Betraying Barry Goldwater - Democratic Underground

BobcatJH

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Wed Sep-20-06 10:00 AM
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Betraying Barry Goldwater

I had the pleasure of watching the premiere of "Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater" last night on HBO. Throughout the informative documentary, CC Goldwater examines the role her grandfather played in politics as well as illustrates the man behind the mantle of "Mr. Conservative". Using entertaining, revealing anecdotes and interviews with a variety of politicians, pundits and family members, we get a well-rounded portrait of man about whom a second look is quite appropriate. A man widely viewed as the father of modern conservatism, yet a man whose outspoken views ran counter with those of many claiming to have followed in his footsteps. In fact, a man with whom progressives would, on some key issues, share more common ground than would those in the modern-day Republican Party who have forgotten Goldwater's lessons. In fact, without putting words in his mouth, I feel confident in saying that Goldwater would scarcely recognize today's ultra-right Republicans, let alone appreciate the regressive path they've chosen.

Before I examine the divide between Goldwater and today's Republicans that, to me, seems as wide as the Grand Canyon, I must first say that the film doesn't exist to tell viewers what to think. Nor does it attempt to get them to stand in lock-step with everything Goldwater believed. I, for instance, found his pro-war stance far too hawkish. His let-things-take-care-of-themselves position on Civil Rights also left a bad taste in my mouth. But people, however, aren't simply a laundry list of issues. They're people. People who, in a perfect world, often have sincere reasons for feeling the way they feel and well-thought positions stemming from deeply-held beliefs. What's more, no matter what President Bush or those in his party would have you believe, things are not black and white. Goldwater wouldn't blend into the current crop of Republican politicians. We're talking about a genuine maverick. We're also talking about a politician whose pro-choice views would place him outside the Republican mainstream, which is already far outside the mainstream of American thought. And a politician whose pro-gay rights stance would equally distance him from the Republican platform. To cap it off, we're talking about a politician whose distaste for the religious right and its encroachment on his party was matched only by his ability to freely speak his mind.

And that, in addition to a well-done portrait of a rather interesting player in modern American history, was what I took away from "Mr. Conservative". That is, the realization that Goldwater not only wouldn't recognize the party his rise to prominence helped build, but also that he wouldn't find himself welcomed within that party's so-called "big tent". Further, it wasn't Goldwater whose positions forced a divide between "Mr. Conservative" and the conservatives. No, it was the party Goldwater helped return to respectability that sold its soul to the devil by becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the extreme Christian right. And that corrupt bargain, I'm afraid, has poisoned the political climate. Don't get me wrong, there was much to be ashamed of and angry about in the political world in which Goldwater operated, just as there is now. But in the climate as it presently exists, a sizable minority claims to operate with the imprimatur of a higher power. And not just any higher power, but a pissed off, vengeful higher power that champions fundamentalist Christianity, abandons the true lessons of Jesus and allows its adherents to act with impunity, kill in God's name and otherwise make everyone's life a living hell. If that wasn't bad enough, consider that the No. 1 fan of this whole misguided ideology is the president himself.

Armed with this bogus spiritual armor, today's Republican Party considers it a waste of time to interact with their opposition. Don't want to keep gays from marrying, adopting or, quite frankly, existing? Then fuck you. Don't want to legislate women into second-class citizenship? Then fuck you. Don't want to interfere with the personal decisions of private individuals? Then fuck you. Don't want to turn science classes into a faith-based farce? Then fuck you. Who needs debate, the argument goes, when you've got God on your side? Who needs civility, similarly, when your your God can't distinguish between the Democrats and the terrorists? Did Goldwater lob his share of rhetorical grenades? Of course. I mean, we're talking about a man who spoke off-the-cuff about sending a nuclear device into the men's room at the Kremlin. But we're also talking about a man who said, "To disagree, one doesn't have to be disagreeable." Are you listening, Ms. Coulter? Did you catch that, Mr. DeLay? Should I repeat that, Mr. Rove?

Perhaps in the documentary's most unintentionally ironic moment, John McCain tells the filmmakers he considers himself a "Goldwater Republican". Right. Maybe in the past, before McCain, like so many in his party, sold out to the religious right. Doing so to get back in the good graces of those poorly named "values voters", McCain recently spoke at the graduation of Liberty University. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. The same Falwell McCain once called an "agent of intolerance". And yes, the same Falwell about whom Goldwater once said, "I think every good Christian ought to kick Falwell's ass." Kicking then, kissing now. And that, to me, says it all. "When you say 'radical right' today, I think of these moneymaking ventures by fellows like Pat Robertson and others who are trying to take the Republican Party away from the Republican Party, and make a religious organization out of it," Goldwater said in 1994. "If that ever happens, kiss politics goodbye." In a way, I'm glad the prophetic Goldwater isn't around to see what's become of his party. Because the man who once offered Americans a choice, not an echo would feel ashamed of and embarrassed by those claiming to share the same political party. And perhaps a little betrayed, too.