One cheer for Bill Buckley

 I’ve never been a fan of William F. Buckley, Jr. His faux patrician accent and his reliable tendency to confuse prolixity with erudition were just smoke screens to hide a pernicious political philosophy. That said, Buckley did drive the John Birch Society out of the GOP. And he even changed his mind on race. In 1957, in the pages of his newly launched National Review, he explicitly defended white supremacy. He believed violence in defense of white supremacy was justified. But a mere ten years later, Buckley changed his mind and acknowledged that government intervention on behalf of civil rights was necessary.

“Today, the Republican Party lacks a Buckley figure to purge these “kooks.” During Barack Obama’s first term, for instance, only a few brave souls like Sen. John McCain stood up to criticize birthers—and McCain was seen as a “maverick.” The sitting speaker, John Boehner, wouldn’t repudiate the birthers, telling reporters that it wasn’t up to him “to tell them what to think.”

We’ve seen the result of that, as “alt-rightists,” “economic nationalists” and ethnic supremacists enter the tent of the movement Buckley boasted he had rid of bigots. The moment may be at hand for another Buckley to step up to the plate and, as his transformation demonstrates, it may come from the most unexpected source.” https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/05/13/william-f-buckley-civil-rights-215129/