The evil side of PR

William F. Buckley, more than any other marketer of our generation shaped the modern conservative movement. With a silver tongue, prodigious pen and seminal understanding of broadcast he leveraged hate and fear under the guise of Ivy league sophistication that made it acceptable to the weak. No beer belly, tobacco chewing good old boy redneck was our Willy. Rather, he was a Yale grad who turned on his alma mater for being to liberal. An East coast WASP who enjoyed the finer things in life which, unfortunately, included finer versions of racism, bigotry and war mongering. Here are just a few of his shining moments:

• Buckley came out in support of the segregationist South, writing "The central question that emerges…is whether the White community in the South is entitled to take such measures as are necessary to prevail, politically and culturally, in areas where it does not predominate numerically? The sobering answer is Yes—the White community is so entitled because, for the time being, it is the advanced race.”-- in the August 24, 1957 edition of the National Review

• Buckley sadly defended Wisconsin U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy as a patriotic crusader against communism.

• Gore Vidal implied that, in 1944, Buckley and unnamed siblings had vandalized a church in their Sharon, Connecticut hometown after the pastor's wife had sold a house to a Jewish family.  Buckley sued Gore, but the case was laughed out of court and dismissed.  (You wacky anti-Semite.)

• The Iraq War enjoyed support from William F. Buckley, and even while later admitting its failures, he refused to acknowledge the war was wrong.

Buckley knew early on that preying on the shallow and weak with fear and hatred would capture the imagination of the xenophobic American, especially when clothed in faux sophistication. Rove and Bush learned their lessons at his knee. Evil comes in many forms.

(Streetvein contributed to this article)

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