Reply #15: Remember: Goldwater was thrown out of the GOP for being too "liberal"

[TechBear_Seattle]

Towards the end of his time in the Senate and during his retirement, he had little positive to say about the Republican Party as it existed in the 80s. Among his complaints were the rise of the religious right and the obsession of people like Buchannan and Gingrich -- former proteges who forced him out of power -- on citizens' private lives. As extreme as his views seemed in 1964, by 1984 his libertarian based conservatism made him seem soft on international affairs and a bleeding heart liberal on social policy. Nowadays, his stands on states-rights, personal liberty and the responsibility of America to keep treaties and other obligations with First Nations would put him noticeably to the left of most elected Democrats. Sad, isn't it, that a dyed-in-the-wool progressive should wax nostalgic about Barry Goldwater.

Among my favorite quotes:

"You don't need to be straight to fight and die for your country, you just need to shoot straight."

"Religious factions will go on imposing their will on others unless the decent people connected to them recognize that religion has no place in public policy. They must learn to make their views known without trying to make their views the only alternatives."