Ralph Raico eulogizes his old friend and fellow Youth for Taft Leonard Liggio, a sweet and erudite man.
Remembering Leonard Liggio

Bill Kauffman
Bill Kauffman is the author of eleven books, among them Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette (Henry Holt), Ain’t My America (Metropolitan), Look Homeward, America (ISI), and Poetry Night at the Ballpark (FPR Books). His next book, Upstaters, is due from SUNY Press in 2026. He is a columnist for The American Conservative and The Spectator World. Bill wrote the screenplay for the 2013 feature film Copperhead. He is a founding editor of Front Porch Republic and has served as a legislative assistant to Senator Pat Moynihan, editor for various magazines and publishers, and vice president of the Batavia Muckdogs, a professional baseball team that was euthanized by Major League Baseball. He lives with his wife Lucine in his native Genesee County, New York.
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2 comments
John Willson
Leonard was indeed a “sweet and erudite man.” And the Catholic faith that defined him made his the most humane and nuanced libertarianism I have ever known. Leonard and I were friends for 38 years, friends of a passing kind, seeing each other mostly at Hillsdale College, Philadelphia Society meetings, and Liberty Fund seminars. What I remember best about him was his untiring help to younger teachers and scholars, and his serious good humor. What a good Catholic gentleman!
Jeffrey Polet
I had the pleasure of meeting him at a number of APL meetings. A scholar and a gentleman.
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