James L. Buckley (1923-2023)

With great sadness, I relay that James L. Buckley passed away at the age of 100. I wrote about Judge Buckley in March on his 100th birthday:

On Thursday, James L. Buckley turns 100 years old. Most law students will know his name from the seminal case of Buckley v. Valeo. But he did so much more. He served as a lieutenant in the Navy. He was elected as New York Senator on the conservative party ticket. President Reagan appointed Buckley as undersecretary of state for international security. And Reagan latter tapped Buckley as a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. He is one of the most remarkable public servants of the 20th century. (I would add Judge Silberman to that list.)

I had the honor of meeting Judge Buckley at Justice Thomas's Story Lecture in 2021.I don't get star-stuck easily, but I got star-struck when I shook Judge Buckley's hand. I mentioned that I always teach his case in First Amendment, and he made a comment about the partisans that tried to shut him down.

He was a giant, and his contributions to our nation are immeasurable. Rest in peace, Judge Buckley.

Comments

[Martinned]

Yes, aren't partisans terrible?

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Says the partisan, partisanly.

[Ed Grinberg]

The partisans that try to shut down their opponents? Yes!

[Krychek_2]

Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf :

Oh, give it a rest, you’re one of the most partisan persons here.

[Mr. Bumble]

Projection is a thing.

[Krychek_2]

It sure is. Have you looked in the mirror recently?

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Yes, partisan against all partisan hacks, left right or center. While you and Mart are just left political hacks. I despise government, period. You only despise opponents of your government.

[Krychek_2]

No, you're not partisan against all partisan hacks. I've been reading your stuff long enough to know that your partisan jabs and what aboutism are directly pretty much solely against Democrats. I think you even said once you love pointing out Democratic Party hypocrisy.

Care to show us a thread in which you went after conservative hypocrisy?

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

I have said many times I detest Donald Trump, that the only thing he's been good at is being far more open and honest about he wants than almost every politician there ever way. I laugh at people who think Ronald Reagan was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Conservatives are as power hungry as progressives, the only difference being that wokies want to send me to jail for refusing to believe there are 57 genders. You probably ignore any such posts because you ignore everything you don't like.

[Krychek_2]

Name anyone who wants to send you to jail for disbelieving the existence of 57 genders. I'm looking for actual names of actual "wokies" who actually would like to do that to do.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

I despise government, period.

Anti-government cranks are among the pieces of culture war roadkill I rarely try to avoid along the path to modern American progress. Flattening them further seems the right thing to do.

[Bob from Ohio]

Decent people can elect not to make negative comments on an obit post.

[Estragon]

“Bob from Ohio 3 years ago
Flag Comment Mute User
“not enough time has been spent remembering and celebrating the legacy”

Far too much time actually already. As a justice she is famous for what opinions exactly? Tony K [spits] was the dominant figure during her time on the court, not her. All style and little substance.“

https://reason.com/volokh/2020/09/21/remembering-the-notorious-rbg/?comments=true#comments

[Estragon]

You walked right into that one, dipshit

[grb]

Estragon : "You walked right into that one, dipshit"

I was just about to agree with Bob because that's my feeling too. Bob being Bob, I should have known there was a catch...

[Bob from Ohio]

"3 years ago"

Creepy stalker.

[Estragon]

I knew you were going to say this!

As soon as you made your silly concern-troll-tone-policing comment I knew I would find you in the old RBG threads dumping on her and lo and behold, I was not disappointed! Took like 3 minutes.

1) this is a pathetic rejoinder, even for you.

2) you are not a decent person, by your own standards

[Estragon]

“Creepy stalker”

Shameless hypocrite.

[Sarcastr0]

That was a layup and you know it.

You fucked around, and found out. Eat the crow or double down and be even more of a hypocrite.

[Bob from Ohio]

This was a personal thing from Blackman, not the same as Adler’s post on someone he didn’t know. The comments were directed at Blackman personally as well.

I think these make the two situations different but you all can think otherwise if you want.

