While reading Mr Bob’s blog yesterday, I thought about Barry Goldwater when I read a reference comparing traditional conservatives to present-day “neo-cons”.
Though Goldwater was more of a libertarian in many ways, and had some rather reactionary views, particularly in reference to the Cold War, he is commonly seen as the father of modern conservatism.
Unlike today’s “neo-cons” however, he was not afraid to cross party lines and stand with liberals and Democrats when he thought it was right.
In the 1970s, he assisted WWII-era WASPs (Women’s Air Service Pilots) in getting the veteran’s benefits they’d been so long denied. A co-founder of the Arizona NAACP, he was also involved in desegregating the Arizona National Guard. A supporter of gays in the military, he once made the comment, “It doesn’t matter if a soldier is straight; it only matters if he shoots straight,” and “Everyone knows that gays have served honorably in the military since at least the time of Julius Caesar.” Goldwater was also firmly pro-choice, viewing abortion as a private matter, a decision inappropriate for the government to meddle with.
He was a passionate defender of personal liberty, and saw the religious right's political views as an encroachment on personal privacy and individual liberties. Not shy about expressing this particular opinion, he’d clashed on more than one occasion with such political fundamentalists as Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, calling them “a bunch of kooks”, and once saying, “Every good Christian should line up and kick Jerry Falwell's ass."
I can’t help but think that Goldwater would have been appalled at the younger Bush’s presidency, especially the increasingly strong influence the religious right has had on the president’s views and policies.
It’s too bad there is no longer a voice like Goldwater’s in the Republican Party.
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To read more about Goldwater’s opinions of the religious right and his ideas of true conservatism:
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