Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was a five-term
United States SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from
ArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
(1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the
Republican PartyThe United States Republican Party is the second oldest currently existing political party in the United States after its great rival, the Democratic Party. It emerged in 1854 to combat the Kansas Nebraska Act which threatened to extend slavery into the territories, and to promote more vigorous...
's nominee for
PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in the
1964 electionThe United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the
1960sThe 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, he was known as "Mr. Conservative".
Goldwater is the politician most often credited for sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement in the 1960s. He also had a substantial impact on the
libertarian movementLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
.
Goldwater rejected the legacy of the
New DealThe New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
and fought through the
conservative coalitionIn the United States, the conservative coalition was an unofficial Congressional coalition bringing together the conservative majority of the Republican Party and the conservative, mostly Southern, wing of the Democratic Party...
to defeat the
New Deal coalitionThe New Deal Coalition was the alignment of interest groups and voting blocs that supported the New Deal and voted for Democratic presidential candidates from 1932 until the late 1960s. It made the Democratic Party the majority party during that period, losing only to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952...
. He mobilized a large conservative constituency to win the hard-fought Republican primaries. Goldwater's
right-wingIn politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
campaign platform ultimately failed to gain the support of the electorate and he lost the 1964 presidential election to incumbent
DemocratThe history of the Democratic Party of the United States is an account of the oldest political party in the United States and arguably the oldest democratic party in the world....
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
by one of the largest landslides in history, bringing down many Republican candidates as well. The Johnson campaign and other critics painted him as a
reactionaryThe term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
, while supporters praised his crusades against the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, labor unions, and the
welfare stateA welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
. His defeat allowed Johnson and the Democrats in Congress to pass the
Great SocietyThe Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States promoted by President Lyndon B. Johnson and fellow Democrats in Congress in the 1960s. Two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice...
programs, but the defeat of so many older Republicans in 1964 also cleared the way for a younger generation of American conservatives to mobilize. Goldwater was much less active as a national leader of conservatives after 1964; his supporters mostly rallied behind
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, who became governor of
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1967 and the 40th
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in 1981.
Goldwater returned to the Senate in 1969, and specialized in defense policy, bringing to the table his experience as a senior officer in the Air Force Reserve. His greatest accomplishment was arguably the passage of the
Goldwater-Nichols ActThe Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 , , made the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the National Security Act of 1947 by reworking the command structure of the United States military...
of 1986, which restructured the higher levels of the
PentagonThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
by increasing the power of the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffThe Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...
to direct military action. In 1974, as an elder statesman of the party, Goldwater successfully urged President
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
to resign when evidence of a cover-up in the
Watergate scandalThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
became overwhelming and impeachment was imminent. By the 1980s, the increasing influence of the
Christian rightChristian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
on the
Republican PartyThe Republican Party of the United States in the 21st century is composed of various groups or factions. Although their interests at times conflict, they share enough in common to remain in the same party....
so conflicted with Goldwater's libertarian views that he became a vocal opponent of the religious right on issues such as gay rights and the role of religion in public life.
Personal life
Goldwater was born in
PhoenixPhoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, in what was then the
Arizona TerritoryThe Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
, the son of Baron M. Goldwater and his wife, Hattie Josephine ("JoJo") Williams. His father's Jewish American family had founded
Goldwater'sGoldwater's Department Store was a department store chain based in Phoenix, Arizona. It was founded in Gila City, Arizona, in 1860 and moved to Phoenix in 1872. The store was founded by Michael Goldwater, the grandfather of U.S. Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.Goldwater's...
, the largest
department storeA department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
in Phoenix. The family name had been changed from Goldwasser to Goldwater at least as early as the 1860 census in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Goldwater's paternal grandparents, Michel and Sarah (Nathan) Goldwasser, had been married in the
Great Synagogue of LondonThe Great Synagogue of London was, for centuries, the centre of Ashkenazi synagogue and Jewish life in London. It was destroyed during World War II, in the Blitz.-History:...
. Goldwater's mother came from an old
YankeeThe term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
family that included the famous theologian,
Roger WilliamsRoger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
of
Rhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. Goldwater's parents were married in an Episcopal church in Phoenix; for his entire life, Goldwater was an Episcopalian, though on rare occasions he referred to himself as "Jewish". While he did not often attend church, he stated that "If a man acts in a religious way, an ethical way, then he's really a religious man—and it doesn't have a lot to do with how often he gets inside a church".
The family department store made the Goldwaters comfortably wealthy. Goldwater graduated from
Staunton Military AcademyStaunton Military Academy was an all-male military academy located in Staunton, Virginia for much of its 116-year history. The school closed in 1976. Many notable American political and military leaders are graduates...
, an elite private school in Virginia, and attended the
University of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
for one year, where he joined the
Sigma ChiSigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
fraternity. Barry had never been close to his father, but he took over the family business after Baron's death in 1930. He became a Republican (in a heavily Democratic state), promoted innovative business practices, and opposed the
New DealThe New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
, especially because it fostered labor unions. Goldwater came to know former president
Herbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
, whose conservative politics he admired greatly. In 1934, he married Margaret "Peggy" Johnson, wealthy daughter of a prominent industrialist from
MuncieMuncie is a city in Center Township, Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769...
, Indiana. They had four children: Joanne (born January 1, 1936),
BarryBarry Morris Goldwater, Jr. , is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California, 1969–1983. He is the son of the late Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee who ran against Lyndon B. Johnson for President of the United States during...
(born July 15, 1938), Michael (born March 15, 1940), and Peggy (born July 27, 1944). Barry became a widower in 1985, and in 1992 he married Susan Wechsler, a nurse 32 years his junior.
With the American entry into
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Goldwater received a reserve commission in the
United States Army Air ForcesThe United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
. He became a pilot assigned to the Ferry Command, a newly formed unit that flew aircraft and supplies to war zones worldwide. He spent most of the war flying between the USA and
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, via the
AzoresThe Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
and North Africa or
South AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
,
NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, and Central Africa. He also flew "the hump" over the
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
to deliver supplies to the
Republic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
. Remaining in the Air Force Reserve after the war, he eventually retired as a command pilot with the rank of
Major GeneralIn the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
. By that time, he had flown 165 different types of aircraft. Following World War II, Goldwater was a leading proponent of creating the
United States Air Force AcademyThe United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
, and later served on the Academy's Board of Visitors. The Visitor Center at the USAF Academy is now named in his honor. As a Colonel he also founded the
Arizona Air National GuardThe Arizona Air National Guard is the branch of the United States Air National Guard operating within the state of Arizona. It was founded by Barry Goldwater, and was integrated two years before President Truman's military integration order.-Units:...
