96 Quotes by Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater was an influential American politician and conservative icon who played a significant role in shaping the modern conservative movement in the United States. Born in 1909, Goldwater served as a United States Senator from Arizona and was the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election.
Known for his staunch conservative principles and advocacy for limited government, Goldwater's campaign and ideas laid the groundwork for the rise of the conservative movement in subsequent years. His book, "The Conscience of a Conservative," became a seminal work for conservatives, outlining his beliefs in individual freedom, free markets, and limited government intervention. While Goldwater's presidential bid was unsuccessful, his candidacy and his influence on conservative ideology set the stage for the Republican Party's future direction.
Beyond politics, Goldwater was known for his straightforwardness, integrity, and commitment to his principles. Barry Goldwater's impact on American politics is far-reaching, and his dedication to conservative values continues to shape political discourse in the United States.
Barry Goldwater Quotes
Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed. (Meaning)
Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.
The oldest philosophy in the world is conservatism, and I go clear back to the first Greeks. ... When you say 'radical right' today, I think of these moneymaking ventures by fellows like Pat Robertson and others who are trying to take the Republican Party away from the Republican Party, and make a religious organization out of it. If that ever happens, kiss politics goodbye.
Religious factions will go on imposing their will on others unless the decent people connected to them recognize that religion has no place in public policy. They must learn to make their views known without trying to make their views the only alternatives.
Small men, seeking great wealth or power, have too often and too long turned even the highest levels of public service into mere personal opportunity.
The conservative movement, to which I subscribe, has as one of its basic tenets the belief that government should stay out of people’s private lives. Government governs best when it governs least – and stays out of the impossible task of legislating morality. But legislating someone’s version of morality is exactly what we do by perpetuating discrimination against gays.
While I am a great believer in the free enterprise system and all that it entails, I am an even stronger believer in the right of our people to live in a clean and pollution-free environment.
Everyone knows that gays have served honorably in the military since at least the time of Julius Caesar.
Hubert Humphrey talks so fast that listening to him is like trying to read Playboy magazine with your wife turning the pages.
A woman has a right to an abortion. That's a decision that's up to the pregnant woman, not up to the pope or some do-gooders or the Religious Right.
You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight.
Sex and politics are a lot alike. You don't have to be good at them to enjoy them.
Equality, rightly understood as our founding fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences; wrongly understood, as it has been so tragically in our time, it leads first to conformity and then to despotism.
Nixon was the most dishonest individual I have ever met in my life. He lied to his wife, his family, his friends, his colleagues in the Congress, lifetime members of his own political party, the American people and the world.
The Republicans have a positive talent for self-destruction.
By maintaining the separation of church and state, the United States has avoided the intolerance which has so divided the rest of the world with religious wars.
I've always said I have nothing against a woman doing anything a man can do as long as she gets home in time to cook dinner.
The effect of Welfarism on freedom will be felt later on - after its beneficiaries have become its victims, after dependence on government has turned into bondage and it is too late to unlock the jail.
Can any of us refute the wisdom of Madison and the other framers? Can anyone look at the carnage in Iran, the bloodshed in Northern Ireland or the bombs bursting in Lebanon and yet question the dangers of injecting religious issues into the affairs of state?
None of us here in Washington knows all or even half of the answers ... If you love your country, don't depend on handouts from Washington for your information. If you cherish your freedom, don't leave it all up to big government.
Once upon a time our traditional goal in war and can anyone doubt that we are at war? - was victory. Once upon a time we were proud of our strength, our military power. Now we seem ashamed of it. Once upon a time the rest of the world looked to us for leadership. Now they look to us for a quick handout and a fence-straddling international posture.
On religious issues there can be little or no compromise. There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this Supreme Being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly.
Where is the politician who has not promised to fight to the death for lower taxes- and who has not proceeded to vote for the very spending projects that make tax cuts impossible?
The big thing is to make this country - quit discriminating against people just because they're gay. You don't have to agree with it, but they have a constitutional right to be gay. They're American citizens.
History has to judge every man who served. I don't know how they're going to treat me. I may be the worst S.O.B. that ever came down the pike. But I won't lose any sleep over it. I just like to be remembered as an honest person who tried.
The fellow has absolutely no principles."Money and gall" is all he has.
We Americans understand freedom; we have earned it, we have lived for it, and we have died for it. This nation and its people are freedom's models in a searching world. We can be freedom's missionaries in a doubting world. The genius of the American system is that through freedom we have created extraordinary results from plain old ordinary people.
I'd rather see a woman elected...They understand they can't spend more money than the old man brings home.
