Christopher Buckley resigns from National Review following Barack Obama endorsement

[buttmunch]

Looks like Tina Brown's The Daily Beast may have lucked into the chance to grab up some major full-time talent, as conservative author Christopher Buckley has left the National Review in the wake of his publishing an endorsement of Barack Obama on the Beast. Apparently, despite the pains Buckley took to disambiguate his private endorsement from the Review, his momentary wander off the reservation brought the same sort of hailstorm of oppobrium earned by Kathleen Parker when she criticized GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Buckley took it upon himself to offer his resignation. The way he describes it, it looks like this was expected!

Within hours of my endorsement appearing in The Daily Beast it became clear that National Review had a serious problem on its hands. So the next morning, I thought the only decent thing to do would be to offer to resign my column there. This offer was accepted--rather briskly!--by Rich Lowry, NR's editor, and its publisher, the superb and able and fine Jack Fowler. I retain the fondest feelings for the magazine that my father founded, but I will admit to a certain sadness that an act of publishing a reasoned argument for the opposition should result in acrimony and disavowal.

It's pretty clear that the spasm of reaction engendered by his support for Obama disappoints Buckley on some level, as he takes the time to note that his father, the late William Buckley, "endorsed a number of liberal Democrats for high office, including Allard K. Lowenstein and Joe Lieberman." He goes on to say:

So, I have been effectively fatwahed (is that how you spell it?) by the conservative movement, and the magazine that my father founded must now distance itself from me. But then, conservatives have always had a bit of trouble with the concept of diversity. The GOP likes to say it's a big-tent. Looks more like a yurt to me.


While I regret this development, I am not in mourning, for I no longer have any clear idea what, exactly, the modern conservative movement stands for. Eight years of "conservative" government has brought us a doubled national debt, ruinous expansion of entitlement programs, bridges to nowhere, poster boy Jack Abramoff and an ill-premised, ill-waged war conducted by politicians of breathtaking arrogance. As a sideshow, it brought us a truly obscene attempt at federal intervention in the Terry Schiavo case.

So, to paraphrase a real conservative, Ronald Reagan: I haven't left the Republican Party. It left me.

Similarly, this might be a good time for Parker to keep her own counsel, lest she suffer a similar "fatwahing." Last night, as a guest on The Colbert Report, Parker seemed to come very close to announcing that she, too, preferred Obama for President.Christopher Buckley Resigns From National Review After Obama Endorsement

wow. Just wow.

[ymeman]

Lieberman a liberal democrat?

anyhoo... interesting about him and Parker. I think their little circle will be growing in the next few weeks.

[buttmunch]

Lieberman is now independent and has been voting with the repugs a great deal. What happened to that guy? And there is no way the repugs would have accepted a Jew as VP. No way, no how.

[KrisNine]

Holy crap...that's just insane.

[nana55]

In my younger years I really liked William F. Buckley, but as I aged I became liberal. however I always admired him. What a sad case the repugs and conservatives have become.

[ymeman]

isn't it a whiplash to see the party of Buckley and George Will and etc who used to pride themselves on gotdamn intellectual elitism do a 180 like this? It's like when they scraped dumbya out of the bottom of the stupid barrell, they actually went and turned it over and found Palin stuck to the bottom.

[buttmunch]

Buckley at least had a brain and used it. I didn't always agree with him but never found him offensively stupid. Sounds like the kid is a chip off the old block.

[sputnik]

Buckley at least had a brain and used it. I didn't always agree with him but never found him offensively stupid. Sounds like the kid is a chip off the old block.

couldn't agree more. he's a republican but he's not an extremis fundie or a kool-aid chugging idiot. good writer too. i definitely respect him even though i don't share some of his views.

[Sasha]

isn't it a whiplash to see the party of Buckley and George Will and etc who used to pride themselves on gotdamn intellectual elitism do a 180 like this? It's like when they scraped dumbya out of the bottom of the stupid barrell, they actually went and turned it over and found Palin stuck to the bottom.

[Incognito]

isn't it a whiplash to see the party of Buckley and George Will and etc who used to pride themselves on gotdamn intellectual elitism do a 180 like this? It's like when they scraped dumbya out of the bottom of the stupid barrell, they actually went and turned it over and found Palin stuck to the bottom.

Why don't you ask your former vice presidential candidate, Joseph Liebermann that?

[Sasha]

Why don't you ask your former vice presidential candidate, Joseph Liebermann that?

I did. He said he feels more comfortable with the Repukes since they started scraping the bottom of the barrel.

[BBDSP]

There's a fundamental schism in the Republican party between the more moderate folks and the religious right. McCain was supposed to be the one to take back the party from the religious right, but instead he wound up with Palin on his ticket.

As someone who is more of a centrist myself, I would have welcomed the option of a more moderate GOP ticket.

[Incognito]

I did. He said he feels more comfortable with the Repukes since they started scraping the bottom of the barrel.

That’s funny, he told everyone he was just tired of being a demodork.

There's a fundamental schism in the Republican party between the more moderate folks and the religious right. McCain was supposed to be the one to take back the party from the religious right, but instead he wound up with Palin on his ticket.

As someone who is more of a centrist myself, I would have welcomed the option of a more moderate GOP ticket.

Well then, as a centrist, you should have no problem spurning the fully Marxist dominated democratic party.

[Grimmlok]

oh come on. You have no fucking idea what marxism even entails.

Your idea of far left is center right to the rest of the planet. If you want far fucking left, go dig up Stalin and have a chat.

This whole marxist/communist/socialist pinko 50's hysteria is so fucking stupid it makes me laugh anytime someone brings it up.

Neocons are perfectly willing to sell their freedoms down the river to save them from 'terrorists' but lose their shit anytime some sort of collective good program comes along.

What a fucking joke. Neocons = pantystained cowards.

[Incognito]

oh come on. You have no fucking idea what marxism even entails.

Your idea of far left is center right to the rest of the planet. If you want far fucking left, go dig up Stalin and have a chat.

This whole marxist/communist/socialist pinko 50's hysteria is so fucking stupid it makes me laugh anytime someone brings it up.

Neocons are perfectly willing to sell their freedoms down the river to save them from 'terrorists' but lose their shit anytime some sort of collective good program comes along.

What a fucking joke. Neocons = pantystained cowards.

Understanding Marxism is not a problem with you since you are a dedicated communist but don't forget communism had and has a very low tolerance for people like you.