James L. Buckley, 1923-2023

It’s a pity James L. Buckley isn’t as well known as his younger brother, William F. Buckley Jr. Bill was the conservative intellectual, magazine editor and TV star. Jim Buckley had as distinguished a career serving at a high level in all three branches of government. He died Friday at age 100.

Jim Buckley served in the Navy in World War II, participating in the battles of Leyte and Okinawa. In 1970 he won a three-way race for Senate from New York on the Conservative Party line. He won 39% of the vote to defeat liberal Republican Charles Goodell and Democrat Richard Ottinger in one of the most surprising upsets in Senate history.

Buckley served one term before losing in that overwhelmingly Democratic state to Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1976. But he left his mark on the Senate and the law when he challenged a campaign finance law on grounds that campaign expenditure is a form of political speech. He won a partial victory in 1976 in Buckley v. Valeo, but that precedent made possible the 2010 landmark in Citizens United v. FEC.

Everywhere he took an interest he left a mark. The Buckley Amendment, otherwise known as the Family Education Rights and Policy Act of 1974, directed that parents have the right to see their children’s school records. Also that year Buckley became the first conservative member of the GOP Senate conference to call on Richard Nixon to resign amid the Watergate scandal.

Buckley served in the Reagan Administration as Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs, and Reagan later nominated him for a seat on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. He served on that court with distinction as an active judge for 11 years and was still serving on senior status when he died Friday.

Buckley’s particular concern was what he saw as the erosion of respect for the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. That amendment says all powers not assigned to the federal government are reserved to the states.

Buckley elaborated on that theme often, including in these pages. In a 2020 speech, he said that federal money has brought about “an avalanche of regulation-ridden programs that now provide federal subsidies for virtually every activity in which states are engaged.” He expounded on this theme in his 2010 book, “Freedom at Risk: Reflections on Politics, Liberty, and the State.” 

Buckley proved that a man could take strong stands without being unlikable. It is common today to lament the incivility of political discourse. Jim Buckley’s long life offers a model of something better for all times.