Barry Goldwater: Champion of Liberty, But for Whom? by
Steven Ertelt Friday, May 29, 1998Today Barry Goldwater, the conservative luminary who burst onto the national political scene in a failed effort for the presidency in 1964, died at his home in Arizona.
Goldwater was credited with championing a conservative-libertarian theme of freedom. He is said to have ushered in a new wave of thinking in the Republican Party - replacing the Rockefeller pro-business Republicans with advocates of smaller government like Ronald Reagan and the current Republican congressional leadership. Yet his advocacy of rights and liberties left out one important cause which so many Republicans today hold dear: the right to life.
According to former Arizona Right to Life executive director Jay Nenninger, Barry Goldwater once supported the right to life. In 1992, Nenninger produced a statement apparently signed by Goldwater in 1980, in which the former senator supported a human life amendment. Goldwater also "frequently voted against abortion" in the '70s." (Arizona Republic 8/7/92).
Yet Goldwater's actions in the years preceding his death show his eventual betrayal of the right to life by his stunning support for abortion and candidates who supported abortion on demand.
Was this turnabout surprising?
Perhaps not. According to Nenninger, "[Pro-life advocates] should have known in 1980 that Goldwater lacked integrity when he made us wait until Mrs. Goldwater left the house before we could bring the statement to his home for signing." Barry Goldwater's first wife, Peggy, who died in 1985, was one of the founders of Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern AZ (Arizona Daily Star 6/18/94). In response, Goldwater replied "All I can say is a man has a right to change his mind." Goldwater added, "I would not sign that statement today" (Arizona Republic, 10/31/92).
Although supporting the right to life in Senate votes in prior terms, in his final term Goldwater "changed his course and voted consistently to uphold" Roe v. Wade (Arizona Republic 8/7/92).
But perhaps the most striking blow to the right to life came in 1992 when Goldwater took an active stand in opposition to the pro-life platform of the Republican Party. Goldwater opined that the GOP "will go down in a shambles" if the expected "anti-abortion" plank is adopted in the GOP platform. The warning came in a letter from Goldwater to Mary Dent Crisp of the so-called National Republican Coalition for Choice (Arizona Republic 8/7/92). Goldwater so motivated pro-abortion Republicans at the convention, one reporter noted numerous "Barry is right" buttons worn by those seeking to scrap the pro-life plank (Washington Post 8/18/92).
Goldwater wrote that pro-life president George Bush is wrong as wrong can be. If an attempt is made to include his pro-life position in the platform, my prophecy is the convention will go down in a shambles, as will the election." While Clinton did win the election, mostly due to economic issues and ineffective campaigning by the Bush camp, the pro-life platform was in place for three previous presidential victories by the Republican Party. Crisp used the letter to "bolster" her group's pro-abortion position and the media seized upon Goldwater's statement and flashed it all over the press. (Arizona Republic 8/7/92).
After the election, Goldwater seemed to take pride in defeating the pro-life president and electing Bill Clinton, a staunch supporter of abortion. He commented that his stance, and the ensuing wrangling over the abortion issue at the national convention, hurt Bush. "I think that had a great bearing on Bush getting his a-- beat," Goldwater concluded (Arizona Republic / Houston Chronicle 11/7/92).
Yet the impetus for this national outrage had been in place for more than a year. In 1991, Goldwater joined the National Republican Coalition for Choice and was "named to its national advisory board" (U.S. News and World Report 5/27/91). Additionally, Pro-Choice America, a political action committee supporting pro-abortion Republicans, held a fundraising event on 10/9/91. Barry Goldwater was one of several Republicans serving as a member of the "invitation committee." (Pro-Choice America press release 10/3/91).
After marrying his second wife, Goldwater, and his family, took odd stands concerning campaigns in Arizona pitting pro-life candidates versus those who support abortion -- so odd that Goldwater would eventually betray his own party and support a Democrat over a Republican.
Jay Nenninger, in 1992, "blasted" Goldwater for his opposition to a statewide pro-life ballot measure -- Prop. 110 -- which would ban abortions except to save the mother's life (Arizona Republic 10/31/92). Not only did Goldwater oppose the pro-life initiative, he appeared in pro-abortion commercials urging its defeat (L.A. Times 12/9/92) and, although he "rarely attended" such events, Goldwater appeared at a fundraiser for the pro-abortion group working against it saying "I don't think [banning abortion] is something that should be in politics" (The Phoenix Gazette 10/1/92). The pro-life proposition later failed by almost a 2-1 margin at the polls in November.
Goldwater also "shocked" pro-life leaders and Republican officials when he endorsed Karan English, a pro-abortion Democrat, over pro-life GOP incumbent Doug Wead. Goldwater said Wead's stance on abortion and his Christianity were reasons for Goldwater's opposition. Goldwater stunned the Christian community with his remark, "I don't think God should be sold for money. And when [Christians] get into politics, I don't think that's good." (Arizona Republic 11/7/92).
English eventually won and analysts of both parties suggested Goldwater's last-week-before-the-election endorsement paved the way for Wead's loss. Jay Nenninger said in response: Arizonans "should quit holding Goldwater in high esteem ... He goes around criticizing Doug Wead and Proposition 110. Everyone is afraid to take him on. I think that has to end at this point" (Arizona Republic 10/31/92). Some GOP leaders even considered removing Goldwater's name from the state GOP headquarters at a state GOP committee meeting (L.A. Times 12/9/92).
In the 1994 Senate race between pro-life Rep. Jon Kyl and pro-abortion Rep. Sam Coppersmith Goldwater, to his credit, had been out front as the honorary chair of Kyl's campaign, holding fund-raisers for the candidate at his home (Phoenix Gazette, 6/19/94). Yet Coppersmith released a fund-raising letter signed by Goldwater's wife and daughter, Susan and Joanne, urging pro-abortion advocates to contribute to Coppersmith's campaign. The letter proclaimed that Coppersmith "stands out for his unwavering and longstanding leadership" in supporting abortion. The letter added: "Jon Kyl has supported a constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion." Joanne Goldwater said they were pledging their support to Coppersmith because they "know him and his record demonstrates support for abortion-rights issues (Phoenix Gazette, 6/19/94). Fortunately, Kyl beat Coppersmith in what eventually became a banner GOP year.
Summing up Goldwater, Eagle Forum's Phyllis Schlafly once said "Barry Goldwater had a great place in history. But the 1980s and 1990s are different." They truly are. Before then, Goldwater's conservatism included the most disadvantaged members of society.
In passing today, Goldwater leaves his mark as a champion of freedom and a defender of liberty. Now it is up to pro-life Republicans to advance the expanded notion of freedom Goldwater brought to the party, which included the unborn, and oppose the restrictive pro-abortion notion he left.
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Steven Ertelt is currently a staff member with the Elliott Institute. Ertelt also serves as co-Executive Director of Women and Children First and the moderator of the Pro-Life Infonet, a daily newsfeed of pro-life information. He can be reached at ertelt@prolife.org for comments or questions.
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