, and he would desegregate it two years before the rest of the US military. Goldwater was instrumental in pushing the Pentagon to support desegregation of the armed services. Goldwater retired as an Air Force Major General, and he continued piloting B-52 aircraft until late in his military career. To those who called him "rash", he would remind people of the old saying that "there are no old, bold pilots".
In 1940, Goldwater became one of the first people to run the
Colorado RiverThe Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
recreationally through
Grand CanyonThe Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
when he participated as an oarsman on
Norman Nevills'Norman D. Nevills was a pioneer of commercial river-running in the American Southwest, particularly the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. He led trips including Dr. Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, the first two women to successfully float the Grand Canyon, and Barry Goldwater.Nevills was the...
second commercial river trip. Goldwater joined the trip in Green River, Utah and rowed his own boat down to
Lake MeadLake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River about southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. Formed by water impounded by the Hoover Dam, it extends behind the dam, holding approximately of water.-History:The lake was...
. Goldwater ran track in high school, where he specialized in the 880 yard run. He often went by the nickname of "Rolling Thunder."
In 1970, the Arizona Historical Foundation published the daily journal that Goldwater maintained on the Grand Canyon trip, along with the photographs he took, in a 209 page volume titled "Delightful Journey" by Barry Goldwater.
Goldwater's son
Barry Goldwater, Jr.Barry Morris Goldwater, Jr. , is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California, 1969–1983. He is the son of the late Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee who ran against Lyndon B. Johnson for President of the United States during...
served as a
United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
member from
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
from 1969 to 1983.
Political career
Goldwater entered Phoenix politics in 1949 when he was elected to the City Council as part of a nonpartisan group of candidates who focused on "cleaning up" widespread prostitution and gambling. As a Republican he won a seat in the
US SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1952, when he upset veteran Democrat and Senate majority leader
Ernest McFarlandErnest William McFarland was an American politician and, with Warren Atherton, is considered one of the "Fathers of the G.I. Bill". He is the only Arizonan to serve in the highest office in all three branches of Arizonan government—two at the state level, one at the federal level...
. He defeated McFarland again in 1958, with a strong showing in his first reelection in a year in which the Democrats picked up 13 seats in the Senate. He stepped down from the Senate in 1964 for his presidential campaign.
Policies
Goldwater soon became most associated with labor-union reform and anti-communism; he was an active supporter of the
conservative coalitionIn the United States, the conservative coalition was an unofficial Congressional coalition bringing together the conservative majority of the Republican Party and the conservative, mostly Southern, wing of the Democratic Party...
in Congress. However, he rejected the wilder fringes of the
anti-communist movementAnti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
; in 1956 he sponsored the passage through the Senate of the final version of the
Alaska Mental Health Enabling ActThe Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act of 1956 was an Act of Congress passed to improve mental health care in the United States territory of Alaska. It became the focus of a major political controversy after opponents nicknamed it the "Siberia Bill" and denounced it as being part of a communist...
, despite vociferous opposition from opponents who claimed that the Act was a communist plot to establish concentration camps in
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. His work on labor issues led to Congress passing major anti-corruption reforms in 1957, and an all-out campaign by the
AFL-CIOThe American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
to defeat his 1958 reelection bid. He voted against the censure of Senator
Joseph McCarthyJoseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
in 1954, but he was much more prudent than McCarthy and never actually charged any individual with being a communist/Soviet agent. Goldwater emphasized his strong opposition to the worldwide spread of communism in his 1960 book The Conscience of a Conservative. The book became an important reference text in conservative political circles.
In 1964, Goldwater ran a conservative campaign that emphasized "states' rights." Goldwater's 1964 campaign was a magnet for conservatives since he opposed interference by the federal government in state affairs. Although he had supported all previous federal civil rights legislation and had supported the original senate version of the bill, Goldwater made the decision to oppose the
Civil Rights Act of 1964The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
. His stance was based on his view that the act was an intrusion of the federal government into the affairs of states and, second, that the Act interfered with the rights of private persons to do business, or not, with whomever they chose.
All this appealed to white Southern Democrats, and Goldwater was the first Republican to win the electoral votes of the Deep South states (
LouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
,
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
,
MississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, and
South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
) since Reconstruction. However, Goldwater's vote on the Civil Rights Act proved devastating to his campaign everywhere outside the South (besides Dixie, Goldwater won only in Arizona, his home state), contributing to his landslide defeat in 1964. A
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
ad, called "Confessions of a Republican," which ran in the North, associated Goldwater with the
Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. At the same time, Johnson’s campaign in the Deep South emphasized Goldwater’s full history on and previous support for civil rights. In the end, Johnson swept the election.
While Goldwater had been depicted by his opponents in the Republican primaries as a representative of a
conservative philosophyConservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
that was extreme and alien, his Congressional voting records show that his positions were in harmony with those of his fellow Republicans in the Congress. What distinguished him from his predecessors was, according to Hans J. Morgenthau, his firmness of principle and determination, which did not allow him to be content with mere rhetoric.
Goldwater fought in 1971 to stop U.S. funding of the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
after the
People's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
was admitted to the organization. He said:
Elections
In 1964, he fought and won a bitterly contested, multi-candidate race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination. His main rival was New York Governor
Nelson RockefellerNelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
, whom he defeated by a narrow margin in the bitterly fought California primary. His nomination was opposed by liberal Republicans who thought Goldwater's demand for
rollbackIn political science, rollback is the strategy of forcing change in the major policies of a state, usually by replacing its ruling regime. It contrasts with containment, which means preventing the expansion of that state; and with détente, which means a working relationship with that state...
--defeat of the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
--would foment a nuclear war. Goldwater
lost to President Lyndon JohnsonThe United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
by a massive landslide, pulling down the GOP, which lost many seats in both houses of Congress. Goldwater carried only his home state and five Deep South states.
Goldwater remained popular in Arizona, and in the 1968 Senate election he was reelected (this time to the seat of retiring Senator Carl Hayden). He was subsequently reelected in 1974 and 1980. The 1974 election saw Goldwater easily reelected. His final campaign in 1980 was close, with Goldwater winning in a near draw against Democrat challenger Bill Schulz. Goldwater said later that the close result convinced him not to run again.
