Goldwater was the Republican nominee for President. Goldwater was against civil rights. The adult white southern Democrats continued to vote Democrat. Their children looked At Goldwater and said let’s hate Johnson cause he is for civil rights and let’s cheer for Goldwater cause he is against civil rights. Goldwater flipped the voter registration of the South. Goldwater was an idiot. In a landslide Johnson got elected and got civil rights into law. Long live civil rights. Then Johnson got the Great Society Welfare State signed into law. Had Goldwater been for civil rights there may have been a Republican President and the Welfare State May not have been created. Goldwater and the Republicans flipped the South.
Coldwater was NOT against civil rights!!! He was opposed to the 1964 Civil Rights Act he felt it was way too coercive, violated states rights, violated right of association & would lead to quotas. (AFTER 54 YEARS TELL ME HE WAS WRONG!). In his first year in the Senate he desegregated the Senate cafeteria, insisting that his black legislative assistant, Kathrine Maxwell, be served along with every other Senate employee. Does that sound like someone against civil rights for blacks or anyone? He was a victim of Rat & media establishment propaganda that you apparently bought into. He & his family through their department stores hired and catered to anyone regardless of race, creed etc. Also remember Goldwater was of Polish Jewish descent. His grandfather ( maybe it was his great-grandfather!) converted to Christianity back in the days of frontier Arizona. We ad a nation would have been better off if we had heeded some of his warnings & advice.
Goldwater voted against the so-called (1964) Civil Right Act because he thought it was an unconstitutional overreach by the federal government.
Your blanket comment that Goldwater was against civil rights is interesting. May we see your data?