Your comment regarding Goldwater is dead on.
I bought his HB book "With No Apologies" recently for the whopping sum of $3.06 shipped on eBay.
Flipping through it last night, the title's of the last several chapters caught my eye.
I have half a mind to OCR them to post here, or maybe it's online already to post the link to.
I am curious what Freepers in general think of Barry Goldwater - do they credit him with helping Reagan zero in on his agenda of restoring Limited Govt & regaining military superiority lost under Carter?
Do they give him the credit for getting the Republican party away from it's progressive, adventurous, big Govt roots first fostered by TR, and by the big Govt Rockefellers ever since, like Ike and Nixon under Keynesian economic mythology?
Just what do Freepers think of Barry Goldwater today, do they even know enough about his message?
"Just what do Freepers think of Barry Goldwater today, do they even know enough about his message?"
I can only speak for myself. Senator Goldwater was a Patriot, a visionary, and his Presidential bid was well before it's time. His influence has proven lasting. He is the father of contemporary conservative political philosophy in the U.S., whether we choose to recognize him as such or not.
Senator Goldwater was also a real curmudgeon.
He's on my short list of great contemporary political leaders.