Barry Goldwater explains his vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Firing Line (1966)

Barry Goldwater explains his vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on constitutional grounds - Firing Line with William F. Buckley (1966)

[gschadow]

Why is it cutting off JUST when he is about to give his 2 reasons??? WTF!

[rainer]

What really sucks about the 1964 Civil Rights Act is that nobody predicted how corporations would find loopholes in it to intentionally hire people who otherwise wouldn't be employed because they don't speak English, but it's exploitation because a lot of them work for very little. Or the language barrier causes them to be inefficient in having tasks communicated to some properly.

[iiwatcher]

You cut it off at the most important part. Good going.

[DaveDaShrubber]

So ... did William Fulbright, Al Gore Sr. or Robert Byrd ever explain why THEY voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

[tommychips]

So in his own words. Barry in the past has voted for other civil rights bill. So he was always for Civil Rights. In fact he said that for 12 years he voted on other Civil Rights Bills so he was for Civil Rights all ways.History has made him a complete bad guy.

[oldebookandoddshop]

His answer is that he believed the public accommodation portion of the Civil rights bill was unconstitutional. That it violated the 1st amendment, freedom of speech and freedom of association.

[marcparella]

Come to San Francisco where I live. Go to one of the diners in the Tenderloin district and you will see a sign that says: "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone". Not that is what Barry Goldwater fought for: the right, not preserving the culture of racism which he abhorred.

Let me tell you that you will see plenty of racism in accommodations right here in San Francisco in 2012, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 hasn't done a damn thing to cure it.

[FM-dmxj]

Please dont smear goldwaters name to fit your narrative, he was a strong supporter of black Americans' civil rights, voting in favor of the 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights Acts and even helped organize Arizona's NAACP branch-He was, in fact, a lifelong opponent of racial discrimination. At the beginning of his political career, as a city councilman, he had led the fight to end segregation in the Phoenix public schools; his first staff assistant when he went to the Senate.

[JoeTheXC]

Why did you cut him off? Thumbs down.

[rapfan]

@marcparella he also was a dues paying member of the NAACP, later joined the Urban League, and led efforts to desegregate businesses in Arizona... plus I think he hired a black woman as part of his congressional staff, years before other members of Congress did

[frankdsouza]

The likes of Cruz and Hawley would call Goldwater "a dangerous liberal".

[ButterCookie]

As a black political science student, I understand and agree with Goldwater:  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 WAS unconstitutional, in that it surrendered the freedom of association and private property rights.

[marcparella]

I can tell you one thing about this thread: no one is talking about Al Gore Sr. or William Fulbright's No Vote. I wonder why?

[wafflezz]

He is a principled man. I can understand why he opposed the civil rights act, as it did overstep previous federal boundaries. I myself would have voted for the Civil rights act as I believe it was necessary to repeal institutionalized racism but it is NOT the holy grail of all bills like a lot of people try to believe. If it was 100% effective there would be no such thing as racism but that obviously doesn't hold true today.

[EGarrett]

Wow, Ronald Reagan must've modeled his political speeches after this guy. Their voices sound so similar.

[robertprest]

There’s a 47 min firing line clip .I think I’ll watch that.

[aperson]

I'm not American and I haven't studied the constitution. But you guys treat it like religious people treat their holy book. It's sacred and perfect. This is what I know, IF the constitution thought it was okay to allow people to be discriminated against based on the colour of their skin then it's nothing to hold in any high esteem

[BlazeDuskdreamer]

How about the full clip instead of cutting it off? I wanted to hear the whole thing, not just one sentence that you cut off the explanation of, probably to suit your own purposes.

[catsupchutney]

Whether his reasons are a cover or not (and I wish I had heard those reasons), but think about this "So I have to abide by the court." Today we'd hear claims that the court was out of line if it ruled contrary to a Conservative Senator's views.

[gareginnzhdehhimself]

Goldwater later said he regretted this vote. He did not have one racist bone in his body and was the president of the Arizona NAACP.