Reason.tv: Author Jeremy Lott on William F. Buckley Jr.'s Faith and Politics

In William F. Buckley Jr., Reason contributor Jeremy Lott delves into the famed public intellectual's life, politics and Catholicism. From the founding of National Review to his opposition to civil rights legislation to his embrace of pot legalization, Lott details how Buckley's religion hugely shaped his political principles.

Lott, the author The Warm Bucket Brigade (a history of the vice presidency) and In Defense of Hypocrisy, sat down with Nick Gillespie to discuss Catholicism, communism, and Buckley's late-life rebranding of himself as a "libertarian journalist."

They also talked about Lott's new gig as editor of the website, RealClearReligion.org, a just-launched sister site to the immensely popular and influential RealClearPolitics.com.

Approximately 10 minutes.

Shot and edited by Meredith Bragg.

Go to Reason.tv for HD, iPod and audio versions of this video and subscribe to Reason.tv's Youtube channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live.

Comments

[ola]

sorry jeremy, i won't be fingering anybody.

[Jeremy Lott]

Ola: And you call yourself a libertarian.

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"Help Reason celebrate its next 40 years. Donate Now!"

You want me to pay for your fucking anniversary party?

[anarch]

Isn't everyone who views the site already doing so? As GB Shaw said, Madame, we've already established what you are; now we're just haggling over the price.

[rbenchley]

That was Churchill, not Shaw.

[anarch]

Now we're just haggling over the IP.

[Tim Starr]

All of the Pope's Swiss Guards must be Catholic. It's a requirement for recruitment.

[creech]

It is interesting to speculate how the conservative movement might have been different had Buckley decided he was a libertarian in 1968 and backed the libertarian side of YAF.

[Sherman]

Speculate? Humphrey still lost to Nixon in '68, the significant change occurs when President Nixon did as clinton did in our universe, tough out the impeachment instead of resigning. Because Buckley marginalized himself by going libertarian, the Republican leadership - like their Democrat counterparts - lacked enough men of moral courage in the Senate to bring forth a conviction. Nixon remained president until the end of his second term. Gov. Wallace of Alabama led the Democrats to victory in the '76 election, narrowly beating former California governor Ronald Reagan. There are many hugely significant differences since Wallace's administration and the peanut-boys'; I'll just mention one: Iran is still ruled by a shah today.

[Big Balls]

This interview is a perfect example of how "Political Correctness" has ripped the balls from the Republican party. They always reflect on how anything they say will be viewed by the liberals. Lott says that anyone who thinks Obama is a Muslim is an idiot. You can't think one race is smarter than another without being a terrible person. There are a thousand examples of this everyday. The conservatives and Republicans are nutless. Don't expect any improvement in this country if the Republicans take over one or both houses.

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[AlmightyJB]

Buckley vs Vidal. Always a good one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYymnxoQnf8

[jeffersonianideal]

Gillespie did not go far enough during the interview. Why is it necessary to be a believer in order to be a conservative? Or to put it another way, can an atheist be just as much of an ethical conservative as any theist can be? All of this religio-paranoia started during the cold war when all evil communists were regarded as godless. This propaganda campaign was very successful but closer examination left much that has yet to be explained. I am aware of no statistics that support the notion that every citizen of the Soviet regime conclusively dismissed the belief in god. Additionally, If it turns out there is no god, or at least no god so far as the world's major religions define such a deity, can a strictly secular case against the evils of communism and the virtues of the free enterprise system still be made? I believe it can and will be. Such arguments will be initiated and carried forth by atheist and agnostic conservatives and libertarians who are a mere anomaly today but will eventually break the absurdly sacred bond between institutionalized religion and conservative political doctrines.

[Will]

You cannot oppose hierarchical authoritarian centralized government and support the most hierarchical authoritarian centralized institution in history. Catholic libertarian is an oxymoron.

[Carl]

i really dont understand why talking heads skirt around the obama muslim issue and are quick to call anyone who does so an idiot or quack. i question his former muslim beliefs because after all the man was educated in a muslim school in indonesia and oh yea his name is barack hussien obama which is not to the norm of the USA and to make it worse we have been told radical muslims are at every moment wanting to attack us and we are in debt to our eye balls because of our endless adventures in iraq, afghanistan and other countries of the region but still the people in political office tell us we are idiots for thinking like wise.

its almost like an extremely hot chick playing head games...

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