Two self-published books advanced the Goldwater cause: A Choice, Not An Echo by
Phyllis SchlaflyPhyllis McAlpin Stewart Schlafly is a Constitutional lawyer and an American politically conservative activist and author who founded the Eagle Forum. She is known for her opposition to modern feminism ideas and for her campaign against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment...
and A Texan Looks at Lyndon: A Study in Illegitimate Power by the
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
historianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
J. Evetts HaleyJames Evetts Haley, Sr., usually known as J. Evetts Haley , was a Texas-born political activist and historian who wrote multiple works on the American West, including an enduring biography of legendary cattleman Charles Goodnight...
. Both were best-sellers but failed to bolster Goldwater's electoral prospects.
Retirement
Goldwater seriously considered retirement in 1980 before deciding to run for reelection. Peggy Goldwater reportedly hoped that her husband's Senate term, due to end in January 1981, would be his last. Goldwater decided to run, planning to make the term his last in the Senate. Goldwater faced a surprisingly tough battle for reelection. He was viewed by some as out of touch and vulnerable for several reasons – most importantly, because he had planned to retire in 1981, Goldwater had not visited many areas of Arizona outside of Phoenix and Tucson. He was also challenged by a formidable opponent, Bill Schulz, who was a former Republican turned Democrat and a wealthy
real estateIn general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
developer. Schulz was able to infuse massive amounts of money into the campaign from his own fortune.
Arizona's changing population also hurt Goldwater. The state's population had soared, and a huge portion of the electorate had not lived in the state when Goldwater was previously elected; hence many voters were less familiar with Goldwater's actual beliefs, and he was on the defensive for much of the campaign. Early returns on election night seemed to indicate that Schulz would win. The counting of votes continued through the night and into the next morning. At around daybreak, Goldwater learned that he had been reelected thanks to
absenteeAn absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station. Numerous methods have been devised to facilitate this...
votes, which were among the last to be counted. Goldwater's surprisingly close victory in 1980 came despite Reagan's 61% landslide over
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
in Arizona. Republicans regained control of the Senate, putting Goldwater in the most powerful position he ever had in the Senate.
Goldwater retired in 1987, serving as chair of the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees in his final term. Despite his reputation as a firebrand in the 1960s, by the end of his career he was considered a stabilizing influence in the Senate, one of the most respected members of either major party. Yet Goldwater remained staunchly anti-communist and "hawkish" on military issues. He led the unsuccessful fight against ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty in the 1970s, which would return control of the canal zone to the Republic of
PanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. His most important legislative achievement may have been the
Goldwater-Nichols ActThe Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 , , made the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the National Security Act of 1947 by reworking the command structure of the United States military...
, which reorganized the U.S. military's senior-command structure.
Goldwater was an active amateur radio "ham" operator, with call letters K5USA. Many hams were delighted to make contact with him in his retirement years.
Political relationships
Goldwater was grief-stricken by the
assassination of KennedyJohn Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
and was greatly disappointed that his opponent in the race would not be JFK, but instead Kennedy's Vice President, the former Senate Majority Leader
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
of Texas. Goldwater disliked Johnson (whom he said "used every dirty trick in the bag", and Richard M. Nixon of California, whom he later called "the most dishonest individual I have ever met in my life.") Goldwater, by then again a Senator, advocated for Nixon to resign at the height of Watergate, warning that fewer than ten senators would vote against conviction after Nixon was impeached by the House of Representatives. The term "Goldwater moment" has subsequently been used to describe situations when influential members of Congress disagree so strongly with a President from their own party that they rise up and take a stand against them.
His
1984 Cable Franchise Policy and Communications ActThe Cable Communications Act of 1984 was an act of Congress passed on October 30, 1984 to promote competition and deregulate the cable industry. The act established a national policy for the regulation of cable communications by federal, state, and local authorities...
allowed local governments to require the transmission of
Public, educational, and government accessPublic, educational, and government access television, refers to three different cable television specialty channels...
(PEG) channels, barred cable operators from exercising editorial control over content of programs carried on PEG channels, and absolved them from liability for their content.
U.S. presidential campaign, 1964
At the time of Goldwater's presidential candidacy, the Republican Party was split between its conservative wing (based in the West and South) and moderate/liberal wing (based in the Northeast). He alarmed even some of his fellow partisans with his brand of staunch fiscal conservatism and militant
anti-communismAnti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
. He was viewed by many traditional Republicans as being too far on the right wing of the political spectrum to appeal to the mainstream majority necessary to win a national election. As a result, moderate Republicans recruited a series of opponents, including
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Governor
Nelson RockefellerNelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
,
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was a Republican United States Senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Vietnam, West Germany, and the Holy See . He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 Presidential election.-Early life:Lodge was born in Nahant,...
, of
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
Governor
William ScrantonWilliam Warren Scranton is a former U.S. Republican Party politician. Scranton served as the 38th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967. From 1976 to 1977, he served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations.-Early life:...
, to challenge Goldwater. Goldwater would defeat Rockefeller in the winner-take-all California primary and secure the nomination. He also had a solid backing from Southern Republicans. A bright young
BirminghamBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
lawyer,
John GrenierJohn Edward Grenier was a Birmingham attorney and a pioneer in the development of the modern Republican Party in the U.S. state of Alabama. Grenier was a former litigator for Lange Simpson Robinson & Somerville, one of the oldest and most distinguished law firms in Birmingham. He was Alabama state...
, secured commitments from 271 of 279 southern convention delegates to back Goldwater. Grenier went on to serve as executive director of the national GOP during the Goldwater campaign. This was the Number 2 position to party chairman
Dean BurchDean Burch served as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from October 31, 1969 to March 8, 1974, and as chairman of the Republican National Convention....
, Goldwater's fellow Arizonan.
Goldwater famously declared in his bold acceptance speech at the 1964 Republican Convention: "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." This paraphrase of
CiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
was included at the suggestion of
Harry V. JaffaHarry V. Jaffa is Professor Emeritus at Claremont McKenna College and Claremont Graduate University and a distinguished fellow of the Claremont Institute. He has written on Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Winston Churchill, Leo Strauss, American constitutionalism...
, though the speech was primarily written by
Karl HessKarl Hess was an American national-level speechwriter and author. He was also a political philosopher, editor, welder, motorcycle racer, tax resister, atheist, and libertarian activist...
. Due to President Johnson's popularity, however, Goldwater held back from attacking the president directly; he did not even mention Johnson by name in his convention speech.
