Barry Goldwater

[lidaker]

What about Goldwater? Was he a libertarian, an archconservative or what the hell was he?

[Joe Republic]

All I really know about him is:
1. He was far-right economically
2. Interventionist in foreign policy, especially regarding the Soviet Union.
3. Pro-civil rights in its early days.  Only when he thought that it was beginning to overstep its constitutional boundaries did he oppose it.
4. He later criticized the rightward trend of the Republicans during the Reagan/Bush years.  Especially the apparent take-over by the religious right.

I'd say he was pretty hard to define with a single label.

[PBrunsel]

Later he would joke with Bob Dole, "It's funny to see that we are considered the 'odd men out' in the our party."

[Rob]

He was a true conservative- libertarian, and not religious right(which he despised). He opposed the civil rights legislation because it infringed on states' rights. He was a great man.

[A18]

I think he also opposed the civil rights legislation because he supported private property rights.

[MaC]

sounds like a libertarian in most respects except for foreign policy.  I'd vote for him any day.

[Cashcow]

Libertarian, but a real one. He was pro-choice and hated the religious right.... would have been absolutely disgusted with last year's presidential candidates.

He was most definitely a great man.

[KEmperor]

Libertarian, but a real one. He was pro-choice and hated the religious right.... would have been absolutely disgusted with last year's presidential candidates.

He was most definitely a great man.

Indeed.

[Gabu]

Based on what I've heard of Barry Goldwater, I'd probably actually seriously consider voting for him if he was a candidate I could vote for.

[Nym90]

I disagree with most of his political views, but I greatly respect him as a person. He's too economically conservative for me, but I agree with him on most social issues. My favorite Goldwater quote was "You don't have to be straight to be in the military, you just have to shoot straight".

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I disagree with most of his political views, but I greatly respect him as a person. He's too economically conservative for me, but I agree with him on most social issues. My favorite Goldwater quote was "You don't have to be straight to be in the military, you just have to shoot straight".

plus "Every good Christian should line up and kick Jerry Falwell's ass"

[Gabu]

I disagree with most of his political views, but I greatly respect him as a person. He's too economically conservative for me, but I agree with him on most social issues. My favorite Goldwater quote was "You don't have to be straight to be in the military, you just have to shoot straight".

plus "Every good Christian should line up and kick Jerry Falwell's ass"

He said that?  Oh man, Barry Goldwater rules, in that case.

[M]

Goldwater defined his ideal as "ordered liberty", with the emphasis clearly on the liberty. In the early 60s, liberalism to Goldwater primarily meant socialism light; the New Deal and the Great Society, as well as appeasement abroad. Basically, Goldwater was an interventionist Lockean or hawkish diet libertarian. His domestic policy was primarily for small government and anti-tax, but included the states-rights based opposition to civil rights (which some see as the cynical political decision that began the South's realignment, others as a principled position. Personally, I disagree strongly but believe he did it from conviction). On foreign policy, he was strongly anti-Soviet and truly believed, as did his close ally Ronald Reagan, that the USSR could truly eventually be brought down entirely. He also, however, supported continued European occupation of their remaining colonies, like Algeria and Angola; supported apartheid; and was friendly to pro-American despots like Shah Reza Pahlavi and Haile Sealassie. Today we might call him a hawkish realist, somewhere between Kissinger and Rumsfeld. However, as with Reagan it is possible that minus the USSR he would be an effective "Neocon" today; of course, this is speculation and we will never know for certain, but there is a clear chain of foreign policy reasoning from Goldwater to Reagan to W. Bush. Goldwater was also strongly anti-religious right, and good for him.

Goldwater thought of himself as a conservative, in the image of Edmund Burke, Thomas Jefferson and Robert Taft (who liked to say that what were called conservatives in the 40s would have been called liberals in Locke's and Jefferson's times). There is a great line in Goldwater's quite readable book, "Why not Victory", along the lines of "When I got to DC they called me a conservative, and thought that was enough to slander me into submission. As my vision rose in power, they started to call me an arch-conservative. When they take away the hyphen, I'll have won".

Hmm... googling "Goldwater archconservative", it appears he would not have been disappointed.

[Cashcow]

Goldwater was also strongly anti-religious right, and good for him.

His hatred for these people is often underestimated. It amazes me how many of the neo-theocratic Republicans idolize a man who would have been disgusted by them.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

If Goldwater was running for President, I'd switch my registration to Republican so I could vote for him in the primary.

[A18]

If Goldwater was running for President, I'd switch my registration to Republican so I could vote for him in the primary.

That's like me saying, if Carter ran for president, I'd switch my registration to Democrat so I could vote for him in the primary.

[phk]

If Goldwater was running for President, I'd switch my registration to Republican so I could vote for him in the primary.

That's like me saying, if Carter ran for president, I'd switch my registration to Democrat so I could vote for him in the primary.

Are you a dumbass?