At this sunset hour, the canyon walls are indescribably beautiful and I fear the magic of photography can never record what I see now. The tall spires near the canyon's top and the walls of the canyon up there look as if God had reached out and swiped a brush of golden paint across them, gilding these rocks in the bright glow of the setting sun.
Extremism in defense of Liberty is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.
The Conservative knows that to regard man as part of an undifferentiated mass is to consign him to ultimate slavery.
The time has come to recognize the United Nations for the anti-American, anti-freedom organization that it has become. The time has come for us to cut off all financial help, withdraw as a member, and ask the United Nations to find headquarters location outside the United States that is
Conservatism, we are told, is out-of-date. This charge is preposterous and we ought to boldly say so. The laws of God, and of nature, have no dateline. These principles are derived from the nature of man, and from the truths that God has revealed about His creation. To suggest that the Conservative philosophy is out of date is akin to saying that the Golden Rule, or the Ten Commandments or Aristotle's Politics are out of date.
The income tax created more criminals than any other single act of government.
There's no greater service to this country than the defense of its freedom.
We cannot allow the American flag to be shot at anywhere on earth if we are to retain our respect and prestige
The constitution is an instrument, above all, for LIMITING the functions of government.
Throughout history, government has proved to be the chief instrument for thwarting man's liberty.
The great decisions of government cannot be dictated by the concerns of religious factions. We have succeeded for 205 years in keeping the affairs of state separate from the uncompromising idealism of religious groups and we mustn't stop now. To retreat from that separation would violate the principles of conservatism and the values upon which the framers built this democratic republic.
Government should stay the hell out of people's business.
We shall return to proven ways - not because they are old, but because they are true.
Throughout history civilian populations and political rulers have talked of peace. We have never been free of war. The soldier, whose profession is war, understands that peace must be enforced by superior military might. The certainty of defeat is the only effective deterrent we can use to maintain peace. Furthermore, we can be strong without being aggressive.
I certainly believe in aliens in space, and that they are indeed visiting our planet. They may not look like us, but I have very strong feelings that they have advanced beyond our mental capabilities.
If you don't mind smelling like peanut butter for two or three days, peanut butter is darn good shaving cream.
Most Americans have no real understanding of the operation of the international money lenders. The accounts of the Federal Reserve System have never been audited. It operates outside the control of Congress and manipulates the credit of the United States.
"I feel certain that Conservatism is through unless Conservatives can demonstrate and communicate the difference between being concerned with [the unemployed, the sick without medical care, human welfare, etc.] and believing that the federal government is the proper agent for their solution.
Unlimited campaign spending eats at the heart of the democratic process.
Any pilot can describe the mechanics of flying. What it can do for the spirit of man is beyond description.
A man from the west will fight over three things: water, women and gold, and usually in that order.
Social and cultural change, however desirable, should not be effected by the engines of national power. Let us, through persuasion and education, seek to improve institutions we deem defective. But let us, in doing so, respect the orderly processes of the law. Any other course enthrones tyrants and dooms freedom.
To insist on strength ... is not war-mongering. It is peace-mongering.
Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order.
We have enough trouble with women without giving them M16 rifles.
When white and black and brown and every other color decide they're going to live together as Christians, then and only then are we going to see an end to these troubles.
I think the President ought to bring everybody that's in American uniform back because we're headed for war.
Well, once you've been in the Canyon and once you've sort of fallen in love with it, it never ends...it's always been a fascinating place to me, in fact I've often said that if I ever had a mistress it would be the Grand Canyon.
To disagree, one doesn't have to be disagreeable.
I think every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass.
And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents' "interests," I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can.
Today neither of our two parties maintains a meaningful commitment to the principle of States' Rights. The 10th Amendment is not a 'general assumption' but a rule of law. States rights mean that states have a right to act or not to act, as they see fit, in areas reserved to them.
One way we exercise political freedom is to vote for the candidate of our choice. Another way is to use our money to try to persuade other voters to make a similar choice - that is, to contribute to our candidate's campaign. If either of these freedoms is violated, the consequences are very grave not only for the individual voter and contributor, but for the society whose free political processes depend on a wide distribution of political power.
The president, who finds so much to complain about in other areas of the world, apparently saw nothing wrong in recognizing a Communist regime that has killed more people in its short history of control over the teeming millions of that great country than any other collection of dictators or tyrants in the history of the world.
The only summit meeting that can succeed is one that does not take place.
I say further that for this great legislative body to ignore the Constitution and the fundamental concepts of our governmental system is to act in a manner which could ultimately destroy the freedom of all American citizens, including the freedoms of the very persons whose feelings and whose liberties are the major subject of this legislation.
