In Barry Goldwater, the conscience of a conservative

Miami Herald ^ | 7/2/14 | Lee Edwards

[DallasBiff]

It is one of the cruelest ironies in American politics that Barry Goldwater, who treated everyone — whether white, black, red or brown — with the same respect should be consigned to the ash heap of history as a racist.

These cruel charges deeply hurt Goldwater. He was half-Jewish and as a private citizen and U.S. senator had fought discrimination time and again. He led the way in desegregating the Arizona Air National Guard in 1946, two years before President Truman desegregated the armed forces. He was an early member of the Phoenix chapters of the NAACP and the Urban League, even making up the latter’s operating deficit when it was getting started. He desegregated the Senate cafeteria in early 1953, demanding that his black legislative assistant be served along with every other Senate employee, after learning she had been denied service.

Not all black Americans were eager to wrap the albatross of racism around Goldwater’s neck. In recognition of his many contributions, most of them unpublicized, Goldwater received in 1991the Humanitarian Award “for 50 years of loyal service to the Phoenix Urban League.” When some League members objected — recalling the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — the League president said flatly that Barry Goldwater had saved the League more than once and he preferred to judge a person “on the basis of his daily actions rather than on his voting record.”

[DallasBiff]

Barry Goldwater, great man, who was most maligned by the liberal stooges in the press, back in the 60's.

[dayglored]

"I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution, or that have failed in their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is 'needed' before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents' 'interests', I shall reply that I was informed their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can."

-- Barry Goldwater (Conscience of a Conservative, 1960)

[Monterrosa-24]

That is such a super quotation. Goldwater lost traction later in his Senate career. Congressman Larry McDonald, when asked about Goldwater said that “Goldwater should just go ahead and die before he violates every principle any of us ever thought he believed in.”

[FlipWilson]

Barry Goldwater was maligned by what was then the version of the GOPe.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Sadly, he did stay too long. He should’ve retired in 1974 with his principles intact. Instead, he became embittered and jealous of Ronald Reagan, lied to pro-lifers on his stance running for his final term in 1980 (when he almost became the sole GOP Senate incumbent to lose to a Democrat pro-lifer), and as the final touch, gifted his seat to Juan McQueeg, who did incalculable damage to the nation (including serving as a ringer for Zero in 2008).

[SunkenCiv]

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[Bishop_Malachi]

It is one of the cruelest ironies in American politics that Barry Goldwater, who treated everyone — whether white, black, red or brown — with the same respect should be consigned to the ash heap of history as a racist.

_____________________________________________________

This is why - when it comes to politics - you don’t play nice with the Left. We’re in a soft-war. Maybe it will stay that way...maybe it will not. But the Political Left doesn’t do nice.

[cowboyusa]

Goldwater was a Libertarian who probably would not mind the gay agenda at all.