Wow! eBook
A Glorious Disaster: Barry Goldwater's Presidential Campaign and the Origins of the Conservative Movement
Author(s): J. William Middendorf II (Author)
- Publisher: Basic Books
- Publication Date: 23 Oct. 2006
- Language: English
- Print length: 336 pages
- ISBN-10: 0465045731
- ISBN-13: 9780465045730
Book Description
The insider’s account that sets the record straight about the election that gave birth to modern conservatism in America. In the USA, the 1964 presidential campaign lives on in conservative circles as a kind of origin myth for the modern conservative movement. Even through their preferred (and now revered) candidate lost to Lyndon B Johnson by a landslide, the presidential run by Barry Goldwater was one of the major political turning points of the twentieth century. Without Goldwater to pave the way – and as importantly, without the strategic and political infrastructure created by the “Draft Goldwater” movement that preceded it – there likely would have been no Reagan or Bush administrations, and possibly no Nixon administration either. The policy positions and electoral strategies of the Goldwater campaign have since become standard tenets of Republican politics. The importance of the Goldwater campaign is not so much in the immediate electoral results but in the long-term consequences. It gave rise to the most important and energetic political movement of the past generation. As George Will put it, “Goldwater won in 1964, but they didn’t count the votes until 1980.” Coming at a time when many fear that the conservative movement has lost its way and needs to be reminded of its roots, “A Glorious Disaster” will be the first book to describe the movement’s birth from the viewpoint of one of its key participants.
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Following his work on the Goldwater campaign and a stint as treasurer of the Republican National Committee, William Middendorf served in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations as Secretary of the Navy, Ambassador to the Netherlands, US Representative to the Organization of American States, and US Representative to the European Community. He is a founding member of the American Conservative Union and a board member of the Heritage Foundation