Past comments came back to haunt Goldwater throughout his campaign. Once he called the
EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
administration "a dime-store
New DealThe New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
," and the former president never fully forgave him. Eisenhower did, however, film a TV commercial with Goldwater. Eisenhower qualified his voting for Goldwater in November by remarking that he had voted not specifically for Goldwater, but for the Republican Party. In December 1961, Goldwater told a news conference that "sometimes I think this country would be better off if we could just saw off the Eastern Seaboard and let it float out to sea". That comment boomeranged on him during the campaign in the form of a Johnson television commercial, as did remarks about making
Social SecurityIn the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
voluntary, and statements in Tennessee about selling the
Tennessee Valley AuthorityThe Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
, a large local New Deal employer.
The Goldwater campaign spotlighted
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, who appeared in a campaign ad and gave a stirring, nationally televised speech, "
A Time for ChoosingA Time for Choosing, also known as The Speech, was a speech presented during the 1964 U.S. presidential election campaign by future president Ronald Reagan on behalf of Republican candidate Barry Goldwater....
", in support of Goldwater. The speech prompted Reagan to seek the
California GovernorshipThe Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
in 1966 and jump-started his political career. Conservative activist
Phyllis SchlaflyPhyllis McAlpin Stewart Schlafly is a Constitutional lawyer and an American politically conservative activist and author who founded the Eagle Forum. She is known for her opposition to modern feminism ideas and for her campaign against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment...
, later well known for her fight against the
Equal Rights AmendmentThe Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and, in 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time...
, first became known for writing a pro-Goldwater book, A Choice, Not an Echo, attacking the moderate Republican establishment. Senator
Prescott BushPrescott Sheldon Bush was a Wall Street executive banker and a United States Senator, representing Connecticut from 1952 until January 1963. He was the father of George H. W. Bush and the grandfather of George W...
(1895–1972), a moderate Republican from Connecticut, was a friend of Goldwater's and supported him in the general election campaign. Bush's son, George H.W. Bush (then running for the Senate from Texas against Democrat
Ralph YarboroughRalph Webster Yarborough was a Texas Democratic politician who served in the United States Senate and was a leader of the progressive or liberal wing of his party in his many races for statewide office...
), was also a strong Goldwater supporter in both the nomination and general election campaigns. Future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and fellow Arizonan
William RehnquistWilliam Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
also first came to the attention of national Republicans through his work as a legal adviser to Goldwater's 1964 campaign. Goldwater was painted as a dangerous figure by the Johnson campaign, which countered Goldwater's slogan "In your heart, you know he's right" with the lines "In your guts, you know he's nuts," and "In your heart, you know he might" (that is, might actually use nuclear weapons, as opposed to merely subscribing to
deterrenceDeterrence theory gained increased prominence as a military strategy during the Cold War with regard to the use of nuclear weapons, and features prominently in current United States foreign policy regarding the development of nuclear technology in North Korea and Iran. Deterrence theory however was...
). Johnson himself did not mention Goldwater in his own acceptance speech at the
1964 Democratic National ConventionThe 1964 Democratic National Convention was the 1964 presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party. It took place at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey from August 24 to 27, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson -- who had been Vice President under...
.
Goldwater's provocative advocacy of aggressive tactics to prevent the spread of communism in Asia led to effective counterattacks from
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
and his supporters, who claimed that Goldwater's militancy would have dire consequences, possibly even nuclear war. Regarding Vietnam, Goldwater charged that Johnson's policy was devoid of "goal, course, or purpose," leaving "only sudden death in the jungles and the slow strangulation of freedom." Goldwater's own rhetoric on nuclear war was viewed by many as quite uncompromising, a view buttressed by off-hand comments such as, "Let's lob one into the men's room at the
KremlinThe Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...
."
Goldwater did his best to counter the Johnson attacks, criticizing the Johnson administration for its perceived ethical lapses, and stating in a commercial that "…we, as a nation, are not far from the kind of moral decay that has brought on the fall of other nations and people…I say it is time to put conscience back in government. And by good example, put it back in all walks of American life." Goldwater campaign commercials included statements of support by actor
Raymond MasseyRaymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
and moderate Republican senator
Margaret Chase SmithMargaret Chase Smith was a Republican Senator from Maine, and one of the most successful politicians in Maine history. She was the first woman to be elected to both the U.S. House and the Senate, and the first woman from Maine to serve in either. She was also the first woman to have her name...
.
Before the 1964 election, the muckraking
Fact magazineFact Magazine was an American publication that commented on controversial topics.-History:Edited by Ralph Ginzburg and Warren Boroson, the magazine was notable for having been sued by Barry Goldwater over a 1964 issue entitled "The Unconscious of a Conservative: A special Issue on the Mind of Barry...
, published by
Ralph GinzburgRalph Ginzburg was an American author, editor, publisher and photo-journalist. He was best known for publishing books and magazines on erotica and art and for his conviction in 1963 for violating federal obscenity laws....
, ran a special issue entitled ‘The Unconscious of a Conservative: A Special Issue on the Mind of Barry Goldwater.’ The two main articles contended that Goldwater was mentally unfit to be president. The magazine attempted to support this claim with the results of an unscientific poll of psychiatrists it had conducted. Fact had mailed questionnaires to 12,356 psychiatrists, and published a ‘sampling’ of the comments made by the 2,417 psychiatrists who responded, of which 1,189 said Goldwater was unfit to be president. After the election, Goldwater sued the publisher, the editor and the magazine for libel in
Goldwater v. Ginzburg-History:Fact magazine was edited by Ralph Ginzburg and Warren Boroson. The magazine was sued by Barry Goldwater over a 1964 issue entitled "The Unconscious of a Conservative: A special Issue on the Mind of Barry Goldwater." The magazine polled psychiatrists and asked if Goldwater was...
. "Although the jury awarded Goldwater only $1.00 in compensatory damages against all three defendants, it went on to [396 U.S. 1049, 1050] award him punitive damages of $25,000 against Ginzburg and $50,000 against Fact magazine, Inc." According to
Warren BorosonWarren Boroson is an American author and journalist. He has written over 20 books, including How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett, Keys to Investing in Mutual Funds and How to Buy a House for Nothing Down...
, then-managing editor of Fact and now a financial columnist, the main biography of Goldwater in the magazine was written by
David Bar-IllanDavid Bar-Illan was an internationally acclaimed pianist, author and columnist. Bar-Illan also served as Executive Editor of the Jerusalem Post, Israel's leading English-language newspaper, before becoming Director of Communications & Policy Planning for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...
, the Israeli pianist.
