William Buckley Vs Gore Vidal

@madmusk: Any time Buckley was foolish enough to allow someone with brains on his pathetic pre-Faux-News nazi-gab-fest . . . the likelihood is own intellectual shortcomings would be quickly demonstrated and he would resort to his nancy-boy prepr school threats , , , which he couldn't back up in a million years.

Uh . . the fascist Buckley was the one having his clock cleaned, Lance, and responded in typical right wing fashion: mindless threats of violence couldn't follow up on. Reminds one of draft-dodging, drunk-driving cowards Bush & Cheney who started two wars and couldn't finish either of them.

Was it a tradition for Buckley to physically threaten guests or was it just with Vidal and Chomsky?

Crypto-Nazi is my middle name!

"and you'll scchtay plastered." I am not even sure what that means, but you gotta love the delivery and the facial expression that went with it.

I guess it meant that Vidal would be flat on his ass forever after Buckley "socked him in the goddamned face."

Buckley was cleaning Vidal's clock, so Vidal responded the only way his meager intellect would allow: with an ad hominem attack.

Vidal has always been rude and pompous, and he was lucky his similar baiting of Norman Mailer on the Dick Cavett Show didn't end with Mailer literally stabbing him.

interesting. by this, it was Buckley who started the media character assasination in debate that was later picked up by George Bush Sr and used as a campaign tactic, and now used by the GOP against everyone.

(Glen Beck et al, follows this pattern from Buckley for character assasination using the Media)

For those who don't recall Proper debate -- do observe Gore Vidal is using Proper debate, not Buckley -- "debate the issues, not the personalities"

Thank you

You're right, but glen beck does it far more clumsily.