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He was a conservative all right, but invariably he gave the impression that he was a conservative because he was surrounded by liberals that he had been a revolutionist if that had been required in order to be socially disruptive.

William F. Buckley, Jr.

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William F. Buckley, Jr.
Age: 82 †
Born: 1925
Born: November 24
Died: 2008
Died: February 27
Journalist
Novelist
Politician
Television Presenter
Writer
New York City
New York
William F. Buckley Jr.
William Frank Buckley Jr.
William Frank Buckley
Jr.
William Frank Buckley
Required
Impression
Conservative
Revolutionist
Gave
Disruptive
Order
Invariably
Right
Socially
Liberals
Surrounded

More quotes by William F. Buckley, Jr.

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We are, always, reminded of the old saw: What would happen if the Soviet Union took over the Sahara Desert? Answer: Nothing for 50 years. After that there would be a shortage of sand.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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The socialized state is to justice, order, and freedom what the Marquis de Sade is to love.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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Knee-jerk liberals and all the certified saints of sanctified humanism are quick to condemn this great and much-maligned Transylvanian statesman.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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Before there was Ronald Reagan there was Barry Goldwater, and before there was Barry, there was National Review , and before there was National Review there was Bill Buckley with a spark in his mind.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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Christianity finds all its doctrines stated in the Bible, and Christianity denies no part, nor attempts to add anything to the Word of God.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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Marijuana is not much more difficult to obtain than beer. The reason for this is that a liquor store selling beer to a minor stands to lose its liquor license. Marijuana salesmen don't have expensive overheads, and so are not easily punished.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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Enthusiasm for conservation can be fashioned into a nasty weapon for those who dislike business on general principles.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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I would sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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Reagan is both too fatalistic and too modest to be a crudaser. He doesn't have that darkness around the eyes of a George McGovern.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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A Conservative is a fellow who is standing athwart history yelling 'Stop!'
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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No one since the Garden of Eden - which the serpent forsook in order to run for higher office - has imputed to politicians great purity of motive.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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Presley brought an excitement to singing, in part because rock and roll was greeted as his invention, but for other reasons not so widely reflected on: Elvis Presley had the most beautiful singing voice of any human being on earth.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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The principal sponsors of the terrorists are not religious fanatics. Palestine's Yasser Arafat, Iraq's Saddam Hussein, and Syria's Assad family have made themselves the icons of Islamism despite the fact that they are well-known atheists who live un-Muslim lives and have persecuted unto death the Muslim movements in their countries.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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If Bach is not in Heaven, I am not going!
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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As a businessman, Frank Lorenzo gives capitalism a bad name.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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It had all the earmarks of a CIA operation the bomb killed everybody in the room except the intended target!
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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I would like to electrocute everyone who uses the word 'fair' in connection with income tax policies.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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The Beatles are not merely awful. I would consider it sacrilegious to say anything less than that they are godawful.
William F. Buckley, Jr.