esrosedotblog

BARRY

Andrew Sullivan reminds us that, on many matters, Barry Goldwater would be an outsider in his own party today.

I remember Goldwater fondly. He was a maverick. He said what he believed. Even if one did not agree with him, you disagreed respectfully.

In his later years, he became a kind of wise man who counseled his party without too much result.

He had some surprising positions. He was fervently for gay rights. You got to love him for that.

Honesty, and a truly conservative set of beliefs would, indeed, set him at odds with many GOoPers of today: the younger bushes, the roves, the Delays, the Santorums, the Frists, and the rest. Here is one example.

"However, on religious issues there can be little or no compromise. There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.'"- Barry Goldwater, September 16, 1981.

Of course, not all republicans are of the demagogic variety. There are moderates and true believers in the constitution. Perhaps, soon, they will gain the courage to speak out and reclaim some of the Goldwater spark. Then, while we would certainly disagree, we could restore respect for them.