It was sadly poignant that only a day before the brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, a commemorative stamp honoring William F. Buckley Jr. was unveiled in New Haven, Connecticut, at the late author and commentator’s alma mater, Yale University.
“All [at the ceremony] praised Buckley as a champion of dialogue who cheerfully plunged into the field to elevate the national dialogue and, yes, to change the nation,” historian David Pietrusza, author of six critically acclaimed books on presidential elections, told Newsmax. “Less than 24 hours later, we heard from Utah regarding Charlie Kirk. And I was struck by the similarity between those who spoke of Buckley and the many friends and allies of Kirk who employed virtually [the] same phrases and ideas to both praise and mourn their compatriot.”
At 31, a conservative Republican and unabashed Donald Trump enthusiast, Kirk had taken his brand of politics to campuses nationwide for years. Young people on all sides of the spectrum seemed to know him, even if they did not agree with the Illinois native who lived in Arizona — and who had no college degree but was largely self-taught.
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