Daisy
A Democratic campaign advertisement known as Daisy showed a young girl counting daisy petals, from one to ten. Immediately following this scene, a voiceover counted down from ten to one. The child's face was shown as a still photograph followed by images of
nuclear explosionsThe energy released from a nuclear weapon detonated in the troposphere can be divided into four basic categories:*Blast—40-50% of total energy*Thermal radiation—30-50% of total energy...
and
mushroom cloudA mushroom cloud is a distinctive pyrocumulus mushroom-shaped cloud of condensed water vapor or debris resulting from a very large explosion. They are most commonly associated with nuclear explosions, but any sufficiently large blast will produce the same sort of effect. They can be caused by...
s. The campaign advertisement ended with a plea to vote for Johnson, implying that Goldwater (who was not mentioned by name) would provoke a
nuclear warNuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
if elected. The advertisement, which featured only a few spoken words of narrative and relied on imagery for its emotional impact, was one of the most provocative in American political campaign history, and many analysts credit it as being the birth of the modern style of "
negative political adsNegative campaigning, also known more colloquially as "mudslinging", is trying to win an advantage by referring to negative aspects of an opponent or of a policy rather than emphasizing one's own positive attributes or preferred policies...
" on television. The ad only aired once, and was immediately pulled, but then was shown numerous times by television stations.
Results
In the end, Goldwater received 38.4% of the popular vote, and carried six states: Arizona (with only 50.45% of the popular vote) and the core states of the
Deep SouthThe Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina, where for the last time the electorate was practically all white. In all, Johnson won an overwhelming 486 electoral votes, to Goldwater's 52. Goldwater, with his customary bluntness, remarked: "We would have lost even if Abraham Lincoln had come back and campaigned with us." He maintained later in life that he would have won the election if the country had not been in a state of extended grief (referring to the assassination of
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
), and that it was simply not ready for a third President in just 14 months.
Goldwater's poor showing pulled down many supporters. Of the 57 Republican Congressmen who endorsed Goldwater before the convention, 20 were defeated for reelection, along with many promising young Republicans. On the other hand, the defeat of so many older politicians created openings for young conservatives to move up the ladder. While the loss of moderate Republicans was temporary—they were back by 1966—Goldwater also permanently pulled many conservative Southerners and white ethnics out of the
New Deal CoalitionThe New Deal Coalition was the alignment of interest groups and voting blocs that supported the New Deal and voted for Democratic presidential candidates from 1932 until the late 1960s. It made the Democratic Party the majority party during that period, losing only to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952...
.
"In the South, Goldwater broke through and won five states—the best showing in the region for a GOP candidate since Reconstruction. In
MississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
— where
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
had won nearly 100 percent of the vote just 28 years earlier — Goldwater claimed a staggering 87 percent." It has frequently been argued that Goldwater's strong performance in Southern states previously regarded as Democratic strongholds foreshadowed a larger shift in electoral trends in the coming decades that would make the south a Republican bastion (an end to the "
Solid SouthSolid South is the electoral support of the Southern United States for the Democratic Party candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era....
")—first in presidential politics and eventually at the congressional and state levels, as well.
Goldwater and the revival of American conservatism
Although Goldwater was not as important in the American conservative movement as
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
after 1965, he shaped and redefined the movement from the late 1950s to 1964. Arizona Senator
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
summed up Goldwater's legacy thus: "He transformed the Republican Party from an Eastern elitist organization to the breeding ground for the election of Ronald Reagan." The columnist
George WillGeorge Frederick Will is an American newspaper columnist, journalist, and author. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winner best known for his conservative commentary on politics...
remarked after the
1980 Presidential electionThe United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, as well as Republican Congressman John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent...
that it took 16 years to count the votes from 1964 and Goldwater won.
The Republican Party recovered from the 1964 election debacle, picking up 47 seats in the
House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in the mid-term election of 1966. Further Republican successes ensued, including Goldwater's return to the Senate in 1968. In January of that year, Goldwater wrote an article in the
National ReviewNational Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
"affirming that he [was] not against liberals, that liberals are needed as a counterweight to conservatism, and that he had in mind a fine liberal like
Max LernerMaxwell "Max" Alan Lerner was an American journalist and educator known for his controversial syndicated column....
."
Throughout the 1970s, as the conservative wing under Reagan gained control of the party, Goldwater concentrated on his Senate duties, especially in military affairs. He played little part in the election or administration of
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, but he helped force Nixon's resignation in 1974. In 1976 he helped block Rockefeller's renomination as Vice President. When Reagan challenged Ford for the presidential nomination in 1976, Goldwater endorsed Ford, looking for consensus rather than conservative idealism. As one historian notes, "The Arizonan had lost much of his zest for battle."
In 1979, when President Carter normalized relations with
Communist ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Goldwater and some other senators sued him in the
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
, arguing that the president could not terminate the
Sino-American Mutual Defense TreatySino-American Mutual Defense Treaty was a treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of China; it was signed on December 2, 1954 at the Zhongshan Hall in Taipei and came into force on March 3, 1955...
with
Republic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
(
TaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
) without the approval of Congress. The case was known as
Goldwater v. CarterGoldwater v. Carter, 444 U.S. 996 , was a United States Supreme Court case which was the result of a lawsuit filed by Senator Barry Goldwater and other members of the United States Congress challenging the right of President Jimmy Carter to unilaterally nullify the Sino-American Mutual Defense...
, which was dismissed by the court as a
political questionIn American Constitutional law, the political question doctrine is closely linked to the concept of justiciability, as it comes down to a question of whether or not the court system is an appropriate forum in which to hear the case. This is because the court system only has authority to hear and...
.
Later life
By the 1980s, with
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
as president and the growing involvement of the
religious rightChristian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
in conservative politics, Goldwater's
libertarianLibertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
views on personal issues were revealed; he believed that they were an integral part of true conservatism. Goldwater viewed
abortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
as a matter of personal choice, not intended for government intervention.
As a passionate defender of personal liberty, he saw the religious right's views as an encroachment on personal privacy and
individual libertiesCivil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
. In his 1980 Senate reelection campaign, Goldwater won support from religious conservatives but in his final term voted consistently to uphold legalized abortion and, in 1981, gave a speech on how he was angry about the bullying of American politicians by religious organizations, and would "fight them every step of the way". Goldwater also disagreed with the Reagan administration on certain aspects of foreign policy (for example, he opposed the decision to mine Nicaraguan harbors). Notwithstanding his prior differences with
Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, Goldwater in a 1986 interview rated him the best of the seven Presidents with whom he had worked.
On May 12, 1986, Goldwater was presented with the
Presidential Medal of FreedomThe Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
by President
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
.
