Yesterday I finally saw the HBO documentary, “Mr Conservative,” C.C. Goldwater’s tribute to her grandfather, Barry. It is well done, and though more affectionate than ideological, reminds us of his brave opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Social Security, and the TVA.
As an early Goldwaterwite (with a Goldwater sticker on my car in 1960), I found the footage of him very moving. I had worked hard for him in 1964, donating all the money I could as well. All the establishment Republicans sat on their hands, so even a 20-year-old could play a significant role in a state campaign.
A couple of years later, I had realized that my unease with his foreign policy was more than justified. But it was the war criminal LBJ who trumped up the Gulf of Tonkin lie, and combined aggression against Vietnam with the monstrous Great Society, not Goldwater. Nixon was just as bad, of course, and Goldwater was always sound on the Tricky Dick question, even helping get rid of him during Watergate.
By the way, an essential companion to the film, making up for what it lacks, is Rick Perlstein’s Before the Storm.
10:09 am on September 25, 2006
