He was a conservative all right, but invariably he gave the impression that he was a conservative because he was surrounded by liberals; that he had been a revolutionist if that had been required in order to be socially disruptive. William F. Buckley, Jr. More Quotes by William F. Buckley, Jr. More Quotes From William F. Buckley, Jr. Only government can cause inflation, preserve monopoly, and punish enterprise. William F. Buckley, Jr. monopoly causes government A Conservative is a fellow who is standing athwart history yelling 'Stop!' William F. Buckley, Jr. yelling politics political Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive. William F. Buckley, Jr. idealism-and-realism cost reality All that is good is not embodied in the law; and all that is evil is not proscribed by the law. A well-disciplined society needs few laws; but it needs strong mores. William F. Buckley, Jr. government strong law Bobby Kennedy and Nelson Rockefeller are having a row, ostensibly over the plight of New York's mentally retarded, a loose definition of which would include everyone in New York who voted for Bobby Kennedy or Nelson Rockefeller. William F. Buckley, Jr. plight definitions new-york One must bear in mind that the expansion of federal activity is a form of eating for politicians. William F. Buckley, Jr. expansion bears mind Conservatives should be adamant about the need for the reappearance of Judeo-Christianity in the public square. William F. Buckley, Jr. squares religious christian Decent people should ignore politics, if only they could be confident that politics would ignore them William F. Buckley, Jr. be-confident should people A society is not 'free' merely because the freedoms the people are doing away with are those they voted at the last election to do without. William F. Buckley, Jr. election lasts people There is an inverse relationship between reliance on the state and self-reliance. William F. Buckley, Jr. reliance states self I would like to electrocute everyone who uses the word 'fair' in connection with income tax policies. William F. Buckley, Jr. income connections use I get satisfaction of three kinds. One is creating something, one is being paid for it and one is the feeling that I haven't just been sitting on my ass all afternoon. William F. Buckley, Jr. creating work feelings Not everything that is legal is reputable. William F. Buckley, Jr. I mean to live my life an obedient man, but obedient to God, subservient to the wisdom of my ancestors; never to the authority of political truths arrived at yesterday at the voting booth. William F. Buckley, Jr. yesterday men mean They told me if I voted for Goldwater, he would get us into a war in Vietnam. Well, I voted for Goldwater and that's what happened. William F. Buckley, Jr. vietnam liberty war France believes in armed intervention by America only when the intervention is in France to rescue France from occupation by other powers. William F. Buckley, Jr. war peace believe Conservatism is the politics of reality William F. Buckley, Jr. conservatism reality You cannot paint the Mona Lisa by assigning one dab each to a thousand painters. William F. Buckley, Jr. dabs accomplish paint Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could. William F. Buckley, Jr. marijuana weed people A relatively small and eternally quarrelsome country in Western Europe, fountainhead of rationalist political manias, militarily impotent, historically inglorious during the past century, democratically bankrupt, Communist-infiltrated from top to bottom. William F. Buckley, Jr. europe country past
