No, Goldwater never changed. Issues came to the fore that highlighted his differences with mainstreet conservatism, and then Reagan sold the party to the Religious Right for their votes.
The Republican Party of today has very little to do in either membership or positions with the party of 1960.
So9
"Reagan sold the party to the Religious Right for their votes"
Yep, that moron Reagan doing something so crass and un-Republican as to actually stand for something in addition to free markets and big defense budgets. How DARE he!
Thank god for that. We don't need stinking liberals like Warren and Ford, or pro-abortionist Senators like Packwood or anti-war Senators like Javits.
The Republican party under Reagan changed for the better, and the Republic is better for it.
I guess his child bride may have had a little to do with his changing views....
I still think Reagan was the greatest President we've had, in that he moved the country right again out of a clearly moderate funk, but we have had no President willing to get things even remotely back on the right track to limiting government since.
Goldwater would have been an ideal president.
Of course, you could have guessed that from my freeper home page. :)