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Quote of the day
Hot Air » Top Picks — ... it is the lesson that conservatives need most to take to heart today… True, the liberal triumph of 1964 set in motion the train of disasters that laid liberalism low in the 1980s. But those disasters followed from choices and decisions that liberals made – not from some multiyear conservative grand strategy for success in 1980. It was not Goldwater who made Reagan possible. It was Carter. Had Carter governed more successfully, the Goldwater disaster would have been just a disaster, with no silver lining . And there was nothing about the Goldwater disaster that made the Carter ...

The Goldwater Mirage
The Moderate Voice — David Frum has an excellent essay on the “Goldwater Myth.” He explains the myth this way: In 1964, after years of watered down politics, Republicans turned to a true conservative, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. Yes, Goldwater lost badly. But in losing, he bequeathed conservatives a national organization – and a new champion, Ronald Reagan. Goldwater’s defeat opened the way to Reagan’s ultimate triumph and the conservative ascendancy of the 1980s and 1990s. This (the myth continues) is the history we need to repeat. If we can just find ...

The stupid VS the insane
Newshoggers.com — ... schism below.  David Frum's attack on the current CPAC conservatives is an example of another schism.  The Rush Limbaugh CPAC crowd, the stupid, and the neocons, more intellectual perhaps but insane. ...

Matt Lewis: The Goldwater Myth?
Townhall.com Blog's TownHall Blog — [image] Forty-five years later, an interesting historical debate is taking place regarding whether or not Barry Goldwater's 1964 campaign helped -- or hurt -- the conservative cause. Of course, most conservatives would argue that the '64 campaign was vital, inasmuch as it clearly defined conservatism -- and introduced America to Ronald Reagan . But ...

Dated Paul, Married Sanford?
Ross Douthat — ... ended up representing the party's moderate wing. It could be a Goldwater-Rockefeller race for the new millenium - potentially disastrous for the party, sure, but potentially fruitful as well. ...

Hayward: Rethinking the Reagan Mystique
Articles on National Review Online — ... framework for governmental policy at the national level. Today, FDR and the New Deal are back with a vengeance, of course: Judging from his books, Obama clearly considers FDR a model and inspiration. In other words, conservatism finds itself in a place roughly analogous to liberalism s 25 years ago. Reaganism — in a modified or even high-octane form — might make a comeback, too. We must also rightly judge the role of chance and contingency in human affairs and political fortunes. Brother Frum writes : It was not Goldwater who made Reagan possible. It was Carter. Had Carter ...