I had a front row seat to the Presidential Election of 1964 between Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona and Lyndon Johnson who became President after John Kennedy was assassinated.
My father gave up his business for a year and ran Mr. Goldwater’s campaign in Ohio. Ohio was at the epicenter of that campaign, until the moderates in the Republican Party—many including Ray Bliss the National Republican Chairman came from Ohio. They “backdoored” the Goldwater campaign after his nomination in San Francisco. Four years later one of their kind got the nomination—Richard Nixon, but the battle lines between the moderates and conservatives in the Republican Party that had initially been drawn between the factions led by the Dwight Eisenhower—moderate, and Robert Taft-conservative, wings of the party in 1952, were solidified. If it weren’t for a Californian’s rapid rise in the party—Ronald Reagan, who was soon to be elected Governor in his State, the conservative movement would have floundered.
Listen to the names of the moderate Republicans who never supported Mr. Goldwater, thus insuring an election popular vote and electoral vote landslide: George Romney, Nelson Rockefeller, James Rhodes, William Scranton, and Richard Nixon—the parties previous nominee. The Bushes weren’t on the scene nationally at the time but grandpas Prescott Bush—former Senator from Connecticut, and Herbert Walker were money operatives in the party even before WWII—Google “Prescott Bush and The Wall Street Putsch” to see how the Bush family operated then and now—always in their own selfish interest—not “self-interest”.
After Goldwater won the nomination, the “moderate- Eastern wing” of the Republican party went silent. The Republican donor class stopped contributing to the party and to the candidate—including Herbert Walker and the next generation of the family of Prescott Bush.
They did contribute to a media campaign that today sounds very familiar:
Signs read, “Goldwater for Fuhrer, Freedom Is Dead, Hitler Was Sincere, Too.” “Goldwater in ’64: Bread and water in ’65; hot water in ’66,” “Vote for Barry, stamp out peace,” “I’d rather have scurvy than Barry–Barry.” At another Goldwater rally a sign read, “Barry go home,” with a swastika in the O of home. “
The progressive left plays the same old tune over and again. They certainly aren’t very creative. Emotionalism over rationalism never leads to a good outcome. What new ideas have come from the Democratic Party or the moderate wing of the Republican Party that have actually worked? NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND? MEDICAID EXPANSION? OPEN BORDERS? EASY MONEY AND HIGH INTEREST RATES AND INFLATION? Collusion between government agencies, elected politicians—the monied ruling classes, have been catastrophic since Credit Moblier and The Union Pacific Railroad, The Wall Street “Putsch”, and the insider trading that certain Congress members have been allowed to continue since Nancy Pelosi failed to enforce rules against such an advantage.
So where are the Bush boys, Paul Ryan, John Boehner—who represented the district where J. D. Vance grew up, Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney (son of George), and the orchestrators behind the scenes against the conservative movement?
Today the so-called moderate wing of the party both nationally and in our State have gone to “ground”. The Idaho Majority movement did support Mr. Trump, but many Idaho Republicans didn’t even go to our National Convention. I could be wrong, but I never saw “The Mike’s—big and little, Simpson and Crapo, or our Governor or Lt. Governor at the convention. They at least didn’t pose for pictures with our Idaho Delegation. Mr. Risch’s office states that he attended, but I didn’t see him with our delegation. Raul Labrador and Russ Fulcher were there and made their presence known as well as their support for Mr. Trump.
The reason so many Republican leaders both in and out of State have gone to ground is that they realize the only way for them to get control of the Republican Party is for Mr. Trump to lose. Ranked choice voting aside. Team players they are not, and conservatives should continue to watch and call out moderates who are playing “slow ball” with their support of conservatives. Remember this assertion 90 days before the general election and remember who is standing up for our Republican Candidates. Calls for “a big inclusive tent” and a unified party aren’t ringing true.
Let’s not allow Mr. Trump to be “Goldwatered”.
