William F. Buckley and the Republican Party
The Big Lie is on: the smear that the Biden-Harris ticket is some kind of uber-socialist radical Communist plot to destroy America.
You see it on the official Republican twitter account, @GOP, with a reference to the former Republican governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, who retweeted it:
And you see the same allegation echoed by The Washington Times, that joke of a newspaper run by the religious freaks at the Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s “Unification Church” (otherwise known as the Moonies), with their smear that “Biden outsources his agenda to the radical left.”
I just had to respond to @GOP: “The Republican Party outsources its agenda to Satan.”
Here’s how Scott Walker describes himself on Twitter:
Christian, American, Husband, Father of Matt & Alex, 45 Governor-WI, Harley-Davidson rider Packers/Brewers/Bucks/MU/UW fan, Author-Unintimidated, Pres-elect YAF
Whenever a public figure describes himself as a “Christian,” I check my wallet. You would never see my Senator, Dianne Feinstein, describe herself as “Jewish” on Twitter. (Her site just says, “United States Senator from California.”) You would never see Rep. Ilhan Omar describe herself as “Muslim” on Twitter. (She just says, “Representing Minnesota’s 5th District in the People’s House, US Progressive, Whip and Midwest Regional Whip.”) No, Feinstein and Omar have too much good taste and discernment; they don’t feel the need to clobber us over the head with their particular religious beliefs. They also have too much respect for the First Amendment, which guarantees that America is a secular country.
What is it about these Republicans like Walker where they have to scream “Christian, Christian” from the rooftops? I’m sure Walker is proud of his religious orientation. But Feinstein and Omar are proud of theirs, too, and after all, Christianity is but one religion among many. But Walker has to shove it down our throats, just to make sure we know.
We know, Governor, we know! You’re Christian! Good for you. Now shut up.
Of course, Walker also has to let us know that he’s a rootin’, tootin’, all-American hetero male. No fairy dust on his shoulders! No, he’s a hog-ridin’ jock, the kinda guy you’d have a beer with, making crude remarks about the effeminate-looking guy across the room, or the babe with the big rack. We know who Scott Walker is. We’ve all known our share of Scott Walkers. A lot of us have been bullied by the likes of Scott Walker.
But wait, there’s more! Walker is president-elect of YAF, Young America’s Foundation. Never heard of ‘em? Friend, you don’t know what you’re missing. YAF is the latest version of Young Americans for Freedom, the ultra-rightwing group formed by the late William F. Buckley sixty years ago. I remember them well from the Sixties. They were the white, straight, conservative nerds, dressed in suits and ties and prim, proper skirts, celebrating good old family values (women should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, Black people should know their place), on college campuses—kind of like the Moonies, come to think of it. We felt sorry for them, poor schmucks; they seemed like they’d be happier in white sheets burning crosses, and they chose to miss out on The Sixties, which I hope they now regret. They mercifully disappeared for a while, but now, like Dracula, they’re baaackk.
I referred to William F. Buckley earlier. Now, there was a conservative whom even Democrats respected. I never missed his T.V. show, Firing Line, the most literate political show ever. Buckley was the last gasp of intellectual conservatism, as opposed to the nincompoop version of today, which is as anti-intellectual as Hitler’s Nazis. I wondered if, were William F. still alive, would be perhaps be a member of The Lincoln Project. So I emailed his son, Christopher, to ask. Here’s his reply:
Hard to say. Doubt it. But I think he’d be appalled by Trump. As for his son, I am an enthusiastic supporter of the Lincoln Project.
Cheers,
Son Of
I think there are more and more Republicans, or ex-Republicans, like Christopher Buckley, who love the ideals of their party, but loathe what it has become under the tyrant, Trump. Enough to guarantee Biden’s election? The polls look good, as you know. But Hillary was ahead to the last moment, and she lost. So vote! (I know I don’t have to tell you that.)