It is safe to say that the U.S. Congress is now run by paid staffers, not by people elected to do the job.
I could have ended the war in a month. I could have made North Vietnam look like a mud puddle.
I made an effort to find out what was in the building at Wright Patterson Air Force Base where the information is stored that has been collected by the Air Force, and I was understandably denied this request. It is still classified above Top Secret.
Without the National Federation of Republican Women, there would be no Republican Party.
I have characterized Nixon as a loner, a cold man with great self-confidence and a one-track mind centered on the advancement of Richard Nixon.
It is true that I was denied access to a facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, because I never got in. I can't tell you what was inside. We both know about the rumors concerning a captured UFO and crew members. I have never seen what I would call a UFO, but I have intelligent friends who have.
You've got to forget about this civilian. Whenever you drop bombs, you're going to hit civilians.
When fraternities are not allowed, Communism flourishes. Young men who are inexperienced but have faith are more useful than older, experienced men without faith. The fraternity system is a bastion of American strength.
I say that when you elect a president you want a man to manage the legitimate business of your government. The government that is big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take it away.
After one of his [Hubert Humphrey] long-winded harangues I suggested he had probably been vaccinated with a phonograph needle. He responded by saying that I would have been a great success in the movies working for Eighteenth Century-Fox.
Forced integration is just as wrong as forced segregation.
And here we encounter the seeds of government disaster and collapse - the kind that wrecked ancient Rome and every other civilization that allowed a sociopolitical monster called the welfare state to exist.
Conservatism therefore looks upon the enhancement of man's spiritual nature as the primary concern of political philosophy. Liberals, on the other hand,— in the name of a concern for “human beings”— regard the satisfaction of economic wants as the dominant mission of society.
If everybody in this town connected with politics had to leave town because of chasing women and drinking, you would have no government.
I won't say that the papers misquote me, but I sometimes wonder where Christianity would be today if some of those reporters had been Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Whether in families or in politics, a good observation: "One can disagree without being disagreeable."
It is impossible to maintain freedom and order and justice without religious and moral sanctions.
I will offer a choice, not an echo.
You don't need to be straight to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.
It's political Daddyism and it's as old as demagogues and despotism.
Women are hard enough to handle now without giving them a gun!
If the Conservative is less anxious than his Liberal brethren to increase Social Security ‘benefits,’ it is because he is more anxious than his Liberal brethren that people be free throughout their lives to spend their earnings when and as they see fit
When I'm not a politician, I'll be dead.
American business has just forgotten the importance of selling.
To my mind the single essential element on which all discoveries will be dependent is human freedom.
My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them.
It's a great country, where anybody can grow up to be president . . . except me.
The best thing Clinton could do — I think I wrote him a letter about this, but I'm not sure — is to shut up. Every time I turn that radio on, there's Clinton, making a speech. And he makes speeches on a subject he doesn't know anything about. He has no discipline.
We now have a president who tries to save money by turning off lights in the White House, even as he heads toward a staggering addition to the national debt. "L.B.J." should stand for Light Bulb Johnson.
We are on the Colorado — that means something more to me than electric power or a harnessed river.
Trade unions infringe upon the property rights of company owners.
Some programs have been theatrical masterpieces, but all we're seeing is the negative side of nuclear war.
― Barry Goldwater Quotes
Barry Goldwater (Politician) Life Highlights
- Barry Morris Goldwater was born on January 2, 1909, in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
- He was an American politician and businessman.
- Goldwater was a member of the Republican Party and served as a United States Senator from Arizona.
- He was a key figure in the conservative movement and is often considered one of the founding fathers of modern American conservatism.
- In 1964, Barry Goldwater won the Republican nomination for the presidential election.
- His campaign and platform were based on limited government, individual freedom, and a strong anti-communist stance.
- Goldwater's campaign faced a significant defeat in the general election against Democratic candidate Lyndon B. Johnson.
- Despite losing the election, Goldwater's candidacy energized the conservative movement and laid the groundwork for future conservative leaders.
- He continued to serve in the Senate until his retirement in 1987.
- Goldwater was known for his straightforward and often controversial statements, earning him the nickname "Mr. Conservative."
- He wrote several books, including "The Conscience of a Conservative," which became a significant work in conservative political thought.
- Barry Goldwater was a strong advocate for individual rights, free markets, and a strong national defense.
- He played a crucial role in shaping the modern conservative movement in the United States.
- Goldwater's influence extended beyond his political career, as he continued to be an influential figure in conservative circles until his passing on May 29, 1998.
* The editor of this curated page made every effort to maintain information accuracy, including any sayings, quotes, facts, dates, or key life events.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
