Barry Goldwater Quotations

If you don't mind smelling like peanut butter for two or three days, peanut butter is darn good shaving cream.

You've got to forget about this civilian. Whenever you drop bombs, you're going to hit civilians.

Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

Where is the politician who has not promised to fight to the death for lower taxes- and who has not proceeded to vote for the very spending projects that make tax cuts impossible?

Equality, rightly understood as our founding fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences; wrongly understood, as it has been so tragically in our time, it leads first to conformity and then to despotism.

I could have ended the war in a month. I could have made North Vietnam look like a mud puddle.

The income tax created more criminals than any other single act of government.

Hubert Humphrey talks so fast that listening to him is like trying to read Playboy magazine with your wife turning the pages.

Nixon was the most dishonest individual I have ever met in my life. He lied to his wife, his family, his friends, his colleagues in the Congress, lifetime members of his own political party, the American people and the world.

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

I won't say that the papers misquote me, but I sometimes wonder where Christianity would be today if some of those reporters had been Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

You don't need to be straight to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.

I think any man in business would be foolish to fool around with his secretary. If it's somebody else's secretary, fine.

It's a great country, where anybody can grow up to be president . . . except me.

I will offer a choice, not an echo.

When I'm not a politician, I'll be dead.

I think every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass.

To disagree, one doesn't have to be disagreeable.

You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight.

If everybody in this town connected with politics had to leave town because of chasing women and drinking, you would have no government.

I wouldn't trust Nixon from here to that phone.

The only summit meeting that can succeed is the one that does not take place.

American business has just forgotten the importance of selling.

The Trilateralist Commission is international...(and)...is intended to be the vehicle for multinational consolidation of the commercial and banking interests by seizing control of the political government of the United States. The Trilateralist Commission represents a skillful, coordinated effort to seize control and consolidate the four centers of power - political, monetary, intellectual, and ecclesiastical.

‎"I feel certain that Conservatism is through unless Conservatives can demonstrate and communicate the difference between being concerned with [the unemployed, the sick without medical care, human welfare, etc.] and believing that the federal government is the proper agent for their solution.

And here we encounter the seeds of government disaster and collapse - the kind that wrecked ancient Rome and every other civilization that allowed a sociopolitical monster called the welfare state to exist.

My mother took us to services at the Episcopal church. Yet she always said that God was not just inside the four walls of a house of worship, but everywhere - in the rising sun over Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, a splash of water along the nearby Salt or Verde rivers, or clouds driving over the Estrella Mountains, south of downtown. I've always thought of God in those terms.

Perserverance. . .that's been the story of my family.

We cannot allow the American flag to be shot at anywhere on earth if we are to retain our respect and prestige

Once upon a time our traditional goal in war and can anyone doubt that we are at war? - was victory. Once upon a time we were proud of our strength, our military power. Now we seem ashamed of it. Once upon a time the rest of the world looked to us for leadership. Now they look to us for a quick handout and a fence-straddling international posture.

I'm the most underdog underdog there is.

We are on the Colorado...that means something more to me than thoughts of electrical power or a harnessed river.

When white and black and brown and every other color decide they're going to live together as Christians, then and only then are we going to see an end to these troubles.

I have the unmitigated gall to think that I could lead men anywhere, business, politics or combat.

To my mind the single essential element on which all discoveries will be dependent is human freedom.

The best thing Clinton could do — I think I wrote him a letter about this, but I'm not sure — is to shut up. He has no discipline.

I think some highly secret government UFO investigations are going on that we don't know about--and probably never will unless the Air Force discloses them.

...this bill will require the creation of a Federal police force of mammoth proportions. It also bids fair to result in the development of an 'informer' psychology in great areas of our national life-neighbors spying on neighbors, workers spying on workers, business spying on businessmen-were those who would harass their fellow citizens for selfish and narrow purposes will have ample inducement to do so. These, the Federal police force an 'informer' psychology, are the hallmarks of the police state and landmarks in the destruction of a free society.

Government should stay the hell out of people's business.

There's no greater service to this country than the defense of its freedom.

