From Buckley to Trump, Conservatism Has Endured an Ugly Slide

Politically active people my age fondly remember conservative intellectual William F. Buckley hosting the wildly popular TV show, “Firing Line,” where he for years interviewed luminaries from across the political spectrum. He sparred with leftist Noam Chomsky about American imperialism, chatted with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher about the future of free markets, and talked to poet Allen Ginsberg about drugs and spirituality. Heady stuff.

These lofty civil debates went beyond politics and delved into psychology, art and literature. The show reflected an emerging conservative movement that was clever and optimistic, and which preferred to out-argue opponents rather than “own” them. That era’s leading right-leaning commentators often criticized intellectuals, but not intelligence and expertise.

Which brings us to our current moment. We have an undreamed-of abundance of information—podcasts, social media, cable TV, talk radio, streaming and endless publications of every type. We can hear first-person utterances from our country’s leaders. We have extensive access to governmental budgets, legal decisions, public meetings, federal rule-makings and legislation. We have everything we need to be the informed citizens our founders envisioned.

Yet these are the stupidest times. They also are illogical, bigoted, conspiratorial and tribal times. I enjoy reading posts from one thoughtful anti-MAGA conservative and a large percentage of rebuttal comments are of this variety: “You’re a Jew.” There’s no appetite for intellectual honesty or treating opponents with decency. It emanates from the highest levels, as the president unleashes daily tirades that show the reasoning skills of a buffoon. Official federal government accounts dish out invective adorned with cartoonish AI graphics that appeal to vulgar 14-year-olds.

Then there is the rat-a-tat-tat of daily events. It all seems unbelievable to those of us who grew up under a different ethos. Idiocy certainly isn’t unique to this place and time, but I’m shocked by conservatives’ widespread applauding of crudity and nastiness—especially given that democratic norms are the main bulwark against chaos. Americans apparently are so accustomed to the circus acts that they crave escalating levels of entertainment each day.

I’m randomly cherry-picking recent events, but you obviously can find endless examples. Last week right-wing supporters of former reality-TV villain Spencer Pratt, still struggling to explain his easily predictable Los Angeles mayoral loss in an overwhelmingly Democratic city, circulated news that 675 Pratt ballots were found in a dumpster in San Recto. There is no San Recto, but it nevertheless confirmed their view that the race was stolen. Whatever, as people moved on to other conspiracies.

Meanwhile in Washington, Donald Trump hosted a mixed-martial-arts fight on the White House lawn. It currently is a giant demolition site following the destruction of the East Wing to make room for a gaudy ballroom that will be adorned by tacky gold appliques a la the Oval Office. At the end of one cage match, a winning UFC fighter declared, “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?” What a glorious celebration of the emperor’s birthday.

Trump also renovated D.C’s reflecting pool to make it American-flag blue, while praising himself as a master builder and dunking on Barack Obama (who last renovated it). The pool quickly turned green thanks to a massive algae bloom, but a Fox News host insisted it really is blue (regardless of our eyes). Taking a different tack, some MAGA influencers argued “the Left” sabotaged the pool.

And have you seen recent political videos? Campaign ads have never been fonts of fairness and intelligence, but the latest ones use AI deep fakes to depict Democrats as transgendered and show flabby GOP candidates with huge biceps. Conservatives no longer are interested in weighty ideas, but prefer to fight about bathrooms and call people names.

Now Trump, who has claimed dozens of times that a peace deal was near to end his inexplicable war in Iran, announced a victory agreement that looks suspiciously like our total capitulation. One can chalk up examples of fighting spectacles to a once-serious nation’s descent into frivolity, but what do you tell parents of the 175 girls killed by a U.S. missile attack on an Iranian school—a horrific mistake for which the administration has yet to accept responsibility?

It’s understandably routine to joke that the 2006 comedy “Idiocracy” is a documentary. In that movie, the Army’s most-average soldier, Joe Bauers, is inadvertently sent far forward in time to a nation run by inbred morons. He’s suddenly the smartest man on Earth. (The movie’s White House scenes look eerily similar to UFC antics.) But in “Idiocracy,” President Camacho isn’t malicious, just stupid. And, as a Facebook friend noted, he was smart enough to seek Bauers’ advice to save society from starvation. These days, GOP leaders would listen to the guy who snorted cocaine off a toilet seat.

Anyway, conservativism has traveled a long and dark road. I’m just glad most of the “Firing Line” participants aren’t alive to see it.

This column was first published in The Orange County Register.