I used to be an active Republican back in the days when Republicans said stuff like, “libertarianism is the heart and soul of conservatism” and “I’m a small ‘l’ libertarian and a capital ‘R’ Republican”.
I used to contribute to campaigns and get out the vote for Republicans. But no more. I’ll vote for Republicans sometimes, but they’ll never get more than that from me.
Libertarians - even libertarians who are conservative in their own personal life but do not want to use big government to oppress other lifestyles — are not welcome in today’s GOP.
Today’s GOP favors big government just as much as the Democrats. Medicare Part D, NCLB, DHS, TSA, TARP, and hellhole nation-building are a few examples. The two major parties differ in priorities, but agree that big government is the way to accomplish their ends.
Get over it Goldwater lost for many of the reasons that posters have outlined on this thread. If he had ran as a democrat, likely he would have won.