Author: mikesamaritano

The Buckley Program hosted Matthew Continetti for a seminar series from October 1st to October 15th. The seminar was titled, "Conservatism: Past and Present." Matthew Continetti is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where his work is focused on American political thought and history, with a particular focus on the development of the Republican Party and the American conservative movement in the 20th century. A prominent journalist, analyst, author, and intellectual historian of the right, Mr. Continetti was the founding editor and the editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon. Previously, he was opinion editor at The Weekly Standard. Mr. Continetti is also a contributing editor at National Review and a columnist for Commentary Magazine. Clay Skaggs: Two figures...

The Buckley Program hosted Adam White for a seminar series from October 29th to November 12th. The seminar was titled “Keeping A Republic: Constitutional Virtues and Institutions.” Adam White is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on American constitutionalism, the Supreme Court, and the administrative state. He is also an assistant professor of law and the director of the C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. Michael Samaritano: What is civic or republican virtue? Why is it important? Adam White: “Civic virtue” and “republican virtue” mean different things to different people, both in our time and in the founders’ time. But when I use the term, I tend to mean tho...

The Buckley Program hosted Professor Patrick Deneen for a seminar series from March 12th to 26th. The seminar was titled “Reviving the Mixed Constitution: How to Overcome the Elite-Populist Divide.” Patrick Deneen is Professor of Political Science and holds the David A. Potenziani Memorial Chair of Constitutional Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He has written four books and edited three others. His books include The Odyssey of Political Theory, Democratic Faith, Conserving America?, and most recently, Why Liberalism Failed. Michael Samaritano: I want to get to this new manuscript you’re working on. But first, I do want to talk a little bit about Why Liberalism Failed. I'm actually taking the class here at Yale, which is loosely based upon it, with Ross Douthat, Bryan ...

On February 11, the Buckley Program hosted a Firing Line Debate on the direct election of senators between Professor Todd Zywicki and Professor David Schleicher. Professor Zywicki is a law professor at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia School of Law, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, and former Executive Director at the George Mason University Law and Economics Center. He served as Co-Editor of the Supreme Court Economic Review from 2006-2017 and as Editor from 2001-2002. The transcript of this interview has been lightly edited for clarity. Clay Skaggs: Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us today, Professor Zywicki. Professor Zywicki: Thanks for having me. CS: There's a lot of debate over the reason for the 17th Amendment coming into being, with some argu...