AHC a world without the Buckley family

with a pod of 1950 how can you make it that the Buckley family does not rise as the main conservative family in the USA . What family replaces them and how is modern American Conservatism changed.
 
Does any Buckley besides William F. really qualify as a prominent conservative? I think James(?) ran for some political positions in New York(mayor?), but I haven't really heard of anyone else. Bill's son Christopher is a well-known writer of fiction, but not regarded as any sort of conservative hero.

As for WFB himself, I think the conservative reaction of the 1960s to the early 90s, finally manifesting itself in Reaganism, would have taken shape more-or-less the same way no matter who was articulating the relevant values. And it would still be a coalition of free-marketers, states' rights rebels, foreign-policy hawks, and religious conservatives. I don't think Buckley himself made any decisive contribution to any of that coming together.

I'm not even sure he had much influence over the way conservatives are viewed by the general public, largely because he wasn't that well-known to the general public(compare, say, Phil Donohue), and his style and mannerisms were pretty atypical of right-wingers generally. If you were to ask your average person to envision a right-wing talking-head, it probably wouldn't be a foppish Yalie with a mid-Atlantic accent.

MAYBE Catholics are slightly less respectable among conservatives, without a papist being the main intellectual spokesperson for the cause, but even then, I doubt it: Know-Nothingism wasn't likely to survive into the mid-20th Century, regardless of the affiliations of leading conservatives(especially once the religious right got going in the 1970s).
 
James was Senator from 71 to 77 from NY and then worked in the Reagan Admin before becoming a federal judge. His Sister , Brother in law and nephew has had some strong connections to conservative politics especially Catholic conservative politics . So yes it was more then just William F. I think it might of delayed the rise a bit or least been less organized.
 
Really not going lie a big part of why I posted this was for a way to slow down Lieberman's rise. If Buckley did not support him in 88 good chance Lowell Weicker wins that senate race and goes back to the senate which means he does not become Gov of CT and also adds another Liberal Republican to the senate in the 90's
 
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