Republicans and Evangelicals I Barry Goldwater – How Republicans Welcomed Extremism - Part Two

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In the first part of our series, Chris explored the beginning of Barry Goldwater's career, from his early days as a young man to his rise to the Senate. In the second episode, Goldwater still hasn't agreed to be the nominee, even though groups are raising money in his name.

One of his most valuable supporters was a woman named Phyllis Schlafly. In 1964 she published a small book, A Choice Not an Echo. It claimed that GOP nominations had been rigged going back many years. She felt burned that Robert Taft (a true conservative) had been avoided over Dwight Eisenhower. Her book earned Goldwater the eventual nomination by his party.

At the 1964 GOP convention, Goldwater announced that extremism was a thing he was okay with. While this excited his base, it scared a good many others who were already afraid that he'd use his power to launch nuclear weapons.

Lyndon Johnson won that year in the greatest landslide in US presidential history.

CORRECTION: The original version of this episode said that LBJ's win in 1964 was bolstered by the Civil Rights Act. Historian Rick Perlstein wrote in to say that he won despite the Civil Rights Act.

Sources

• Before the Storm by Rick Perlstein.
• The Heritage Foundation's claims about Black Lives Matter
• JFK's address about the Cuban missile crisis
• The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro
• LBJ ice cream ad
• Rockefeller's speech at the 1964 RNC via C-SPAN
• Birchers by Matthew Dallek
• Goldwater's speech at the 1964 RNC via C-SPAN
• 1964 RNC party platform
• These Truths by Jill LePore
• Goldwater's comments on the Religious Right

Discussion Questions

• How did the 1964 Republican platform show a slide to extremism?
• Is the argument for "states' rights" inherently racist? How has it been used to back racism?
• Why did Goldwater's talk about nuclear weapons make people uneasy?
• How did Goldwater's address to the 1964 RNC act as a call to extremists?
• Why did Lyndon Johnson win by the largest victory in US presidential history?
• Even though he lost dramatically, Goldwater had a big impact. What was it?

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