Remembering William F. Buckley, Jr.

National Review Online is still publishing tributes to its late founder, William F. Buckley, Jr. There are two I wanted to note here. The first was written by former NYC Mayor Ed Koch who talks about his long friendship with WFB. Read it here.

Bill Buckley, over the years, became one of my heroes. When I was a congressman, he invited me to appear on Firing Line on a number of occasions and always treated me, I thought, more kindly than I had any reason to hope for, since he could have, with his intelligence and debater’s skills, decimated me immediately. Somehow, we became friends, and that friendship continued after I became mayor and after I left office. It was after I left office that Bill invited me occasionally to his home in Manhattan where he and his wife, Pat, held court surrounded by members of the National Review editorial board. I was fascinated by the give-and-take in the conversation and delighted to be asked my opinion.

He talked about being invited by WFB to be a speaker at a conservative fundraiser.

I was honored to do so. I knew that I would have a great time and, in any event, I could never refuse his request. I opened with:

I know what you are thinking. What is a nice, liberal guy like Ed Koch doing here? [Pause]I’m here to convert you.

As you may have guessed, there were no conversions that night.

He concluded with this.

Bill passed on at age 82. I’m 83, so I hope to see him and Pat soon.

Personally, I would prefer that Koch doesn’t join Buckle for many years to come as I think New York and the United States needs all the “liberals with sanity” they can get.

The other tribute I encourage you to read is from the humorist Rob Long. It takes the form of a memorandum from St. Peter to WFB and complains about how active WFB has been since arriving in heaven. It is quite hilarious. Here is a part.

Yes, well. Mr. Karl Marx has registered several formal complaints with the Administration about your repeated pranks — I believe, but cannot prove, that you and Milton Friedman were responsible for what we’re going to call the “jello incident” — and really, sir, if the gentleman doesn’t want to appear in a debate you’ve arranged on the topic “Resolved: This house believes that Marxism is an esophoric condition,” then please, do not keep asking him. Mr. Marx is here on a rather tenuous basis, and wishes to keep a low profile.

The same goes for Mr. Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

In addition, some of the residents are complaining that you are monopolizing J. S. Bach. The two of you are seen together quite often, and it’s making some of the lesser-known residents feel left out. Also:

There have been complaints about loud late-night discussions between you, Pope John Paul II, and Mr. David Niven.

I encourage you to read the whole thing.