National Review RIP
by Mark Rhoads
Issue 120 - November 19, 2008

Like you I was sad to hear about the recent passing of the Spirit of National Review so quickly in the same year after we lost William F. Buckley, Jr. I first became a fan of the Spirit in the summer of 1962 after I finished my freshman year of high school. Some anonymous donor gave me a gift subscription and I never found out who that kind person was.

The magazine and its spirit opened me to a new world of politics, arts, travel, literature, philosophy, and theology based on core western values and a celebration of the American ideal of personal liberty and the rule of law under a cherished Constitution. I loved the authors, some of whom were tough former Communists, who knew how to deal with psychological warfare operations and could identify and counteract them without breaking a sweat. To me, Willmore Kendall, William A. Rusher, Russell Kirk, Frank S. Meyer, Harry Jaffa, Whitaker Chambers, L. Brent Bozell, Sr. - these were giants who showed us the way.

I remember in 1964 when, after only nine years in publication, NR finally got a chance to support a conservative in a run for president. The recent loss of a murdered president and the skills of guile developed by his successor did not permit a climate in which Barry Goldwater could win. But while he was on the firing line, editors and writers boosted the ideas of Barry we all shared. They did not carp at him from the sidelines for every single misstep or foolish remark of an aide. His running mate Bill Miller of New York was certainly not my cup of tea by a long shot, but he was doing his hard work on behalf of Barry and those of us who had doubts about him during the campaign presented a united front, without sacrificing our own integrity or honest opinions, or engaging in mindless cheerleading. As best we could, we tried to help our team advance the ball down the field toward a goal of greater human freedom and we did not publicly before the fact engage in pointless recriminations that might demoralize our own troops needlessly.

Building on the base formed by a loss and not a win, The Spirit of National Review continued to sustain us another 12 years when the philosophical children and spiritual heirs of Barry were ready to launch another effort in 1976 to compete against an incumbent president, who had chosen Gov. Rockefeller as his VP so he could shake loose Ronald Reagan. Our candidate, Gov. Reagan, made many eccentric political mistakes from our point of view such as the odd selection of a liberal GOP senator from Pennsylvania named Richard Schweiker to shake loose a few more delegates from that state when Reagan was only 60 delegates short of the goal. But we held our fire and did not carp at Ronnine from the peanut gallery when his back was up against it. We knew where he wanted to take us and even though we in our youth considered him to be very old at 66 to run, we still offered a united front to people who opposed most of what we stood for.

In 1980 when Ronnie was even older and tried again, we had no part in any effort to dishearten the conservative base when Ronnie trailed Carter in polls only nine days before the election. We did not throw bricks at his back but we encouraged him and his team to stay true to principle and fight the good fight. He did, we won, and we reaped many benefits for the cause of liberty from which Americans can still draw comfort today.

Even at times when a candidate who was conservative, but not of our movement, we always tried to offer encouraging words for George H.W. Bush or the sometimes philosophically nescient Bob Dole who was also advanced in age when he ran. But we knew in relative terms to his opponent he stood for more liberty and thus his cause was temporarily at one with our cause. He also made some bad decisions on a tactical level but we did not publicly go after his scalp while he was leading our battle. We thought that was common sense.

But for some reason the Sprit of NR got lost along the way in recent years. It was not because there was a generational change. Youth and energy and idealism are all good things and that combination can be great. But immaturity without idealism and worse, snobbishness or looking down one’s nose at Americans who have a different geographic and cultural background or accent, or who have gone to less prestigious colleges, but who still love the Lord with all their hearts and try to serve His purposes, that is not the Sprit of NR that I knew and was so proud of for almost half a century.

So to my older long-time friends of 40 years and more who know what I am talking about, I mourn the passing of that once great NR Spirit of generosity which was inspired by the late WFB but that had legions of other boosters as well. Maybe out there right now there is some young man or woman or group who has recently graduated from an Ivy League school--or even a junior college in Kansas--who will once again take up that Sprit of NR but at some publication or TV network or blog as yet unknown. Working for freedom can generate a lot of enthusiasm when young people are first inspired by American dreams. If able, I look forward to sending a check to some such young and humble and generous in spirit group who might labor in a new vineyard where the Spirit of NR as I recall it can rise again.

Mark Rhoads is a former Illinois pol still in recovery