WI Voting rights act 1964 and Civil Rights Act 1965

[Derek Jackson]

In otl did Goldwater support the Voting Rights Act?

He opposed the Civil Rights Act on grounds of States rights. He may not have been all that racist. However he ended up getting backing from the racist South.

What would have happened?

 

[GeographyDude]

. . . However he ended up getting backing from the racist South. . .

Okay, from this book . . .

Southern Cultures: The Politics Issue

In the Fall 2012 issue of Southern Cultures…Guest Editor Ferrel Guillory's special election-year Politics issue features:Five Big Things You Need to Know About the South for this ElectionThe Past, Present, and Future of Southern PoliticsJack Bass on Citizens United, Strom Thurmond, the Southern...

books.google.com

“With perhaps one exception, Republican Gerald Ford in 1976, every GOP presidential nominee since Goldwater has taken a conservative position on racial issues, . . . ”

I think Goldwater being perceived as anti-civil rights has had a big effect on how American politics played out.

And I compliment you on what’s a very important potential branch point — the Voting Rights Act coming first.

 

[marktaha]

Goldwater not.in Senate in 1965 but I think he'd have voted for it.

 

[bguy]

In otl did Goldwater support the Voting Rights Act?

In The Conscience of the Conservative (ghost written for Goldwater but published under his name so presumably an accurate statement of his beliefs), "Goldwater" says that he supports voting rights legislation, so I believe he would support the Voting Rights Act.

He opposed the Civil Rights Act on grounds of States rights. He may not have been all that racist. However he ended up getting backing from the racist South.

What would have happened?

Goldwater still gets destroyed in the election. (The booming economy, the country not wanting a third president in three years, his statements on farm price supports and the TVA, and the perception that he is trigger happy with nuclear weapons and wants to get rid of social security all pretty much guarantee him a landslide loss.) However, with Goldwater supporting voting rights legislation, the Rockefeller Republicans will probably be somewhat more willing to support his campaign. (Maybe William Scranton is actually willing to be Goldwater's veep in such a scenario.) With the Republicans somewhat more unified going into the election and with them avoiding the stink of being the anti-civil rights party they probably do a little better in some of the non-presidential races that year, so Charles Percy probably wins the Illinois gubernatorial election (which could make him a plausible presidential candidate in 1968), and Paul Laxalt and Robert Taft Jr. likely win their senate races which could set them up for a greater role down the road as well. (I don't know enough about Taft to know if he's likely to amount to anything if he gets into the senate six years earlier than he did IOTL, but Laxalt with the extra seasoning from being elected to the senate in 1964 could easily be a plausible vice presidential candidate for a moderate Republican presidential candidate who needs to appeal to the conservative wing of the party in almost any election from 1968 through 1988.)