After his retirement in 1987, Goldwater described the Arizona Governor
Evan MechamEvan Mecham was the 17th Governor of Arizona. A decorated veteran of World War II, Mecham earned his living as an automotive dealership owner and occasional newspaper publisher...
as "hardheaded" and called on him to resign, and two years later stated that the Republican party had been taken over by a "bunch of kooks".
In a 1994 interview with the Washington Post the retired senator said,
Goldwater visited the small town of Bowen, Illinois in 1989 to see first hand where his mother was raised.
In response to
Moral MajorityThe Moral Majority was a political organization of the United States which had an agenda of evangelical Christian-oriented political lobbying...
founder
Jerry FalwellJerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
's opposition to the nomination of
Sandra Day O'ConnorSandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
to the Supreme Court, of which Falwell had said, "Every good Christian should be concerned", Goldwater retorted: "Every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass." (According to
John DeanJohn Wesley Dean III is an American lawyer who served as White House Counsel to United States President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. In this position, he became deeply involved in events leading up to the Watergate burglaries and the subsequent Watergate scandal cover-up...
, Goldwater actually suggested that good Christians ought to kick Falwell in the "nuts", but the news media "changed the anatomical reference." ) Goldwater also had harsh words for his one-time political protege, President Reagan, particularly after the
Iran-Contra AffairThe Iran–Contra affair , also referred to as Irangate, Contragate or Iran-Contra-Gate, was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan administration officials and President Reagan secretly facilitated the sale of...
became public in 1986. Journalist
Robert MacNeilRobert Breckenridge Ware MacNeil, OC, known sometimes as Robin MacNeil, , is currently a novelist and formerly was a television news anchor and journalist who had paired with Jim Lehrer to create The MacNeil/Lehrer Report in 1975.-Early life:MacNeil was born in Montreal, the son of Margaret...
, a friend of Goldwater's from the 1964 Presidential campaign, recalled interviewing him in his office shortly afterward. "He was sitting in his office with his hands on his cane ... and he said to me, 'Well, aren't you going to ask me about the
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
arms sales?' It had just been announced that the Reagan administration had sold arms to Iran. And I said, 'Well, if I asked you, what would you say?' He said, 'I'd say it's the god-damned stupidest foreign policy blunder this country's ever made!'", though aside from the Iran-Contra scandal, Goldwater thought nonetheless that Reagan was a good president. In 1988 during that year's
presidential campaignThe United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
, he pointedly told vice-presidential nominee
Dan QuayleJames Danforth "Dan" Quayle served as the 44th Vice President of the United States, serving with President George H. W. Bush . He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Indiana....
at a campaign event in Arizona "I want you to go back and tell George Bush to start talking about the issues."
Some of Goldwater's statements in the 1990s aggravated many social conservatives. He endorsed Democrat
Karan EnglishKaran English served in the U.S. House of Representatives of the 103rd United States Congress from 1993 to 1995....
in an Arizona congressional race, urged Republicans to lay off
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
over the Whitewater scandal, and criticized the military's ban on
homosexualsHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
: "Everyone knows that gays have served honorably in the military since at least the time of
Julius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
." He also said, "You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight." A few years before his death he went so far as to address the unprincipled establishment "republicans", "Do not associate my name with anything you do. You are extremists, and you've hurt the Republican party much more than the Democrats have."
In 1996, he told
Bob DoleRobert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
, whose own presidential campaign received lukewarm support from conservative Republicans: "We're the new liberals of the Republican party. Can you imagine that?" In that same year, with Senator
Dennis DeConciniDennis Webster DeConcini is a former Democratic U.S. Senator from Arizona. Son of former Arizona Supreme Court Judge Evo Anton DeConcini, he represented Arizona in the United States Senate from 1977 until 1995....
, Goldwater endorsed an
ArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
initiative to legalize medical marijuana against the countervailing opinion of social conservatives.
Controversy
Goldwater was known in Las Vegas as a “swinger”, or someone who enjoyed the casinos of Las Vegas and the plush suites in clubs such as the Flamingo and the Riviera. He had personal and financial relationships with two racketeers – Willie Bioff and
Gus GreenbaumGus Greenbaum was a member of the Chicago Outfit and syndicate accountant for Las Vegas casino operations.An associate of Meyer Lansky, Greenbaum joined his organization on New York's Lower East Side in the mid or late 1910s...
– both of whom were later murdered in gangland executions. Bioff gained control of Hollywood labor unions in the 1930s. In 1941, Bioff was indicted for violating the federal anti-racketeering statutes, and was later convicted of extortion in connection with his management of those unions. Bioff turned state’s witness and assisted in the prosecution of nine Chicago Mafia partners. Greenbaum was a Las Vegas casino operator for various Mafia interests.
When Goldwater began his relationship with Bioff, Bioff was already a convicted labor extortionist. Goldwater said of Bioff at various times that he either did not know of Bioff’s criminal history, or that he was associating with Bioff in order to learn more about labor racketeering. In 1952, Goldwater convinced a local newspaper not to publish a story about Bioff’s criminal history. Goldwater promptly received a $5,000 contribution from Bioff. Goldwater flew Bioff to parties all over the Southwest in his private plane.
On November 17, 1963, Goldwater held a press conference in Pittsburgh in which he denounced news reports of his gangland associations.
Amateur radio
Goldwater was an avid
amateur radioAmateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
operator from the early 1920s onwards, with the
call signIn broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
s 6BPI, K3UIG and K7UGA. The latter is now used by an Arizona club honoring him as a commemorative call. During the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, he spent many hours giving servicemen overseas the ability to talk to their families at home over the
Military Affiliate Radio SystemThe Military Auxiliary Radio System is a United States Department of Defense sponsored program, established as a separately managed and operated program by the United States Army, Navy, and Air Force...
(MARS).
Goldwater was also a prominent spokesman for amateur radio and its enthusiasts. Beginning in 1969 up to his death he appeared in numerous educational and promotional films (and later videos) about the hobby that were produced for the
American Radio Relay LeagueThe American Radio Relay League is the largest membership association of amateur radio enthusiasts in the USA. ARRL is a non-profit organization, and was founded in May 1914 by Hiram Percy Maxim of Hartford, Connecticut...
(the United States national society representing the interests of radio amateurs) by such producers as Dave Bell (W6AQ), ARRL Southwest Director John R. Griggs (W6KW), Alan Kaul (W6RCL), Forrest Oden (N6ENV), Bill Pasternak (WA6ITF) and the late Roy Neal (K6DUE). His first appearance was in Dave Bell's "The World of Amateur Radio" where Goldwater discussed the history of the hobby and demonstrated a live contact with Antarctica. His last on-screen appearance dealing with "ham radio" was in 1994, explaining a then-upcoming, Earth-orbiting ham radio relay satellite.
