R.I.P. the Crypto-Nazi

William F. Buckley Jr. passed away this past Wednesday, and we're all a little worse off for it. As much as I despised the man and his politics, he at least provided some intellectualism to the ancient conservative-liberal debate that has been sorely lacking in recent memory. Frankly, it has been lacking through most of my lifetime. So I, as one untimely born, have had to watch his repartee through the glass of time. Only Buckley could take the nastiest of debates and make it sound like a cricket match. Can you imagine how different the debate would sound today if, instead of having to deal with the blathering of the likes of Hannity, O'Reilly, Robertson, and the entire Fox News network we could instead be told how imbecilic we liberals are in the dulcet tones of his old world New York accent? So I leave you with one of his greatest hits. I'm almost as sorry to see him go as I am glad that he's gone.


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