From the AP Obit
The good stuff, as usual, is buried at the end:
[It reminds me of a local anecdote about Thaddeus Stevens. He and a bitter political rival turned a corner in town at the same time and came abruptly face to face on the sidewalk.
"I never step aside for a skunk," the other man hissed.
"I always do," Stevens cheerfully replied, and went around.]
Buckley so loved a good argument — especially when he won — that he compiled a book of bickering in "Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription," published in 2007 and featuring correspondence with the famous (Nixon, Reagan) and the merely annoyed.
"Mr. Buckley," one non-fan wrote in 1967, "you are the mouthpiece of that evil rabble that depends on fraud, perjury, dirty tricks, anything at all that suits their purposes. I would trust a snake before I would trust you or anybody you support."
Responded Buckley: "What would you do if I supported the snake?"
[It reminds me of a local anecdote about Thaddeus Stevens. He and a bitter political rival turned a corner in town at the same time and came abruptly face to face on the sidewalk.
"I never step aside for a skunk," the other man hissed.
"I always do," Stevens cheerfully replied, and went around.]
Labels: William F. Buckley
