Victory Over Communism

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As the five-term Senator from Arizona, Barry Goldwater offered one of the leading solutions to the Cold War that was endorsed by Capitol Hill. He argued that the only way to effectively deal with communism was to totally demolish it. In stark contrast to Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright, Goldwater did not find the containment policy to be viable and thought co-existence with communism was unacceptable. He adamantly rejected the “mutual accommodation” strategy peddled by the Democrats and instead, took an all-or-nothing stance.

When Goldwater vied for the presidency in 1964, his strong views on the Cold War bled into his campaign. In fact, “Victory Over Communism” was one of many slogans crafted and advertised by his team. Goldwater, however, was soundly beat by incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson. After his failed campaign, he went on to serve another two decades in the Senate before leaving Congress for good in 1987.