The Political Legacies of Barry Goldwater and George Mcgovern the Political Legacies of Barry Goldwater and George Mcgovern

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The Political Legacies of Barry Goldwater and George McGovern The Political Legacies of Barry Goldwater and George McGovern

Shifting Party Paradigms

Jeffrey J. Volle THE POLITICAL LEGACIES OF BARRY GOLDWATER AND GEORGE McGOVERN Copyright © Jeffrey J. Volle, 2010. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edtion 2010 978-0-230-10003-9 All rights reserved. The Personal and Political Papers of Barry M. Goldwater, Arizona Historical Foundation. The George McGovern Collection, University Archives and Special Collections, Dakota Wesleyan University. File PEG 90, the George S. McGovern Collection, McGovern Library and Archives, Dakota Wesleyan University. (Photograph of Strom Thurmond, Edmund Muskie, Bob Dole, Barry Goldwater, George McGovern, and John Sparkman.) First published in 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-28621-8 ISBN 978-0-230-11401-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230114012 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Volle, Jeffrey J. The political legacies of Barry Goldwater and George McGovern : shifting party paradigms / Jeffrey J. Volle. p. cm. 1. United States—Politics and government—1945–1989. 2. United States—Politics and government—1989– 3. Presidential candidates— United States—History—20th century. 4. Goldwater, Barry M. (Barry Morris), 1909–1998—Influence. 5. McGovern, George S. (George Stanley), 1922– —Influence. 6. Conservatism—United States—History—20th century. 7. Liberalism—United States—History—20th century. I. Title. E839.5.V65 2010 973.92—dc22 2010007922 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: October 2010 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To my wife Peggy and sons Aaron and Brendan. To my Mom for all her love and support. To my late Dad who I know is looking down with pride. Also to my sisters Sue and Steph and brother Steve. And to Senator Barry Goldwater and Senator George McGovern and their millions of supporters. —Always feel proud! CONTENTS

List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1 Part I Barry M. Goldwater One Change on the Horizon, 1960–64 7 Two The Campaign for President of the United States, 1964 29 Three The Beat Goes On, 1965–76 51 Four The Torch Has Been Passed, 1976–80 71 Five Redemption and the Election of Ronald Reagan 87 Six The End of a Long Journey for Mr. Conservative 99 Seven Conclusions 113 Part II George S. McGovern Eight The Most Decent Man in the Senate, 1963–66 119 Nine Call to Duty, 1967–68 139 Ten The Reformer, 1969–71 157 Eleven The Campaign for President of the United States, 1972 175 Twelve Victory and Defeat, 1973–80 193 viii Contents Thirteen Redemption and the Election of Bill Clinton 213 Fourteen Conclusions 231

Notes 235 Bibliography 247 Index 249 ILLUSTRATIONS

1.1 Attorney General Robert Kennedy Memorandum on Reuther brothers 16 2.1 The 1964 Republican Party/Goldwater pamphlet on Vietnam 44 2.2 The debate on Vietnam that never took place between President Lyndon Johnson and Senator Barry Goldwater during the 1964 presidential race 45 2.3 The 1964 presidential race showing counties won by Johnson and Goldwater (in comparison to the 1968 race won by Republican Richard Nixon) 46 2.4 The 1968 presidential race showing counties won by Republican Richard Nixon, Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey, and third party candidate George Wallace 47 6.1 On the steps of the Capitol—senators representing the Left, Center, and Right: Strom Thurmond R-SC, Edmund Muskie D-ME, Bob Dole R-KS, Barry Goldwater R-AZ, George McGovern D-SD, and John Sparkman D-Ala 112 7.1 Political campaign buttons of Senator Barry Goldwater and Senator George McGovern—1964 and 1972 116 11.1 The 1972 presidential map showing counties won by Nixon and McGovern as compared to the 1976 presidential race between Carter and Ford 191 11.2 The 1976 presidential race with Republican Gerald R. Ford and Democrat James E. Carter 192 12.1 The 1980 reelection campaign handout for Senator McGovern (Front side) 211 12.2 The 1980 reelection campaign handout for Senator McGovern. This would be McGovern’s last senate campaign to represent South Dakota 212 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank Senator George McGovern for his time and willing- ness to help out this first-time author. His class and dignity are an example for not only all politicians to follow, but for us as citizens as well. Farideh Koohi-Kamali, editorial director at Palgrave Macmillan, for seeing something of value in my manuscript and editorial assistant Robyn Curtis for all her knowledge and support in helping a first-time author. Linda Whitaker and Susan Irwin at the Arizona Historical Foundation for all of their assistance in finding the materials I requested on Senator Goldwater. The first section of the book would not have been possible without them. Danelle Orange and Laurie Langland at the Dakota Wesleyan University—McGovern Library for all their professionalism and won- derful assistance! Dr. Stephen Brooks at the University of Akron Political Science Department for all his mentoring during my graduate studies and since with guidance writing this book. Dr. Donald Simmons at the Dakota Wesleyan University for assisting me in contacting Senator McGovern. The staff at Seeley G. Mudd Library—the University of Princeton. Everyone involved with my visit was very kind and helpful in order that I could review the donated McGovern material. Margaret Schlankey and Ann Serrano along with the staff at the Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin. Whitney Nichols at the RNC for her constant follow-up to my emails throughout the fall of 2009. Kevin Slodic for his assistance in formatting the photographs and computer support. And a very special thank you to my friends and neighbor growing up, the Grendell family, who inspired me at a young age to enjoy read- ing about history and learning about the presidents.