Conservatism therefore looks upon the enhancement of man's spiritual nature as the primary concern of political philosophy. Liberals, on the other hand,— in the name of a concern for “human beings”— regard the satisfaction of economic wants as the dominant mission of society.

I certainly believe in aliens in space, and that they are indeed visiting our planet. They may not look like us, but I have very strong feelings that they have advanced beyond our mental capabilities.

The fellow has absolutely no principles."Money and gall" is all he has.

Politics [is] the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order.

Throughout history, government has proved to be the chief instrument for thwarting man's liberty.

Having spent 37 years of my life in the military as a reservist, and never having met a gay in all of that time, and never having even talked about it in all those years, I just thought, why the hell shouldn't they serve? They're American citizens. As long as they're not doing things that are harmful to anyone else... So I came out for it.

Small men, seeking great wealth or power, have too often and too long turned even the highest levels of public service into mere personal opportunity.

If the Conservative is less anxious than his Liberal brethren to increase Social Security ‘benefits,’ it is because he is more anxious than his Liberal brethren that people be free throughout their lives to spend their earnings when and as they see fit

I say further that for this great legislative body to ignore the Constitution and the fundamental concepts of our governmental system is to act in a manner which could ultimately destroy the freedom of all American citizens, including the freedoms of the very persons whose feelings and whose liberties are the major subject of this legislation.

Some programs have been theatrical masterpieces, but all we're seeing is the negative side of nuclear war.

I think the President ought to bring everybody that's in American uniform back because we're headed for war.

We have enough trouble with women without giving them M16 rifles.

I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws but to repeal them.

In your heart you know he's right.

I say that when you elect a president you want a man to manage the legitimate business of your government. The government that is big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take it away.

Women are hard enough to handle now without giving them a gun!

It is impossible to maintain freedom and order and justice without religious and moral sanctions.

I have characterized Nixon as a loner, a cold man with great self-confidence and a one-track mind centered on the advancement of Richard Nixon.

I thought of something my old coach at Staunton had often said: 'We win some, we lose some, and some get rained out; but we always suit up.'

Social and cultural change, however desirable, should not be effected by the engines of national power. Let us, through persuasion and education, seek to improve institutions we deem defective. But let us, in doing so, respect the orderly processes of the law. Any other course enthrones tyrants and dooms freedom.

One way we exercise political freedom is to vote for the candidate of our choice. Another way is to use our money to try to persuade other voters to make a similar choice - that is, to contribute to our candidate's campaign. If either of these freedoms is violated, the consequences are very grave not only for the individual voter and contributor, but for the society whose free political processes depend on a wide distribution of political power.

And if I should be accused of neglecting my constituents' interests, I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is liberty, and in that cause I am doing the very best I can.

[G]overnment can, instead of extending freedom, restrict freedom. And note ... that the 'can' quickly becomes 'will' the moment the holders of government power are left to their own devices. This is because of the corrupting influence of power, the natural tendency of men who possess some power to take unto themselves more power. The tendency leads eventually to the acquisition of all power - whether in the hands of one or many makes little difference to the freedom of those left on the outside.

Whether in families or in politics, a good observation: "One can disagree without being disagreeable."

Without the National Federation of Republican Women, there would be no Republican Party.

It is safe to say that the U.S. Congress is now run by paid staffers, not by people elected to do the job.

Trade unions infringe upon the property rights of company owners.

I found Mr. Carter's actions toward the Republic of China so incredible that they defy description by socially acceptable expletives. If December 7, 1941 was a "day of infamy" then December 15, 1978 ranks right up there in international betrayal...The pathetic thing about this whole mess, however, is that it is typical of this administration's conduct of foreign affairs, which could be kindly described as being riddled by ineptitude and hypocrisy.

The president, who finds so much to complain about in other areas of the world, apparently saw nothing wrong in recognizing a Communist regime that has killed more people in its short history of control over the teeming millions of that great country than any other collection of dictators or tyrants in the history of the world.

I fear Washington and centralized government more than I do Moscow.

I've played everything - baseball, football, basketball. I can still swim a mile a day. That's why I can't walk.

We now have a president who tries to save money by turning off lights in the White House, even as he heads toward a staggering addition to the national debt. "L.B.J." should stand for Light Bulb Johnson.

