James Lane Buckley (born March 9, 1923) is an American politician, jurist, and lawyer who currently serves as a
senior judge
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at least ...
on the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Buckley served in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and po ...
as a member of the
Conservative Party of New York State
The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U ...
in the
Republican caucus from 1971 to 1977, and in multiple positions within the Reagan administration. He was also the Republican nominee in the
1980 Connecticut Senate race, but was defeated by Democrat
Chris Dodd
Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...
.
In
1970, Buckley was elected to the U.S. Senate as the nominee of the
Conservative Party of New York
The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U ...
; he won 39 percent of the vote and served from 1971 until 1977. During the first
Reagan administration, Buckley served as
Undersecretary of State for International Security Affairs. He was also President of
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
from 1982 to 1985.
Buckley was nominated by President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
to a seat on the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on October 16, 1985. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and po ...
on December 17, 1985 and received commission on December 17, 1985. Buckley assumed
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on August 31, 1996. He is one of the few people in modern times to have served in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the Federal government.
Early life, education, and early career
James Lane Buckley was born on March 9, 1923, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, to Aloise Steiner and
William Frank Buckley Sr.
William Frank Buckley (July 11, 1881 – October 5, 1958) was an American lawyer and oil developer. He became influential in Mexican politics during the military dictatorship of Victoriano Huerta but was later expelled when Álvaro Obreg ...
, the fourth of ten children to the couple.
He is the older brother of the late conservative writer
William F. Buckley, Jr. and the uncle of
Christopher Taylor Buckley. He is also the uncle of
Brent Bozell III and political consultant
William F. B. O'Reilly. His mother, from New Orleans, was of
Swiss-German, German, and Irish descent, while his paternal grandparents, from
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...
, Canada, were of
Irish ancestry.
Buckley attended
Millbrook School, and in 1943 earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
, where he was a member of
Skull and Bones. He enlisted in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
in 1942 and was discharged with the rank of lieutenant in 1946. After receiving his
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
from
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & World ...
in 1949, he was admitted to the
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar ( ...
in 1950 and practiced law until 1953, when he joined The Catawba Corporation as vice president and director.
In 1965, he managed his brother
William F. Buckley, Jr.'s campaign for
Mayor of New York.
[
During ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
he served in the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and participated in the battles of Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
, Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balil ...
, and Okinawa
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 Square kilometre, km2 (880 sq mi).
...
. In 1946, he was discharged from the United States Navy with the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade)
Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies.
United States
Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), ...
. In May 1953, he married Ann Frances Cooley, with whom he had six children before her death on December 30, 2011.
Career
United States Senate
Elections
=1968
=
In 1968, Buckley ran for the senatorial nomination of the Conservative Party of New York State
The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U ...
, after his brother William F. Buckley Jr. had served as the party's mayoral nominee in the 1965 New York City mayoral election. Buckley won the party's nomination on April 2, 1968, with the unanimous support of all forty state committeemen. Buckley placed third in the general election behind Republican nominee Jacob Javits and Democratic nominee Paul O'Dwyer
Peter Paul O'Dwyer (June 29, 1907 – June 23, 1998) was an Irish-born American politician and civil rights lawyer who served as President of the New York City Council during 1974–1977. He was the younger brother of Mayor William O'Dwyer, and ...
after receiving 1,139,402 votes (17.31%).
=1970
=
On March 16, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy announced that he would seek the presidential nomination
In United States politics and government, the term presidential nominee has two different meanings:
# A candidate for president of the United States who has been selected by the delegates of a political party at the party's national convention ...
of the Democratic Party for the 1968 presidential election. After winning four primaries Kennedy was assassinated
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
by Sirhan Sirhan in Los Angeles, California on June 6.
Kennedy's death left a vacancy in the United States Senate that would be filled through an appointment by Governor Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
. John W. Gardner
John William Gardner (October 8, 1912 – February 16, 2002) was Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under President Lyndon Johnson. He was a strong advocate for citizen participation and founded Common Cause; he became known as " ...
, John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...
, Burke Marshall
Burke Marshall (October 1, 1922 – June 2, 2003) was an American lawyer and who served as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division during the Civil Rights Movement.
Early life
Marshall was born in Plainfield, ...
, C. Douglas Dillon, Charles Goodell
Charles Ellsworth Goodell Jr. (March 16, 1926January 21, 1987) was an American politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1968 and the United States Senate from 1968 to 1971. In both case ...
, Ogden Reid
Ogden Rogers Reid (June 24, 1925 – March 2, 2019) was an American politician and diplomat. He was the U.S. Ambassador to Israel and a six-term United States Representative from Westchester County, New York.
Early life
Reid was born in New Y ...
