Barry Goldwater was a five-term Arizona senator and Republican presidential candidate who lost to Lyndon Johnson in 1964. He was influential in the Republican party and credited with helping Ronald Reagan become president. Goldwater was outspoken and direct in his opinions, and in his later years, he supported gay and abortion rights. He believed religion had no place in politics and that church and state should be separate. He died at the age of 89 in 1998.
Barry Morris Goldwater was born in Maricopa County, Phoenix, Arizona on January 1, 1909. He served as a five-term Arizona senator and Republican presidential candidate, although he lost the presidential election to Democrat Lyndon Johnson in 1964. However Many political pundits saw Goldwater as a winner in the sense of his power within the Republican party and the influence of his conservative outlook in the South. He has also been credited with helping Ronald Reagan become president in 1981.
Goldwater graduated in 1928 from the Stauton Military Academy in Virginia. He had a military career and was a pilot in World War II. He loved to fly and continued to fly for Hobanche well into his eighties. He began his career in politics in 1949 by founding Phoenix City Council with the goal of eliminating the prevalence of gambling and prostitution.
Often referred to as one of America’s most original politicians, Goldwater was always outspoken and direct in his opinions. More than once he candidly stated that he hated both Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. Unlike many other politicians, he hasn’t bothered to tailor his speech to look good in the polls. He has also often been described as charming and likable, if unpredictable, even to his stronger opponents when he wanted to be.
Especially in his later years, he was in favor of gay rights and abortion rights which many considered paradoxical since he was known as “the father of conservatism”. But Goldwater insisted that the imposition of a will that took away the freedom and rights of others has nothing to do with conservatism. He’s had problems with the Christian right for the same reason. He made his points clear in his 1994 essay published in the Washington Post. He said religion has no place in politics and that church and state should be separate.
Goldwater once advocated for prayer in schools, but later said the actions of the religious right changed his mind. He pointed out that TV preachers were raising millions of dollars in the name of God and that longstanding violence against religion such as the war in Northern Ireland should make it clear that religion is devastating when mixed with politics. He never wavered in his negative view of Communism and often said it would be dangerous for America to lean anywhere near the left. He died at the age of 89 on May 29, 1998.
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