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I've always believed that conservatism is the politics of reality, and that reality ultimately asserts itself in a reasonably free society, in behalf of the conservative position.
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
Politics
Asserts
Society
Reasonably
Free
Conservatism
Reality
Behalf
Always
Ultimately
Believed
Conservative
Position
More quotes by William F. Buckley, Jr.
I had much more fun criticizing than praising.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
A society is not 'free' merely because the freedoms the people are doing away with are those they voted at the last election to do without.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
When it is not possible to reason with holy warriors, it is necessary to immobilize them or crush them.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
It seems to me that the idea traditionally defended of endeavoring to maintain existing ethnic balances simply doesn't work any more.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
... to say that the CIA and the KGB engage in similar practices is the equivalent of saying that the man who pushes an old lady into the path of a hurtling bus is not to be distinguished from the man who pushes an old lady out of the path of a hurtling bus: on the grounds that, after all, in both cases someone is pushing old ladies around.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
[The] act of gratitude is nowadays is probably more often neglected than overdone.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
I would rather be governed by the first 2000 people in the Manhattan phone book than the entire faculty of Harvard.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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.
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.
A capitalist is someone who derives a substantial share of his income from his equity in producing companies. On this scale the figures are discouraging. Approximately ninety percent of the capital of this country is owned by five or less percent of the American people.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
We love your adherence to democratic principles.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Now it is one thing to say I say it that people shouldn't consume psychoactive drugs. It is entirely something else to condone marijuana laws, the application of which resulted, in 1995, in the arrest of 588,963 Americans. Why are we so afraid to inform ourselves on the question?
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Kennedy after all has lots of glamour - Gregory Peck with an atom bomb in his holster.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Liberals, it has been said, are generous with other peoples' money, except when it comes to questions of national survival when they prefer to be generous with other people's freedom and security.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
I get satisfaction of three kinds. One is creating something, one is being paid for it and one is the feeling that I haven't just been sitting on my ass all afternoon.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
The real threat, as seen by the ACLU, is that religious behavior might give secular behavior a bad name, and that is, surely, unconstitutional.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Why should any country continue, forever, to be great?
William F. Buckley, Jr.
If you had a European prime minister who experienced what we've experienced it would be expected that he would retire or resign.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
We are so concerned to flatter the majority that we lose sight of how very often it is necessary, in order to preserve freedom for the minority, let alone for the individual, to face that majority down.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
