February 2008 Archives

What is not clear is exactly when the American Conservative movement itself died. However, while the date of this event cannot be known with the same precision as Buckley's death, what is known is that it undoubtedly proceeded William F. Buckley Jr. to the Grave:

Buckley emerged as a public intellectual in 1951, shortly after graduating from Yale University, with his book God and Man at Yale, the first conservative complaint against the dominance of liberals at leading universities. Four years later, he started National Review, the magazine that really launched modern conservatism.

Buckley's home in Sharon, Conan., also served as the birthplace of Young Americans for Freedom, which became the nation's largest conservative youth group. The group's Sharon Statement outlined the principles of modern conservatism: individual liberty, limited government, the U.S. Constitution, federalism, the free-market economy and a strong national defense . . . through the Barry Gold water presidential campaign in 1964, [to] the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, and culminating in the 1994 Contract with America [when] conservatives declared that they would deliver the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public's money. (David Boaz, San Francisco Chronicle, 02 . 28 . 2008).

Then in 2000, it all began to fall apart.

Doug Butabi: So... you want to dance?
Girl: We're not in the club yet.
Doug Butabi: Right.

Steve Butabi: Oh my God, Doug. This is the most amazing place I've ever been.
Richard Grieco: Guys, guys. This is the coat room. The club's in here.

Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller fame) was told by a couple of blue state liberal guys he knew that if Obama becomes president, some "redneck" will try to shoot him, and they were pretty damn sure this would happen.

I had to laugh. I mean, how do these guys know this? Why are they so sure? Do they have some sort of "information" about a specific "hit" if he becomes president?

Maybe Penn should have immediately called the FBI and said "yeah, a couple of guys here, right now, standing 10 feet away from me, are convinced some redneck guy is going to "cap" Obama if he becomes the next president of the United States. Maybe you should talk to them."

I'm betting if Penn responding that way, they would have immediately backed off from their claim, but instead Penn uncovers what was really motivating this "certainty," and he videos a position/response to this, on liberals, on the Messianic religious fervor they bring to just about any discussion of any issue, but . . . I'll let Penn take from here:

What Penn experienced, of course, is . . .