, and Whitney Young were mentioned and speculated as possible candidates for the appointment. On August 11, a spokesman for Rockfeller stated that main choices for the appointment were Gardner, Goodell, and Reid. On September 10, Rockefeller appointed Goodell, a member of the House of Representatives from the 38th congressional district, to fill the vacancy.
On April 6, 1970, Buckley announced that he would seek the Conservative Party's senatorial nomination again. The Conservative State Committee convened inside Hotel McAlpin
Herald Towers, formerly the Hotel McAlpin, is a residential condominium building on Herald Square, along Broadway between 33rd and 34th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Constructed from 1910 to 1912 by the Greel ...
in Manhattan, New York City, on April 7, to select the party's nominees in the general election. Kevin P. McGovern attempted to force a primary campaign between him and Buckley, but failed to receive the 25% of delegate votes to force a primary. Buckley received nearly ninety percent of the delegate votes and the remainder was split between McGovern and abstaining delegates.
On June 20, F. Clifton White
Frederick Clifton White Sr. (June 13, 1918 - January 9, 1993), was an American political consultant and campaign manager for candidates of the Republican Party, the New York Conservative Party, and some foreign clients. He is best remembered as t ...
, Buckley's campaign manager, announced that Buckley's campaign would circulate petitions in an attempt to gain another ballot line named the Independent Alliance Party. Enough valid signatures were collected to gain the additional ballot line, but Secretary of State John P. Lomenzo ruled that the Independent Alliance's emblem, an outline of New York with Buckley's name inside, was illegal as New York's election law limited the number of times that a candidate's name could appear on a ballot line to one. Lomenzo later allowed the party onto the ballot after the emblem was changed to a shield with the letter "I" inside.
In the general election Buckley defeated Goodell, and Ottinger. Although the Independent Alliance Party received over 100,000 votes in the general election, more than the 50,000 votes required to become an official party and automatic ballot access, it did not become an official party as its only candidate was Buckley, who ran in the Senate election and not in the gubernatorial election
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of politica ...
where the 50,000 votes were required to come from.
=1976
=
In 1971, Buckley spoke to the Republican National Finance committee about running for reelection in the 1976 elections with the Republican nomination. Peter A. Peyser
Peter A. Peyser (September 7, 1921 – October 9, 2014) was a United States representative from New York, serving from 1971 to 1977 as a Republican and from 1979 to 1983 as a Democrat.
Political career
Peyser's political career began in ...
challenged him in the Republican primary, but Buckley defeated him. Buckley gained Rockefeller's support by agreeing to not support Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
's campaign against Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
in the Republican presidential primaries.
Tenure
During his tenure in the United States Senate Buckley's political affiliation was referred to as Conservative-Republican of New York (C-R-N.Y). The Republican caucus in the Senate voted 36 to 3, with Senators Jacob Javits, John Sherman Cooper, and William B. Saxbe
William Bart Saxbe ( ; June 24, 1916 – August 24, 2010) was an American diplomat and politician affiliated with the Republican Party, who served as a U.S. Senator for Ohio, and was the Attorney General for Presidents Richard M. Nixon and ...
being opposed to Buckley's entrance into the Republican caucus, in favor of admitting Buckley into their caucus.
In 1971, Buckley was appointed to the air and water pollution, roads, and economic development sub-committees within the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Buckley supported Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
during the 1972 presidential election and called for the Conservative Party, which had not supported Nixon during the 1968 presidential election, to support Nixon.
In 1974, Buckley proposed a Human Life Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. If passed, the Amendment would have defined the term "person" in the Fourteenth Amendment to include the embryo. His enacted legislation includes the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA or the Buckley Amendment) is a United States federal law that governs the access to educational information and records by public entities such as potential employers, publicly funded ...
(FERPA) that governs use of student records and the Protection of Pupils' Rights Act (PPRA) that requires parent notification, right to review, and consent for administration of student surveys to minors if the survey collects information on any of eight specified topics.
In the spring of 1974, with the Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...
continuing to grow in magnitude and seriousness, Buckley surprised and, in some cases, angered some of his allies among Republicans when he called upon the increasingly-embattled Richard M. Nixon to voluntarily resign the presidency. Buckley said that in doing so, he was making no judgment as to Nixon's technical legal guilt or innocence of the accusations made against him and in fact denounced those "in and out of the media who have been exploiting the Watergate affair so recklessly" in what he called an effort "to subvert the decisive mandate of the 1972 election." However, he said that the burgeoning scandal might result in an impeachment
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
process that would tear the country even further apart and so he declared: "There is one way and one way only by which the crisis can be resolved, and the country pulled out of the Watergate swamp. I propose an extraordinary act of statesmanship and courage—an act at once noble and heartbreaking; at once serving the greater interests of the nation, the institution of the Presidency, and the stated goals for which he so successfully campaigned"—Nixon's resignation. Buckley was the first major conservative figure to call for resignation. Nixon did not resign at that time but eventually did lose the support of key Republican figures, including Senator Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for president ...
