The similarities between the late William F. Buckley, Jr. and Sarah Palin are almost uncanny.
They were both encouraged during their respective lifetimes to run for president.
They were both conservative.
They were both... er... warm-blooded.
They both... um... had... vowels in their names.
They were both... not... Diana Ross. (unverified).
On second thought, maybe William F. Buckley and Sarah Palin are no more alike than are Pluto and Goofy. They may both be dogs, but only one of them has the ability to speak.
Pluto and Goofy, that is.
Even if you disagree with most of what he said – and I do – there is no denying that William F. Buckley, who passed away in 2008, was one of the most influential conservative leaders and intellectual giants of the past century. He founded the National Review in 1955, and led it to become the nation’s leading conservative magazine. His column On The Right was syndicated in over 300 newspapers. He hosted over 1,400 episodes of the television show Firing Line, over a span of three decades. In 1991, he even received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George H.W. Bush. William F. Buckley truly was one of the most important and legendary conservatives of our time, prompting Jeffrey Hart to write in The American Conservative in 2008: “Without his leadership there would have been no conservative movement.”
Unfortunately, William F. Buckley was that one anathema that is shunned by modern conservatives: He was an intellectual elitist. He may as well have been a communist. Or worse, a Democrat.
Many epithets are utilized by conservatives and Republicans when disparaging their political enemies: "liberal," "socialist," "latte-drinking" (which I've never understood – don't Republicans drink lattes as well?), and "anti-family." However, the most dangerous epithet of all is the silver bullet of "intellectual" or "elitist." Al Gore was an elitist because he claimed to have invented the internet! John Kerry was an elitist because he sometimes went windsurfing! Barack Obama is an elitist because he eats arugula, and is an intellectual because he is, in the words of Sarah Palin, "a law professor at a lectern."
Why are the labels of “elitist” and “intellectual” tossed around as if they were a political hot potato? Why has William F. Buckley, who was regarded as one of the most influential conservative scholars of his time, been replaced with a former Alaska governor who regularly sends out 'tweets' that require the Rosetta Stone to decipher, such as the following:
"Affirming dignity&worth of every innocent human life&defending the defenseless are fundamental American values,so march peacefully&hopefully"
and
"good,hardworking pro-business UnionMEMBERS should oppose their UnionBOSSES backroom deal on this;unfortunately/unfairly paints all of'm bad"
Touché, Sarah Palin. Touché.
Last December, Jon Stewart on The Daily Show played a series of clips of Gretchen Carlson, host of Fox & Friends, which made it appear that she plays the part of the "dumb blonde." After playing a clip of Carlson claiming to not know what the word "czar" meant, Stewart replied:
"You didn't know what a czar was? How do you get a job on television, if you appear to be one of those people who needs to pin their address to their coat, so that a stranger can help them find their way home?
"Unless you're just dumbing yourself down, to connect with an audience that you think sees intellect as an elitist flaw. That would be easy to check, so I googled Gretchen Carlson, and guess what came up? She was valedictorian of her high school, and went to Stanford. And graduated with honors, and spent time studying abroad at Oxford . . .
". . . all I'm saying is baby, Gretch, come back. You don't have to stash your IQ in an offshore account."
What’s happened to the conservative movement? Why has it been hijacked by people who are afraid to show their intellectualism? Why does someone like Ann Coulter, who has her doctorate from the University of Michican Law School, talk as if she's hurling insults on an elementary school playground? The conservative movement has some of the brightest and best minds of our time; yet they consistently put intellectual light-weights on parade – such as Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin – under the banner "Look! We're Dumb, Just Like You!"
I will be the first to admit that I am not that intelligent. For that reason, I do not want my political leaders and media personalities to be just like me. I want them to be smarter than me. I want my political leaders and media personalities to be intellectual, curious about the world around them, and perhaps even slightly elitist. Dumbing themselves down to our level doesn't help them "connect" with their voters and viewers; on the contrary, it does everyone a disservice.
Perhaps it's time to raise the intellectual acumen of our political discourse. Or, in the words, of the great William F. Buckley, Jr:
"I would like to take you seriously, but to do so would affront your intelligence."