[SimonP]

*takes another drag on his cigarette while sitting on a fence nearby, squinting into the dimming light of the sunset, watching Bob dig furiously deeper into his own grave*

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

You're a worthless and antisocial bigot, Bob from Ohio. You and Prof. Blackman -- huddling together for warmth and lashing out lamely as better Americans shape our national progress against your stale, ugly, doomed right-wing preferences -- is the Norman Rockwell image of modern America.

[Estragon]

Oh please. If you had meant “Decent people can elect not to make negative comments on a personal paean” you would have said that. You are such a clown. Miss me with this too clever by half bullshit. You are busted, and I will refer back to this forevermore. Sorry Charlie!

[Jason Cavanaugh]

A real man would own up to his mistake and hypocrisy.

Do I need to state the obvious conclusion from your behavior?

Go fuck yourself.

[Estragon]

[Estragon]

Bob outs himself as not a decent person. Long time readers less than shocked.

[grb]

Maybe Bob's pretense of decency is an important first step.

As Hamlet says:

“Assume a virtue, if you have it not.
That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat,
Of habits devil, is angel yet in this,
That to the use of actions fair and good
He likewise gives a frock or livery
That aptly is put on. Refrain tonight,
And that shall lend a kind of easiness
To the next abstinence; the next more easy;
For use almost can change the stamp of nature.”

Maybe use can change the stamp of Bob's nature.....

[Martinned]

I could, but when a partisan hack writes an obit about another partisan hack wherein he recounts how they both agreed that partisan hacks are terrible, I'm going to go ahead and call that out. Think of it as quality control.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Decent people can elect not to make negative comments on an obit post.

Decent people are not disaffected bigots. What, precisely, do you claim to understand about the habits of decent people?

[The Margrave of Azilia]

RIP.

Let all the commenters sign a card...wait, never mind, bad idea.

[nhytgbvfr]

Welp, that's another vote for Senile Joe next year.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Josh waited until the third paragraph before he inserted himself into this eulogy. He's developing some restraint.

[Dr. Ed 2]

" He served as a lieutenant in the Navy"

The thing that struck me about him when I met him was how he didn't want to talk about having served in the USN -- in wartime.

His explanation was that "back then, that was something that everyone was expected to do" and hence it wasn't worthy of thanks or even note. I thought at the time -- and still do -- that it was more a case of his having to do what he had to do and then not wanting to talk about it afterwards.

He was a class act, a true class act.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

He is one of the most remarkable public servants of the 20th century.

And a culture war loser on the wrong side of history and the weaker position at the modern American marketplace of ideas, destined to see the mainstream reject his political preferences.

(I would add Judge Silberman to that list.)

As would I.

He was a giant, and his contributions to our nation are immeasurable.

He won't even be an interesting footnote in American history; those whose thinking is rejected by the mainstream rarely are remembered as anything other than speed bumps that were overcome by our national progress.

[Syd Henderson]

At one point I had access to student records and was quite familiar with the Buckley Amendment which protects their confidentiality. I don't have the same access now but still have to take a test every couple of years to make sure I understand it. He won his seat with 39 percent, over a Democrat with 37 percent, and a Republican incumbent (Charles Goodell) who couldn't even get a quarter of the vote. Six years later he ran as a Republican and lost to Pat Moynihan by more than nine percent of the vote.

Goodell, by the way, was appointed Senator by Nelson Rockefeller after Robert Kennedy's assassination, so he really didn't have any incumbency advantage. His son is Commissioner of the NFL.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Goodell would have won (he was unopposed in the Republican primary and most New Yorkers were in favor of his policies; the other Senator was also a Republican) but Nixon decided to cleanse the Party of liberals and sicced Agnew to do some character assassination. Buckley, who didn't really want the job, drove down occasionally from the family estate in Connecticut and sort of campaigned. He was much happier as a judge and, more importantly, he got to shake Josh's hand.

[Noscitur a sociis]

Heh.

[grb]

captcrisis : " ... and, more importantly ... "

Naval officer, state senator, cabinet official and judge might be a full life to some people, yet something was missing ......

[Kleppe]

I hope liberals will celebrate in the streets on the day I die. That's a strong indication of a life well-lived.