Comments about ‘Author, conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr. dies at 82’

Truly a great man. God bless you, WFB. Rest in peace.

I subscribed to National Review for several years at one time. I read a few of his fictional works, and tried to catch his PBS tv show whenever I could. He was a renaissance man like few others. He, more than any other single person, was influential in taking conservatism in a new direction. The direction, unfortunately, was toward more government power (especially military and covert agencies). He paved the way for the future neoconservative movement which veered away even further from conservatism when compared to the pre-Buckley years. In retrospect, I've come to believe that Buckley was not a conservative after all, but a nationalist and a militarist. He was a brilliant man, but ultimately did his country a disservice when he and his magazine staff lured true conservatives away from the movement.