Where are you Bill Buckley?

I was watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart the other day and, in between laughs, was forced, when confronted with witty and intelligent liberal satire, to bemoan the sad state of affairs when it comes to witty, intelligent conservative satire.

As a conservative (small c) with a thirst for pithy, political discourse I think I am in my rights to ask, “Where are you Bill Buckley when we need you?” Buckley, who died last year was the “Godfather of Modern Conservatism”. His mind was razor sharp and he used it to turn the tide of liberal thought in this country. He did it with charm, humor, and a little twinkle in his eye that seemed to say, “When I’m done embarrassing you, I’d like to buy you a drink.”

But where are the intelligent voices on the right these days? I know they are out there but they tend to get drowned out by the bombastic ravings of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the like. Now don’t get me wrong, I am amused when I watch Beck or listen to Limbaugh. I can even enjoy it…in the same way I can enjoy a WWF wrestling match for a few minutes; but I would never call it a sport.

It is what it is…lowbrow entertainment. They will continue to feed the piranha that swirl beneath them awaiting their next frenzied feeding, but will never create a conservative shift in the cultural arena in the way Buckley could.

To put it in a nut-shell…Bill Buckley made it hip and cool to be conservative in way that the current host of talking heads could never do.

But don’t dispair, there are some bright lights out on the horizon but you do have to look for them:

Dennis Miller: I’ve loved Dennis since the 80’s when he did Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live. I used to go see him as well in the comedy club circuit and have always enjoyed his clever word play. Unfortunately he is more libertarian than conservative, but in a desert, beggers can’t be choosers. I love listening to him anyway. Lately he has camped out on FOX News and my advice to him is that I know he has to pay the bills…but aim higher. Check him out at: http://www.dennismillerradio.com/site

Dennis Prager: Another very smart Dennis. Dennis Prager hosts a syndicated morning radio show out of Los Angeles. I used to catch it in Denver and loved it. I may have to pay up for his podcasts as I can’t listen to the live broadcast anymore here in China.

Joe Scarsborough: Former Republican Congressman Joe Scarsborough hosts “Morning Joe” on MSNBC and is the token conservative on that rather interesting little cable news channel. I’m able to catch the Itunes podcasts here and I always love his perspective on political and cultural situations. If all conservatives were like Joe the Republican Party wouldn’t be in the mess they are in.

Dinesh D’Souza: Recently a conservative friend who was citing the positive qualities of Rush Limbaugh to me asked who Dinesh D’Souza was when I suggested he give one of his books a try. The fact that he knew Rush but didn’t know Dinesh shows you the uphill battle conservatives with a brain are fighting. Dinesh is an American of Indian descent who is primarily a writer but is also featured regularly on the lecture circuit. I’m currently reading his book, Letters to a Young Conservative which is outstanding. I suggest you read one of his books or check out the many entries he has on Youtube.

Now I don’t endorse every position these four gentlemen take and it is certainly not meant to be an exhaustive list BUT it should get you started. None of them can replace the great Bill Buckley, but we can try to emulate the culture of wit, reason, and humor he brought to the conservative argument.