I understand Jacqueline Kennedy has redone the White House in eighteenth-century style. Why, then, I'd fit in perfectly.

The constitution is an instrument, above all, for LIMITING the functions of government.

Today neither of our two parties maintains a meaningful commitment to the principle of States' Rights. The 10th Amendment is not a 'general assumption' but a rule of law. States rights mean that states have a right to act or not to act, as they see fit, in areas reserved to them.

Throughout history civilian populations and political rulers have talked of peace. We have never been free of war. The soldier, whose profession is war, understands that peace must be enforced by superior military might. The certainty of defeat is the only effective deterrent we can use to maintain peace. Furthermore, we can be strong without being aggressive.

It's political Daddyism and it's as old as demagogues and despotism.

When fraternities are not allowed, Communism flourishes. Young men who are inexperienced but have faith are more useful than older, experienced men without faith. The fraternity system is a bastion of American strength.

Unlimited campaign spending eats at the heart of the democratic process.

Forced integration is just as wrong as forced segregation.

The great decisions of government cannot be dictated by the concerns of religious factions.... We have succeeded for 205 years in keeping the affairs of state separate from the uncompromising idealism of religious groups and we mustn't stop now. To retreat from that separation would violate the principles of conservatism and the values upon which the framers built this democratic republic.

Extremism in defense of Liberty is no vice

Any pilot can describe the mechanics of flying. What it can do for the spirit of man is beyond description.

Most Americans have no real understanding of the operation of the international money lenders. The accounts of the Federal Reserve System have never been audited. It operates outside the control of Congress and manipulates the credit of the United States

On Hillary Clinton, who was an ardent Goldwater supporter in 1964: 'If he'd let his wife run business, I think he'd be better off. ... I just like the way she acts. I've never met her, but I sent her a bag of chili, and she invited me to come to the White House some night and said she'd cook chili for me. Someday, maybe.'

My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them.

I made an effort to find out what was in the building at Wright Patterson Air Force Base where the information is stored that has been collected by the Air Force, and I was understandably denied this request. It is still classified above Top Secret.

We shall return to proven ways - not because they are old, but because they are true.

To insist on strength ... is not war-mongering. It is peace-mongering.

It is true that I was denied access to a facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, because I never got in. I can't tell you what was inside. We both know about the rumors concerning a captured UFO and crew members. I have never seen what I would call a UFO, but I have intelligent friends who have.

The conservative movement, to which I subscribe, has as one of its basic tenets the belief that government should stay out of people’s private lives. Government governs best when it governs least – and stays out of the impossible task of legislating morality. But legislating someone’s version of morality is exactly what we do by perpetuating discrimination against gays.

I think a current understanding about urban behavior tells us that it's important that people get out and be able to get away from the concrete jungles and the dense environment where they live for their own mental well-being. If they don't do this, the costs in human loss and human sickness will be far greater than what we would be expending for these kinds of releases and open spaces.

A woman has a right to an abortion. That's a decision that's up to the pregnant woman, not up to the pope or some do-gooders or the Religious Right.

Conservatism, we are told, is out-of-date. This charge is preposterous and we ought to boldly say so. The laws of God, and of nature, have no dateline. [...] These principles are derived from the nature of man, and from the truths that God has revealed about His creation. [...] To suggest that the Conservative philosophy is out of date is akin to saying that the Golden Rule, or the Ten Commandments or Aristotle 's Politics are out of date.

On religious issues there can be little or no compromise. 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 this Supreme Being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly.

The Conservative knows that to regard man as part of an undifferentiated mass is to consign him to ultimate slavery.

After one of his [Hubert Humphrey] long-winded harangues I suggested he had probably been vaccinated with a phonograph needle. He responded by saying that I would have been a great success in the movies working for Eighteenth Century-Fox.

I'd rather see a woman elected...They understand they can't spend more money than the old man brings home.

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 two hundred plus years, public policy debate has focused on political and economic issues, on which there can be compromise. . . .

I've always said I have nothing against a woman doing anything a man can do as long as she gets home in time to cook dinner.