Televised Nationwide Debate illustrating the divide among prominent conservatives:
The firing line debate between William Buckley and Ronald Reagan held on Jan 13th, 1978 was broadcast live on PBS.
· "What we are maintaining is that the United States, by signing these treaties, is better off militarily, is better off economically and is better off spiritually. "
- Source: Firing Line Debate, PBS William F Buckley supporting the ratification of the Panama Canal Treaties during the Firing Line debate.
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"We cannot abdicate our responsibility for the operation of the canal and the security of the Western Hemisphere. Let us reject these treaties and negotiate as a great nation should and have no more yielding to threats of blackmail."
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· "The canal is not a natural resource of Panama that has been exploited by the United States. We haven’t taken minerals out of the Canal Zone. We haven’t lumbered it. We have gone in for one purpose and one only – the one the treaty called for – to build and operate a canal, and I don’t know of anyone who has benefited more than the people of Panama." - Source: Firing Line Debate, PBS |
· "To vote for them is not to renounce the foreign policy of Theodore Roosevelt. To vote for them is not to endorse the foreign policy President Carter. To vote for them is not to say that we are frightened by any threat directed at us by Omar Torrijos. Or to vote for them is not to say that we are in the least influenced by the desires of security council of the United Nations, which is dedicated to decolonization of any part of the world not under Communist control.
· What we are maintaining is that the United States, by signing these treaties, is better off militarily, is better off economically and is better off spiritually. · The Panama Canal is responsible for 12% of the gross national product of the Republic of Panama. Subtract 12%, and you have 88% leftover, plus the national pride. I hope that Governor Reagan will not tell us tonight that Panamanian pride is not involved in the matter of the treaties. He must not tell me that pride does not count… he ought not to suggest that American Pride is one thing, Panamanian pride is quite something else. · Do we believe even in sovereignty for little countries whose natural resources, where and when necessary, we are entitled to use but not abuse? · The kind of satisfaction a nation truly consistent in practice of its ideals seeks for itself is the kind of satisfaction, at this moment in history, we can have by ratifying treaties that at once enhance our security and self-esteem." - Source: Firing Line Debate, PBS William F Buckley supporting the ratification of the Panama Canal Treaties during the Firing Line debate.
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· "They [the treaties] are ambiguous in their wording. They are fatally flawed.
· This treaty is so ambiguous in its wording as to be virtually meaningless. What is there for us to cheer about in being granted, in word only, neutrality of the canal we built and which presently we have in reality? · The Panama Canal Zone is not a last vestige of colonialism wrested from the Republic of Panama by force and coercion. Our navy did not intervene to bring about the secession of Panama from Columbia, nor did it then intimidate Panama into granting the United States the Canal Zone in perpetuity. · We cannot abdicate our responsibility for the operation of the canal and the security of the Western Hemisphere. Let us reject these treaties and negotiate as a great nation should and have no more yielding to threats of blackmail. · The canal is not a natural resource of Panama that has been exploited by the United States. We haven’t taken minerals out of the Canal Zone. We haven’t lumbered it. We have gone in for one purpose and one only – the one the treaty called for – to build and operate a canal, and I don’t know of anyone who has benefited more than the people of Panama. · I think, if anything, we would become a laughing stock by surrendering to unreasonable demands, and by doing so, I think we cloak weakness in the suit of virtue. I think that the world would see it as, once again, Uncle Sam putting his tail between his legs and crept away rather than face trouble." - Source: Firing Line Debate, PBS |
Firing Line Debate: A Live Nationwide debate
Resolve: The Senate Should Ratify the Proposed Panama Canal Treaties
The debate between William Buckley and Ronald Reagan held on Jan 13th, 1978 was broadcast live on PBS.