Bring back Bill Buckley - all is forgiven!

When independentvoices.com was launched, we raised the memory of that great American conservative, Billy Buckley. Amol wrote: "Just as Buckley countered the view that the National Review was “superfluous”, so independentvoices.com is not “a work of supererogation”, precisely because it will champion ideas which are becoming very unfashionable. I believe that destiny is an illusion; progress is possible, humanity can shape History; and “reason”, as Bertrand Russell put it, “may be a small force, but it works always in one direction, while the forces of unreason destroy one another in futile strife”. We’ll revel in the Enlightenment, and stand afore History, yelling Go!". Today, in the New York Times, is another wonderful defence of Buckley.

In 'Where Have You Gone, Bill Buckley?', David Welch argues: "The absence of a Buckley-esque gatekeeper today has allowed extreme, untested candidates to take center stage and then commit predictable gaffes and issue moon-bat pronouncements. Democrats have used those statements to tarnish the Republican Party as anti-woman, anti-poor, anti-gay, anti-immigrant extremists. Buckley’s conservative pragmatism has been lost, along with the presidency and seats in Congress. Republicans must now identify those who can bring adult supervision back to the party. Replacing Buckley — an erudite and prolific force of nature — with one individual is next to impossible. But we don’t need to. We can face the extremists with credible, respected leaders who have offered conservative policies that led to Republican victories."