Barry Goldwater

[Ruyashie]

DanskiWolf

Ruyashie

Latopazora

DanskiWolf

Latopazora

I know I shouldn't put a lot of weight on wikipedia, but was Berry Goldwater against the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Yep, I believe he said something like "you can't pass a law to make me like you, or you like me."

On topic, I've always found Barry Goldwater to be a very interesting figure. He had a very clear vision for the US. A man of great intellect too. He had many excellent positions and, unfortunately, the modern GOP is not to fit to lick his boots. Frankly he'd be reviled by the moral authoritarians and extremists that have overrun his party. For him, conservatism was about individual liberty, for many in the modern GOP it means stomping on said liberty.

so… is that one of the reasons why liberals see us as racists? I've always wondered where that came from.

Alot of early klans men were conservative is one of the reasons.

But, ironically, were more inclined towards the Democratic Party.

There were less differences then there are today.  

[Lord Bitememan]

The main reason the GOP came to be seen as a racist party had to do with Nixon's "southern strategy." Prior to that the GOP was actually a very pro-civil rights party. Even the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed largely due to the overwhelming support of Republicans (in addition to Lyndon Johnson's very forceful party control). However, by 1964 Nixon tried to gain the votes of southern whites who were widely disaffected by the Democratic party's efforts to end segregation. Nixon generally pushed the GOP into stances against various desegregation measures and around this time began adopting the strong "states rights" rhetoric that had been used to justify segregation. The perception was further reinforced by the defections, over time, of prominent Dixiecrats into the GOP (such as Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms).

Now, black voters had been leaving the GOP for decades before this. Despite being a civil rights party, as more blacks moved into urban areas the urban appeal of the Democratic party started to take over that demographic. Nevertheless, the major political realignment with the south and the Dixiecrats moved blacks lock step in with the Democrats, and created a forceful constituency with an ax to grind in that party.

We didn't help this any with our stupid mishandling of the comprehensive immigration reform issue. George W. Bush had actually made significant inroads with Hispanic voters in 2000 and 2004. Bush did press conferences in Spanish, played up Hispanic connections with the family, printed campaign materials in Spanish, and genuinely made an effort to appeal to Hispanic voters. It worked. Bush went from 35% of the Hispanic vote in 2000 to 44% in 2004. Then came the conservative backlash against Bush's proposal for immigration reform. Everyone was screaming "no amnesty" and made such a nakedly anti-Hispanic posture on this that Republican standing among the Hispanic community has been totally undermined. In 2008 Republicans captured only 32% of the Hispanic vote.

So, with yet another minority group the GOP has come across as rolling out the "not welcome" mat. It's not helping our perceptions with the voters as a whole.