Know Your Enemy

The Inconclusive Mr. Buckley [Teaser]

May 5, 2024

02:33

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Matt Sitman, along with a group of former guests, discusses the PBS documentary on William F. Buckley Jr. They question the portrayal of Buckley, the conservative movement, and its relation to Trump. The conversation delves into the challenges of understanding historical figures in modern contexts.

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Understanding Buckley's potential reaction to Trump requires a nuanced approach balancing past principles with present judgment.

Critiquing conservative responses to Trump reveals a tension between political principles and self-interest within the movement.

Deep dives

Variety of Opinions on Predicting Buckley's Response to Trump

The podcast delves into the complexity of predicting how William F. Buckley Jr. would have reacted to Trump. Some argue that his past body of work, consisting of books and TV appearances, holds the key to understanding his possible stance. However, others challenge this notion, highlighting that reacting to specific cases like Trump requires judgment rather than relying solely on overarching principles. The discussion reveals differing viewpoints on whether Buckley's supposed principles would have aligned with or opposed Trump's actions.

Speculating on a Previous Figure's Reaction to a Modern Political Situation

2min

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Matt and Sam gab about "The Incomparable Mr. Buckley," a new PBS documentary on William F. Buckley Jr., which features Matt Sitman (!) as a talking head — along with a rogue's gallery of KYE friends and former guests: Perlstein, Tanenhaus, Tait, Gage, Burns, the whole gang... What do we make of the doc? Is it a whitewash? Is it too credulous about the conservative movement? Does it "get" Buckley, the man? (Does anyone?) And what does Buckley have to do with Donald Trump? This was a lot of fun. Good ol' KYE classico.

Sources Cited:

Barak Goodman, "The Incomparable Mr. Buckley," PBS (2024)

Rick Perlstein, "An Implausible Mr. Buckley," American Prospect, April 17, 2024.

Alexander Chee, "Mr. and Mrs. B," Apology Magazine, Jan 1, 2014.

Ross Douthat, "'We're On Our Way Home Now, Duckie!'" Atlantic, Feb 2008

Nicholas Buccola, "The Fire Is upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate over Race in America," Princeton U Press, Oct 2019.

Sam Adler-Bell, "The Conservative and the Murderer," New Republic, March 7, 2022

Previously on KYE:

Buckley vs. Vidal (2020)

Buckley for Mayor (w/ Sam Tanenhaus) (2021)

The Conservative and the Convict (w/ Sarah Weinman) (2022)

In Search of Anti-Semitism (w/ John Ganz) (2023)