Electronics were a hobby for Goldwater beyond amateur radio. He enjoyed assembling
HeathkitHeathkits were products of the Heath Company, Benton Harbor, Michigan. Their products included electronic test equipment, high fidelity home audio equipment, television receivers, amateur radio equipment, electronic ignition conversion modules for early model cars with point style ignitions, and...
s, completing more than 100 and often visiting their maker in
Benton Harbor, MichiganBenton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan which is located west of Kalamazoo. The population was 10,038 at the 2010 census. It is the lesser populated of the two principal cities included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a...
to buy more, before the company exited the kit business in 1992.
Kachina dolls
In 1916, Goldwater visited the
HopiThe Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
ReservationAn American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
with Phoenix architect John Rinker Kibby, and obtained his first
kachina dollHopi Kachina Dolls are effigies made of cottonwood that embody the characteristics of the ceremonial Kachina, the masked spirits of the Hopi Native American tribe...
. Eventually his doll collection included 437 items and was presented in 1969 to the
Heard MuseumThe Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art is a museum located in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. There is also the Heard Museum North Scottsdale branch in Scottsdale and the Heard Museum West branch in Surprise....
in Phoenix.
Photography
Goldwater was an accomplished amateur
photographer and in his estate left some 15,000 of his images to three Arizona institutions. He was very keen on
candid photographyCandid photography is photography that focuses on spontaneity rather than technique, on the immersion of a camera within events rather than focusing on setting up a staged situation or on preparing a lengthy camera setup.-Description:...
. He got started in photography after receiving a camera as a gift from his wife on their first Christmas together. He was known to use a
4x5Large format refers to any imaging format of 4×5 inches or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the 6×6 cm or 6×9 cm size of Hasselblad, Rollei, Kowa, Pentax etc cameras , and much larger than the 24×36 mm frame of 35 mm format.The main advantage...
GraflexGraflex was a manufacturer, a brand name and several models of cameras. William F. Folmer, an inventor, built the first Graflex camera in 1898, when his company was called The Folmer and Schwing Manufacturing Company, founded originally in New York as a gas lamp company...
,
RolleiflexRolleiflex is the name of a long-running and diverse line of high-end cameras originally made by the German company Franke & Heidecke, and later Rollei-Werk. The "Rolleiflex" name is most commonly used to refer to Rollei's premier line of medium format twin lens reflex cameras...
camera, and
Nikon , also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...
35 mmThe term 135 was introduced by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film wide, specifically for still photography. It quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format...
. He was a member of the
Royal Photographic SocietyThe Royal Photographic Society is the world's oldest national photographic society. It was founded in London, United Kingdom in 1853 as The Photographic Society of London with the objective of promoting the Art and Science of Photography...
from 1941 becoming a Life Member in 1948.
For decades, he contributed photographs of his home state to
Arizona HighwaysArizona Highways is a magazine that contains travelogues and artistic photographs related to the state of Arizona. It is published monthly in Phoenix by a unit of the Arizona Department of Transportation....
and was best known for his Western landscapes and pictures of
native Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. Three books with his photographs are People and Places, from 1967; Barry Goldwater and the Southwest, from 1976; and Delightful Journey, first published in 1940 and reprinted in 1970.
Ansel AdamsAnsel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
wrote a foreword to the 1976 book.
Goldwater's photography interests occasionally crossed over with his political career, as well. John Kennedy, as president, was known to invite former congressional colleagues to the White House for a drink. On one occasion, Goldwater brought his camera and photographed President Kennedy. When Kennedy received the photo, he returned it to Goldwater, with the inscription, "For Barry Goldwater – Whom I urge to follow the career for which he has shown such talent – photography! – from his friend – John Kennedy." This quip became a classic of American political humor after it was made famous by humorist
Bennett CerfBennett Alfred Cerf was a publisher and co-founder of Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearances lecturing across the United States, and for his television appearances in the panel game show What's My Line?.-Biography:Bennett Cerf...
. The photo itself was prized by Goldwater for the rest of his life, and recently sold for $17,925 in a
HeritageHeritage Auction Galleries is the world's largest collectibles auctioneer and the third largest auction house, with over $700 million in annual sales and 600,000 online bidder-members...
auction.
Son Michael Prescott Goldwater formed the Goldwater Family Foundation with the goal of making his father's photography available via the internet. (
Barry Goldwater Photographs) was launched in September 2006 to coincide with the HBO documentary "Mr. Conservative", produced by granddaughter CC Goldwater.
UFOs
Goldwater was one of the more prominent American politicians to openly show an interest in UFOs.
On March 28, 1975, Goldwater wrote to Shlomo Arnon: "The subject of UFOs has interested me for some long time. About ten or twelve years ago I made an effort to find out what was in the building at
Wright-Patterson Air Force BaseWright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
where the information has been stored that has been collected by the Air Force, and I was understandably denied this request. It is still classified above
Top SecretTop Secret generally refers to the highest acknowledged level of classified information.Top Secret may also refer to:- Film and television :* Top Secret , a British comedy directed by Mario Zampi...
." Goldwater further wrote that there were rumors the evidence would be released, and that he was "just as anxious to see this material as you are, and I hope we will not have to wait much longer."
The April 25, 1988, issue of
The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
carried an interview where Goldwater said he repeatedly asked his friend, Gen.
Curtis LeMayCurtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
, if there was any truth to the rumors that UFO evidence was stored in a secret room at
Wright-Patterson Air Force BaseWright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
, and if he (Goldwater) might have access to the room. According to Goldwater, an angry LeMay gave him "holy hell" and said, "Not only can't you get into it but don't you ever mention it to me again."
In a 1988 interview on
Larry KingLawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
's radio show, Goldwater was asked if he thought the U.S. Government was withholding UFO evidence; he replied "Yes, I do." He added:
Goldwater Scholarship
The
Barry M. Goldwater ScholarshipThe Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by the United States Congress in 1986 in honor of former United States Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, a Republican from Arizona...
and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986. Its goal is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue careers in these fields.
The Scholarship is widely considered the most prestigious award in the U.S. conferred upon undergraduates studying the sciences. It is awarded to about 300 students (college sophomores and juniors) nationwide in the amount of $7500 per academic year (for their senior year, or junior and senior years). It honors Goldwater's keen interest in science and technology.
