“Extremism” was badly, and sadly, misinterpreted in this context. It somehow conjured images of rape, pillage and burning through small villages filled with ignorant but pious peasants, much like the Cossacks sacked the homes of those who did not comply with the will of the tyrant government they served.
Barry Goldwater, really much more of a libertarian than a Conservative at heart, did awaken some kindred spirits in his time, not the least of which was Ronald Reagan, who saw through the rhetoric and the countercharges, to a much clearer vision of what had to be done.
And for a while, America tried this new vision. Golden Ages are never recognized until they are gone.
Goldwater went to meet with Eisenhower at Ike’s estate in Gettysburg, and Ike asked him about the “extremism” comment.
“Weren’t you the Allied commander in World War II?”, Goldwater asked. “Weren’t a lot of people killed in that war? Don’t you regard that as somewhat extreme?”