Barry Goldwater's Granddaughter Slams McCain, Endorses Obama
John McCain has long claimed conservative and one-time presidential candidate (he lost to LBJ in 1964) Barry Goldwater as one of his idols. Turns out that Goldwater's Arizona-dwelling grandchildren don't care much for McCain/Palin, or the current state of the GOP:
Being Barry Goldwater's granddaughter and living in Arizona, one would assume that I would be voting for our state's senator, John McCain. I am still struck by certain 'dyed in the wool' Republicans who are on the fence this election, as it seems like a no-brainer to me.
Myself, along with my siblings and a few cousins, will not be supporting the Republican presidential candidates this year. We believe strongly in what our grandfather stood for: honesty, integrity, and personal freedom, free from political maneuvering and fear tactics. I learned a lot about my grandfather while producing the documentary, Mr. Conservative Goldwater on Goldwater. Our generation of Goldwaters expects government to provide for constitutional protections. We reject the constant intrusion into our personal lives, along with other crucial policy issues of the McCain/Palin ticket.
My grandfather (Paka) would never suggest denying a woman's right to choose. My grandmother co-founded Planned Parenthood in Arizona in the 1930's, a cause my grandfather supported. I'm not sure about how he would feel about marriage rights based on same-sex orientation. I think he would feel that love and respect for ones privacy is what matters most and not the intolerance and poor judgment displayed by McCain over the years. Paka respected our civil liberties and passed on the message that that we should conduct our lives standing up for the basic freedoms we hold so dear.
CC Goldwater goes on for a few more paragraphs and it's well worth reading the entire article here.





In the early '90s I read an interview in which Goldwater emphasized his support for the rights of gays to serve in the military. From what I read there, I can't claim 100% certainty, but I think it's fairly likely that he would support same-sex marriage (or at least the rights of the states to decide).
October 23, 2008 12:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Someone sent this to me in my email this morning. This one's gotta hurt McCain on a personal pride sort of level.
October 23, 2008 1:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
>
Do you think he has any of that left? Personal pride, I mean.
October 23, 2008 1:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
I do not think McCain has any pride left. When he concedes on November 4 he should just go ahead and resign from the Senate as well. I don't see how he's going to be able to show his face back there ever again. Cindy can just get him a condo in Vegas and he can gamble away the rest of his life.
October 23, 2008 9:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Schadenfreude, schadenfreude - I am resisting mightily the temptation to indulge in the oh so delicious fruit. But, the resentment that this man must feel towards Palin for what I'm sure he perceives as her role in robbing him of his carefully manufactured image through the course of this campaign - imagine the tantrums he's throwing behind closed doors. Of course, what he has made of this campaign is entirely his own doing.
October 23, 2008 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh do indulge, Carol!
Still and all, you have to appreciated that his granddaughter was able to get in a plug for her documentary in her letter. ;-)
October 23, 2008 2:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
The documentary is worth seeing if you haven't already . . .
**waits for 'how could you watch that crap' comments**
October 23, 2008 2:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
I saw it when it came out on HBO. It was okay... not at the level of THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, but it's what you'd expect for his granddaughter to be involved.
The most significant point of the doc, however, is also in her letter: the conservative movement in the GOP has lost its way. That alone makes it worth watching.
I think this resurgence in Barry Goldwater is a desire to have some "heros" in the GOP -- which, except for Reagan, are very lacking.
October 23, 2008 2:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm waiting for McCain to throw a tantrum about her kids - I don't think he's too much of a family man, especially around the younger ones. They must really irritate him.
October 23, 2008 9:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Myself, along with my siblings and a few cousins, will not be supporting . . .
grrrr . . .
October 23, 2008 3:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you read the original article, she also misuses apostrophes. But hey, it's much better than misusing the trust of the American people.
October 23, 2008 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Being Barry Goldwater's granddaughter and living in Arizona, one would assume...
You'd think her grandfather would have taught her not to appear in public with her participles dangling, out where everyone can see them.
October 24, 2008 1:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
What? She's no longer backing Goldwater/Miller '08?
October 23, 2008 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Stephanie Miller would undoubtedly be the funniest VP of all time!
October 23, 2008 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
**If you think I'd let Barry Goldwater's granddaughter marry my daughter, you must think I'm crazy!**
October 23, 2008 4:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Barry Goldwater was a nutjob but not a walking public joke.
October 23, 2008 6:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's another Goldwater granddaughter in Georgia voting for Obama.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/10/21/barry_goldwaters_granddaughter.html
October 23, 2008 6:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
I got this a few months back about McCain, Goldwater, Udall, and Arizona. McCain is a carpetbagger no need to explain further.
Postmodern John McCain: the presidential candidate some Arizonans know — and loathe
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/content/printVersion/848709
October 24, 2008 7:02 AM | Reply | Permalink