. Nixon ultimately resigned on August 9, 1974.
Buckley was the lead petitioner in a landmark Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
case, ''Buckley v. Valeo
''Buckley v. Valeo'', 424 U.S. 1 (1976), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court on campaign finance. A majority of justices held that, as provided by section 608 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, limits on election expenditur ...
'' (1976), which "shaped modern campaign-finance law".[Russello, Gerald]
"Mr. Buckley Goes to Washington"
''The American Conservative
''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...
'', April 11, 2011, quoted in review of ''Freedom at Risk'', Retrieved June 17, 2019
1976 Republican National Convention
During the 1976 Republican National Convention, then-Senator Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committe ...
encouraged a "Draft Buckley" movement in an effort to stop the nomination of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
for President. (Reagan had announced that Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
Senator Richard Schweiker would be his running mate; Helms objected to this decision, believing Schweiker to be too liberal.) The "Draft Buckley" movement was rendered moot when President Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
narrowly won the party's nomination on the first ballot.
Post-Senate career
After his loss in the 1976 election, Buckley worked for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) was a U.S. investment bank founded by William H. Donaldson, Richard Jenrette, and Dan Lufkin in 1959. Its businesses included securities underwriting; sales and trading; investment and merchant banking; finan ...
, becoming a member of the executive committee and of its board of directors and eventually advancing to the position of corporate director.
After his loss in Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
, Buckley served as an undersecretary of State for security assistance starting in 1981 in the first Reagan administration, which handled military aid to strategically located countries, and then as President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
in Munich from 1982 to 1985.
U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C.
On October 16, 1985, Buckley was nominated by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The seat had previously been held by Judge Edward Allen Tamm. Buckley was confirmed by the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and po ...
on December 17, 1985 and received commission on December 17, 1985. He assumed senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on August 31, 1996.
Later life
During the 2016 presidential election Buckley was critical of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
and Republican nominee Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
. He stated that his brother William and Reagan would have been shocked by Trump's action. He stated that he mostly agreed with Libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...
nominee Gary Johnson
Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...
.
Buckley became the oldest living former Senator following the death of Senator Fritz Hollings in 2019.
Political positions
Buckley introduced and led the passage of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA or the Buckley Amendment) is a United States federal law that governs the access to educational information and records by public entities such as potential employers, publicly funded ...
, but he later came out in support of amending the legislation in 2010 due to college athletic departments using the legislation to hide sexual abuse allegations. He voted against a minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...
increase in 1974. Buckley was one of eight senators to vote against the Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...
.
Electoral history
Books
Buckley is the author of the following books:
* ''If Men Were Angels: A View from the Senate'' (1975)
* ''Gleanings from an Unplanned Life'' (2006)
* ''Freedom at Risk: Reflections on Politics, Liberty, and the State'' (2010)
* ''Saving Congress from Itself: Emancipating the States & Empowering Their People'' (2014)
Buckley discussed ''Freedom at Risk'' on C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
on January 12, 2011. Buckley’s last book, “Saving Congress From Itself”, was sent to every member of the U.S. Senate by Dallas businessman and Buckley family devotee Chris M. Lantrip.
References
Further reading
* Buckley, James Lane (1975). ''If Men Were Angels: A View From the Senate.'' New York: Putnam. .
* Buckley, James Lane (2006). ''Gleanings from an Unplanned Life: An Annotated Oral History.'' Wilmington: Intercollegiate Studies institute. .
* Buckley, James Lane (2010). ''Freedom at Risk: Reflections on Politics, Liberty, and the State.'' New York: Encounter Books. .
* Buckley, James Lane (2014). ''Saving Congress from Itself: Emancipating the States and Empowering Their People.'' New York: Encounter Books.
External links
*
*
Official website of James L. Buckley
ncorrect link*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, James Lane
1923 births
Living people
20th-century American judges
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American politicians
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American people of Irish descent
American people of Swiss-German descent
Buckley family
Candidates in the 1968 United States elections
Candidates in the 1976 United States presidential election
Candidates in the 1980 United States elections
Connecticut Republicans
Connecticut lawyers
Conservative Party of New York State politicians
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Military personnel from New York City
New Right (United States)
New York (state) Republicans
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people
Reagan administration personnel
Republican Party United States senators from New York (state)
Skull and Bones Society
United States Navy officers
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Under Secretaries of State
United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan
Writers from Connecticut
Writers from New York City
Yale Law School alumni