Incredibly noteworthy conservative William F. Buckley, Jr. has died today. He will be sorely missed. Here is the news from The Corner.
I’m devastated to report that our dear friend, mentor, leader, and founder William F. Buckley Jr., died overnight in his study in Stamford, Connecticut.
After year of illness, he died while at work; if he had been given a choice on how to depart this world, I suspect that would have been exactly it. At home, still devoted to the war of ideas.
As you might expect, we’ll have much more to say here and in NR in the coming days and weeks and months. For now: Thank you, Bill. God bless you, now with your dear Pat. Our deepest condolences to Christopher and the rest of the Buckley family. And our fervent prayer that we continue to do WFB’s life’s work justice.
Here is a video of Buckley, whose accomplishments are almost too numerous to list, from Youtube.
God Bless Him.
I’ll add links/tributes as they come up. Hot Air has the notorious Buckley Versus Vidal video. Worth a look.Sister Toldjah reminds us that his wife passed away last year. At least they’re together again now.More reaction at The Corner from John Hood:
I am shocked and dismayed by the news. The conservative movement and American politics were forever transformed by this brilliant, principled, and multi-talented man. I’m sure that there will soon be a flood of such stories, but I’ll have to say that a well-timed, gracious letter from Mr. Buckley in 1987 or so to a then-stressed student-magazine editor helped cement my own choice of conservative journalism as a career.
My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
FullosseousFlap remembers with a speech in his debate with Governor Ronald Reagan 1978.
Ankle Biting Pundits remembers.
Update 11:30PM CST:
The last book by Mr. Buckley that I read was Let Us Talk of Many Things : The Collected Speeches with New Commentary by the Author. It was amazing how timely his many speeches remained, and the book was particularly interesting to me as someone who has only read about some of the events described. Mr. Buckley had a way of bringing the reader into the moment with him before teaching him. What’s your favorite Buckley book?
. It was amazing how timely his many speeches remained, and the book was particularly interesting to me as someone who has only read about some of the events described. Mr. Buckley had a way of bringing the reader into the moment with him before teaching him. What’s your favorite Buckley book?Larry Kudlow reacts:
He was a great man. I am privileged and honored to have shared a part of his wonderful life over the past fifteen years.
I am very sad right now, and so is my wife Judy. She became a great friend of Bill’s and Pat’s, often sitting down with Bill at the piano at dinners in Stanford, or at our place in Redding. They talked a lot about art and classical music. When I phoned Judy this morning with the news she too was brokenhearted.
In the early to mid-1990s when I was on staff at NR — during the worst period in my personal life — Bill and Pat were like surrogate parents. Later on things got better for me and I grew even closer to them. It was wonderful…
Baldilocks has a few round ups.
The Radio Equalizer has a memorial.
Michelle, as always, has more.
The Jawa Report: “A damn shame.”
Patterico remembers.
I just saw Kathryn’s post about Bill Buckley. I’m stunned. He will be greatly missed. But we should also remember this was not a life cut tragically short (no matter how much we wish he were still with us). His accomplishments were almost incalculable. As George Will once said, “before there was Ronald Reagan there was Barry Goldwater, before there was Goldwater there was National Review, and before there was National Review there was William F. Buckley.” As conservatives — and as Americans — we are all standing on his shoulders.
Moreover, William F. Buckley’s life was marked by enormous joy. He had a lust for life as well as for letters and debate. He raised a wonderful and accomplished son, loved and was loved by a formidable and beautiful wife, had more friends than he could count — or, in a sense, even know — and will be remembered for generations to come. Sadness is to be expected at times like this, and I certainly feel it. But let’s leave room for, if not a celebration, then at least grateful appreciation, of a singularly remarkable life.
Very true.
JustOneMinute is somewhat pleased with the New York Times obituary.
The New Republic weighs in.
Rick Perlstein: “Why William F. Buckley was my Role Model”
Villainous Company remembers with a WSJ article.
