriorated, culminating in Buckley, provoked by Vidal calling him a "crypto-Nazi" threatened to "sock [Vidal] in [his] goddam face" on live TV. Buckley would be haunted by the incident his entire life.

* EveryoneHasStandards: His ''modus operandi'' with the ''National Review'' was to make it clear who could rightly call himself a "conservative" and who couldn't. This notably excluded the rabidly anti-communist John Birch Society, whom Buckley thought were wackos who gave genuine anticommunists a bad name. This also excluded Creator/AynRand, whose militant atheism offended him, and white supremacists (eventually).

* FriendlyEnemy: George [=McGovern=] was Buckley's political antithesis and Buckley always gave him hell when he was on the show. However, off the record, the two were very close friends, with Buckley describing him as his "best friend" and "the nicest guy I've ever met." He was also quite friendly with the liberal economist John K. Galbraith, with whom he feuded in writing, but nevertheless considered a personal friend.

* PompousPoliticalPundit: Not Buckley, who made every attempt to avert this, but certainly a generation of political commentators that [[FollowTheLeader followed in his wake]].
* OldShame: As a young man, Buckley was staunchly racist, anti-semitic, and isolationist. When he first founded National Review, its editorial stance was strongly supportive of Jim Crow and White Supremacy. As a teenager, he was involved with the non-interventionist America First Committee, which was more than a little antisemitic, and whose spokesperson -- Charles Lindbergh -- was a Nazi sympathizer.[[note]]Interestingly enough, Gore Vidal also participated with America First.[[/note]] These things deeply embarrassed Buckley later in life, which was why he tried so hard to write what he regarded as right-wing extremists out the conservative movement, and may have been why he was so sensitive about being accused of Nazism.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Buckley was a virluent critic of the liturgial changes brought about by the Catholic Church's Second Vatican Council, going so far as to call it "an aesthetic ordeal". He edititorialized about it frequently, even in other publications, and dedicated an episode of ''Firing Line'' to discussing the question.

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' criticized the unspoken orientation towards secularism and liberalism amongst the faculty in his alma mater. The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to launch a crusade against what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, unifying the American right-wing into a coherent force by forging an alliance between traditionalists and libertarians, as well as firmly excluding right-wing extremists and "right-wing materialits" (read: [[UsefulNotes/{Objectivism} Randian Objectivism]])

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' criticized the unspoken orientation towards secularism and liberalism amongst the faculty in his alma mater. The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to launch a crusade against what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, unifying the American right-wing into a coherent force by forging an alliance between traditionalists and libertarians, as well as firmly excluding right-wing extremists and "right-wing materialits" (read: [[UsefulNotes/Objectivism Randian Objectivism]])

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' criticized what he saw as a secular, liberal orthodoxy in the titular university, his alma mater. The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to launch a crusade against what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, bringing together a distinguished cast of conservative intellectuals and forming American conservatism into a coherent, unified ideology for the first time.

Buckley is most famous for his public affairs television show ''Series/FiringLine'', which ran for a whopping 33 years. While ultimately designed to promote his ideas, the series often featured incredibly sophisticated conversations between Buckley and his political opponents or allies, with Buckley interviewing the guest and both being cross examined by a panel formed from the audience. The show was distinguished from others of its kind from its (usually) unfailingly polite and civil atmosphere and high-brow nature, combined with Buckley's distinctive mannerisms and barbed wit.

* AcceptablePoliticalTargets: Most of Buckley's career was spent attempting to subvert this, as he felt that a liberal consensus was being left unchallenged. To wit, his first two books were 1) an iconoclastic look at one of the most respected institutions of higher learning in the country and 2) a spirited defense of UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy, of all people.

* DirtyCommies: Buckley hated Communism with a passion -- describing it as "satanic" -- and advocated for its destruction. He notably disowned UsefulNotes/RichardNixon over the latter normalizing relations with China and the Soviet Union, as well as withdrawing from Vietnam.
* FriendlyEnemy: George [=McGovern=] was Buckley's political antithesis and Buckley always gave him hell when he was on the show. However, off the record, the two were very close friends, with Buckley describing him as his "best friend" and "the nicest guy I've ever met."

* OldShame: As a young man, Buckley was staunchly racist, anti-semitic, and isolationist. When he first founded National Review, its editorial stance was strongly supportive of Jim Crow and White Supremacy. As a teenager, he was involved with the non-interventionist America First Committee, which was more than a little antisemitic, and whose spokesperson -- Charles Lindbergh -- was a Nazi sympathizer.[[note]]Interestingly enough, so was Gore Vidal.[[/note]] These things deeply embarrassed Buckley later in life, which was why he tried so hard to write what he regarded as right-wing extremists out the conservative movement, and may have been why he was so sensitive about being accused of Nazism.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: In his ''Blackford Oakes'' novels, Communists are the ultimate evil,and their abettors are, at best, misguided WideEyedIdealists. The heroes are heroes by virtue of being in opposition to the Communists, but are firmly entrenched on the IDidWhatIHadToDo end of heroism.

->''"Decent people should ignore politics, if only they could be sure that politics would ignore them''

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' challenged what he saw as a secular, liberal orthodoxy in the titular university, his alma mater. The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to challenge what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, bringing together a distinguished cast of conservative intellectuals and forming American conservatism into a coherent, unified ideology for the first time.

* AuthorAvatar: Blackford Oakes, the protagonist of Buckley's spy novels, is pretty clearly a highly fictionalized version of himself. His exploits are a reference to Buckley's own past as a deep-cover agent for the CIA and, just like Buckley, is a WWII veteran, Yale graduate, and avid reader of the National Review.

* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad: He critiqued feminists on the show for this, inisting that their attempts to make English gender-neutral was an unmusical abuse of the language. At least one -- Germaine Greer -- agreed with him. During one of his televised debates on feminism, however, he found himself using the terms he criticized without thinking about it.

* OldShame: As a young man, Buckley was staunchly racist, anti-semitic, and isolationist. When he first founded National Review, its editorial stance was strongly supportive of Jim Crow and White Supremacy. As a teenager, he was involved with the non-interventionist America First Committee, which was more than a little antisemitic, and whose spokesperson -- Charles Lindbergh -- was a Nazi sympathizer. These things deeply embarrassed Buckley later in life, which was why he tried so hard to write what he regarded as right-wing extremists out the conservative movment, and may have been why he was so sensitive about being accused of Nazism.

-->''Whitaker Chambers'': Nor has the author, apparently, brooded on the degree to which, in a wicked world, a materialism of the Right and a materialism of the Left first surprisingly resemble, then, in action, tend to blend each with each, because, while differing at the top in avowed purpose, and possibly in conflict there, at bottom they are much the same thing.

William Francis Buckley Jr. (November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster, and perhaps the single most influential figure in [[UsefulNotes/PoliticalIdeologies American conservatism]]. Starting his career as an upstart right-wing idealist, his first book ''God and Man at Yale'' challenged what he saw as a secular, liberal orthodoxy in the titular university, his alma mater. The overwhelmingly negative response the book received ironically inspired Buckley to challenge what he perceived was an unchallenged liberal consensus in post-New Deal America. To that end, he founded the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers National Review]]'', a weekly political magazine whose stated purpose was to "stand athwart history, yelling Stop." The magazine was foundational to what would become a full-blown conservative movement, bringing together a distinguished cast of conservative intellectuals and forming American conservatism into a coherent, unified ideology for the first time.