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Making Goldwater Great Again [1]

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Date: 2023-11-10  

Not all that long ago, I was driving down South Broadway in St. Louis. I found myself following a Rambler American. Probably a 1963, though my knowledge of old Ramblers has grown cold over the years. It had a Goldwater in 64 bumper sticker on the back bumper and appeared in nearly perfect condition. I thought I was looking at some sort of restoration job, but I noted that the old gentleman driving was creeping along, straddling both northbound lanes, and could barely see over the wheel. I suspect he actually bought it new and has held it for 60 years. He clearly had no business still driving, and everyone kept their distance. I wondered why anyone would have ever voted for Goldwater, let alone retain a bumper sticker for 6 decades. It would have been instructive to have a conversation with him.

These quotes from Goldwater come up every now and then. I find it fascinating to see just how far the Republican party has moved since then. Contrast the quote above with Lauren Boebert (Barely Representative, CO) and her exhaustion over the separation of church and state. Can you picture this coming from Mike Johnson (Speaker du jour)? I certainly can’t. Goldwater saw the threat of Christian Nationalism. Too bad his party didn’t.

Goldwater supported the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960, as well as the 24th Amendment. He encouraged Nixon to resign after Watergate. Yes, he was still a hard right Republican, but he had more of a libertarian slant to his views. He had a respectable military career. Later in life he advocated support for same-sex couple adoption, medicinal cannabis, and other causes that would cause him to be drummed out of the current GOP.

His fiscal conservatism was genuine and aimed at both Democrats and Republicans, rather than today’s GOP position of only pushing for budget restraint only under Democratic administrations. He promoted strong civilian oversight of the military.

I’m not a Barry Goldwater fan. Not by any measure, so please don’t get me wrong. He was rightly rejected and earned his place in the dustbin of history. But I do find it interesting to contrast his views with what we see today.

Goldwater used to be held up as the extreme right wing of the Republican party. His resounding defeat was why the party didn’t dare move too far right. But Goldwater couldn’t make it in today’s GOP. Too liberal, no backbone, too hard on Russia, too prone to compromise.

Cheers.

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