Death
Goldwater's public appearances ended in late 1996 after he suffered a massive stroke; family members then disclosed he was in the early stages of
Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. He died on May 29, 1998, at the age of 89 at his long-time home in
Paradise Valley, ArizonaParadise Valley is a small, affluent town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2005 Census Bureau, the population of the town was 14,558. Despite the town's relatively small area and population compared to other municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Paradise...
, of complications from the stroke. His ashes were buried at the Episcopal Christ Church of the Ascension in Paradise Valley, Arizona. A memorial statue set in a small park has been erected to honor the memory of Goldwater in that town, near his former home and current resting place.
Buildings and monuments
Among the buildings and monuments named after Barry Goldwater are: the Barry M. Goldwater Terminal at
Phoenix Sky Harbor International AirportPhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located southeast of the central business district of the city of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States...
, Goldwater Memorial Park in
Paradise Valley, ArizonaParadise Valley is a small, affluent town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2005 Census Bureau, the population of the town was 14,558. Despite the town's relatively small area and population compared to other municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Paradise...
, and
Barry Goldwater High SchoolBarry Goldwater High School is a public high school located in Phoenix, Arizona, named after 1964 presidential candidate and well-known Arizona resident, U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater. It is part of the Deer Valley Unified School District...
in northern Phoenix.
Documentary
Goldwater's granddaughter, CC Goldwater, has co-produced with long time friend and indie-film producer
Tani L. Cohen-Production credits:* Producer on the HBO feature documentary Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater, about Barry Goldwater. The critically acclaimed film premiered on HBO in September 2006. Cohen produced it with Goldwater’s granddaughter, CC Goldwater...
a documentary on Goldwater's life, Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater, first shown on HBO on September 18, 2006.
Books
- Goldwater, Barry. The Conscience of a Conservative
The Conscience of a Conservative is a book published under the name of Arizona Senator and 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1960. The book reignited the American conservative movement and made Barry Goldwater a political star...
(1963) ISBN 0-89526-540-0
- Goldwater, Barry. Why Not Victory? A fresh look at American policy (1963)
- Goldwater, Barry. Conscience of a Majority (1971) ISBN 0-671-78096-4
- Goldwater, Barry. The Coming Breakpoint (1976) ISBN 0-02-544611-8
- Goldwater, Barry. Arizona (1977) ISBN 0-938379-04-6
- Goldwater, Barry. With No Apologies: The Outspoken Political Memoirs of America's Conservative Conscience (1979) ISBN 0-425-04663-X
- Goldwater, Barry. Goldwater (1988) ISBN 0-385-23947-5, autobiography
Relatives
Goldwater's son,
Barry Goldwater, Jr.Barry Morris Goldwater, Jr. , is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California, 1969–1983. He is the son of the late Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee who ran against Lyndon B. Johnson for President of the United States during...
, served as a Congressman from California from 1969 to 1983. He was the first Congressman to serve while having a father in the Senate. Goldwater's nephew,
Don GoldwaterDonald H. "Don" Goldwater is an Arizona Republican Party activist, and the nephew of the late U.S. senator and U.S. presidential candidate Barry M. Goldwater....
, sought the
Arizona Republican PartyThe Arizona Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Arizona. Its headquarters is in Phoenix.- Elected officers of the State Committee:- State Executive Committee :- State Committee :* The 15 county Republican chairmen...
nomination for Governor of Arizona in 2006, but was defeated by
Len MunsilLen Munsil is the President of Arizona Christian University. He was the Arizona Republican Party nominee for Governor of Arizona in the Arizona gubernatorial election, 2006, coming from behind to upset Don Goldwater in the Republican primary in his first run for any elective office...
. Munsil was in turn defeated by
Janet NapolitanoJanet Napolitano is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st...
, who was re-elected, and who, in 2009, became Secretary of Homeland Security.
See also
- Electoral history of Barry Goldwater
Electoral history of Barry Goldwater, United States Senator from Arizona and Republican Party nominee for President of the United States during 1964 electionPhoenix City Council, At-large district, 1949:Elected:...
- Goldwater v. Carter
Goldwater v. Carter, 444 U.S. 996 , was a United States Supreme Court case which was the result of a lawsuit filed by Senator Barry Goldwater and other members of the United States Congress challenging the right of President Jimmy Carter to unilaterally nullify the Sino-American Mutual Defense...
, 444 U.S. 996 (1979).
- Barry Goldwater, Jr.
Barry Morris Goldwater, Jr. , is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California, 1969–1983. He is the son of the late Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee who ran against Lyndon B. Johnson for President of the United States during...
, son
- Don Goldwater
Donald H. "Don" Goldwater is an Arizona Republican Party activist, and the nephew of the late U.S. senator and U.S. presidential candidate Barry M. Goldwater....
, a nephew
- Goldwater Institute
The Goldwater Institute is a Phoenix, Arizona-based conservative public policy research organization established in 1988. The president is Darcy A. Olsen. The Goldwater Institute advances public policies with emphasis on lower taxes, limited government spending, school choice, and a reduction in...
- Goldwater rule
The Goldwater rule in psychiatry was created in 1971 by the American Psychiatric Association.-Background:It defined a set of requirements for communicating with media outlets about the state of mind of individuals...
Further reading
Primary sources
- George H. Gallup, ed., The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion, 1935–1971, vol. 3. (1972)
- Karl Hess
Karl Hess was an American national-level speechwriter and author. He was also a political philosopher, editor, welder, motorcycle racer, tax resister, atheist, and libertarian activist...
, In A Cause That Will Triumph: The Goldwater Campaign and the Future of Conservatism (1967), memoir by Goldwater's speechwriter
Secondary sources
- Mary C. Brennan, Turning Right in the Sixties: The Conservative Capture of the G.O.P. (University of North Carolina Press, 1995)
- Edwards, Lee. Goldwater (1995). biography
- Goldberg, Robert Alan. Barry Goldwater (1995), the standard scholarly biography
- Godfrey Hodgson, The World Turned Right Side Up: A History of the Conservative Ascendancy in America (1996).
- Jeffrey J. Matthews. "To Defeat a Maverick: The Goldwater Candidacy Revisited, 1963–1964." Presidential Studies Quarterly. 27#1 1997. pp 662+.
- Perlstein, Rick. Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus (2001) New York: Hill and Wang. ISBN 0-8090-2859-X. On the 1964 campaign.
- White, Theodore, The Making of the President: 1964 (1965)
- The New Yorker, April 25, 1988, p 70
External links
Retrieved on 2009-03-03