Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater (2006)

An Old School Conservative

This is a surprising film. I did not know much about Barry Goldwater, I am ashamed to say, beyond his reputation as an ultra-conservative. He was, but in the sense of a true conservative.

Goldwater was for strong national defense and was an ardent anti-Communist. He was also Pro-Choice and definitley not a friend of the Religious Right. Goldwater's main political guiding logic was that government should not meddle in people's lives any more than is necessary.

Barry was against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He thought it amounted to too much government intrusion. He criticised the Religious Right on numerous occassions and said religion had not place in politics, and that crossing that line resulted, again, in too much government intrusion.

Goldwater also was close friends with JFK. They were often opponents, on opposite sides of political issues. But they still admired each other greatly and socialized often.

Seeing this film left me with a great admiration for Barry Goldwater. In these days of polarized partisan politics and wedge issues, I wish we had someone in DC with Barry Goldwater's strength of character to focus on the real issues and the courage to reach across the aisle for true and meaningful dialogue. July 29, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...