Reply #4: It's odd how tame he looks compared to the Repub party of today [View All]

[MarshalltheIrish]

He embodied the original hard-right conservative wing of the party, particularly in his passionate opposition to the liberal and moderate likes of Eisenhower and Nelson Rockefeller. And even though he was landslided by LBJ in the '64 election, he famously planted the seeds for the Reagan Revolution. As the saying goes, "Goldwater won the 1964 election, it just took 16 years to count the votes."

However, he definitely had his share of left-leaning views and quotes later on. His quips about gays are particularly memorable ("Everyone knows that gays have served honorably in the military since at least the time of Julius Caesar," "It’s time America realized that there is no gay exemption in the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence.") as well as the "don't have to be straight, you just have to shoot straight" bit. He even told Republicans to lay off Clinton over Whitewater, and said to far-right members in the 90's, "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."

Interesting guy altogether...I got a good deal of insight into his legacy and history from the documentary "Goldwater on Goldwater," made by his granddaughter. Worth a look.