The religious right is not conservative. They are extremist right-wing activists who hide underneath conservatism’s mantle as they promote their exclusionary sectarian political views falsely as being American at its core. Senator Barry Morris Goldwater, who is often referred to as “Mr. Conservative”, understood this, and spoke out against the religious right’s jacking of both Conservatism and The Republican Party.
It’s a wonderful feeling to be a conservative these days. When I ran for President 17 years ago I was told I was behind the times. Now everybody tells me I was ahead of my time. All I can say is that time certainly is an elusive companion.
But those reactions illustrate how far the ideological pendulum has swung in recent years. The American people have expressed their desire for a new course in our public policy in this country, a conservative course.
Being a conservative in America traditionally has meant that one holds a deep, abiding respect for the Constitution. We conservatives believe sincerely in the integrity of the Constitution. We treasure the freedoms that document protects.
We believe, as the founding fathers did, that we ”are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the prsuit of happiness.”
And for 205 years this nation, based on those principles, has endured. Through foreign wars and civil wars, through political scandals and economic disasters, through civil disorders and Presidential assassinations, our flag has flown high. Through it all we’ve survived every possible attack on our freedom.
But another force could succeed in dividing our country. The specter of single-issue religious groups is growing over our land. Issues Kept in Background
One of the great strengths of our political system always has been our tendency to keep religious issues in the background. 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.
Throughout our 200-plus years, public policy debate has focused on political and economic issues, on which there can be compromise. Madison saw this as the great paradox of our system: How do you control the factions without violating the people’s basic freedoms? And in a well-constructed representative Government like ours, Madison said, one of our greatest strengths is our ability to ”break and control the violence of faction.” Can any of us refute the wisdom of Madison and the other framers? Can anyone lo ok at the carnage in Iran, the bloodshed in Northern Ireland or th e bombs bursting in Lebanon and yet question the dangers of in jecting religious issues into the affairs of state?
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 his Supreme Being.
But, like any powerful weapon, the use of God’s name on one’s behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing in our land are not using their religioius clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their positions 100 percent.
In the past couple years, I have seen many news items that referred to the Moral Majority, prolife and other religious groups as ”the new right,” and the ”new conservatism.” Well, I have spent quite a number of years carrying the flag of the ”old conservatism.” And I can say with conviction that the religious issues of these groups have little or nothing to do with conservative or liberal politics.
The uncompromising position of these groups is a divisive element that could tear apart the very spirit of our representative system, if they gain sufficient strength.
As it is, they are diverting us away from the vital issues that our Government needs to address. Far too much of the time of members of Congress and officials in the Executive Branch is used up dealing with special-interest groups on issues like abortion, school busing, ERA, prayer in the schools and pornography. While these are important moral issues, they are secondary right now to our national security and economic survival.
I must make it clear that I don’t condemn these groups for what they believe. I happen to share many of the values emphasized by these organizations.
I’m frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in ”A,” ”B,” ”C” and ”D.” Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me?
And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate.
I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of ”conservatism.”
Senator Barry Morris Goldwater, Congressional Daily Record, September 16, 1981
