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BARRY GOLDWATER, 1909-1998
 Republican, Arizona
1964 Electoral College Results:
Lyndon B. Johnson (W) 486 - Goldwater 54 (L)
A top graduate of Stanton Military Academy in Virginia, Barry Goldwater rose to become president of his family’s successful retailing business, Goldwater, Inc., in Arizona. His political career jump-started with a seat on the Phoenix City Council. He had the reputation as an “extremist” during his years in the U.S. Senate because his
anti-communist views, and a vote against the 1964 Civil Rights Acts. As the author of the bestselling Conscience of a Conservative (1960), he is often credited with giving rise to the Reagan Revolution (1980). Later in life he was known as a supporter of abortion rights and gay rights, and he voiced reservations about the religious right having too much influence on the Republican Party.
The fact that Senator Barry Goldwater is so far in front for the Republican Presidential nomination is proof of a little-understood transformation in the party’s power structure. This transformation…is nothing less than a quiet revolt. The aggressive post-war club of conservative young Republicans from the small states of the West and South are seizing power, displaying the Eastern party chiefs who have dictated Republican policy and candidates for a generation. - Robert Novack
When I look back at the history of our country and the crises we have faced, it’s clear to me that without sticking to the principles of the Constitution and the American work ethic, we would have lost our edge a long time ago. Unfortunately, prejudice is chipping way at those principles – and we’re all paying the price. Last year, many who opposed lifting the military’s gay-ban gave lip service to the American ideal that employment opportunities should be based on skill and performance. They said the armed forces were different and they’d never condone discrimination in civilian life. Well, now is their chance to put up or shut up! - Goldwater
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