Political Vindication urges a pause for remembrance.
“William F. Buckley was more than a journalist or commentator. He was the indisputable leader of the conservative movement that laid the groundwork for the Reagan Revolution. Every Republican owes him a debt of gratitude for his tireless efforts on behalf of our party and nation. “While Mr. Buckley’s successes are vast, his longest lasting influence will always be through the work of the National Review – a magazine he founded more than five decades ago to give a voice to the brand of conservativism we associate with the modern Republican Party. Even though Mr. Buckley is no longer with us, the impact he has made will forever serve as a monument to the achievements of this honorable man.”
Blackfive remembers: “Thanks Bill for every idea you ever midwifed and for standing tallest in the marketplace of ideas.”
By the Editors at NRO:
Our revered founder, William F. Buckley Jr., died in his study this morning.
If ever an institution were the lengthened shadow of one man, this publication is his. So we hope it will not be thought immodest for us to say that Buckley has had more of an impact on the political life of this country — and a better one — than some of our presidents. He created modern conservatism as an intellectual and then a political movement. He kept it from drifting into the fever swamps. And he gave it a wit, style, and intelligence that earned the respect and friendship even of his adversaries. (To know Buckley was to be reminded that certain people have a talent for friendship.)…
My dad died when I was 13. For me, he will always be larger than life and my hero. For him, as for countless others, Bill Buckley was larger than life and a hero. Growing up, that made WFB mega-big in my eyes — before I ever became a voracious reader of National Review and his masterful books. Getting to meet him, spend just a small amount of time with him, and be published by his magazine has been more of an honor than I have words to describe. And now my dad will get to meet him, which is a very nice thought on a very sad day.
” …when I went for my first White House personnel office interview to be vetted as an Assistant Secretary of State candidate, the young intern doing the initial paperwork noted that I was not a registered Republican in many public records and dutifully asked, “you are a Republican aren’t you?” I said, “well, I’m a conservative.” His pen hesitated over the yes box, then the no box, then the other box. I said, “look, I’m a Buckley man, a Buckley conservative…”
“Yes, I know he changed the world, and I’m glad about that. But what so often occurred to me in his presence was that I was talking with an extraordinarily good man.”
“I am very profoundly saddened to hear of the passing of William F. Buckley Jr. and offer my deepest condolences to the Buckley family. Bill had many friends, including my parents, who he even took time to visit when they were stationed at the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii. My father and mother very much admired him and so did their son. With Bill’s passing, freedom has lost one of its greatest defenders. Bill was a great American who helped change the course of history. When conservatism was a lonely cause, he bravely raised the standard of liberty and led the charge to renew the principles and values that are the foundation of our great country. A man of tremendous vision and big ideas, he founded the National Review in 1955 and through its pages and his other endeavors, as a lecturer, commentator, debater and author of dozens of books, inspired many and advanced an intellectual rigor that transformed American politics. Bill was an American giant who shall be missed.“
Redstate: William F Buckley Jr Goes Home.
Marlo Lewis and those outside the US react.
Gina Cobb remembers.
George Bush on WFB.
Reason reacts.
Entries (RSS)
William F. Buckley Jr, Founder and Editor of National Review Magazine and father of modern conservatism died today at 82. Buckley was a giant intellect that articulated the conservative cause like no other possibly could. Back in 1996 I was a member of the Convocations Committee at Weber State University, We invited Mr. Buckley to speak and I had the honor of having lunch with him and listen to him speak. His speaking style required the listener to think about the words spoken because they were delivered at a higher level than most political speakers of today. He spoke in a manner remenisent of some of the great orators of history. He never talked down to his audience, and assumed thier intellengence. All conservatives owe him a debt of graditute. He is in company the giants such Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, and Rush Limbaugh. Conservatism has lost another one of its great mouth peices but his words and ideas, which are based on eternal principals and natural law, will endure any of us.