Question

What is a key reason Goldwater lost to Johnson in 1964?
A) Conservatives were considered Unconstitutional
B) he had not run for public office prior to 1964
C) he was branded as a liberal
D) he was unable to articulate his agenda during the campaign

Answer 1

The correct answer is C. A key reason Goldwayer lost to Johnson in 1964 is that he was branded as a liberal by Lyndon Johnson.

Barry Goldwater was a senator from Arizona. He sought the presidency of the United States against Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, but was defeated.

He lost in all states, except six, in the 1964 presidential election to Lyndon Johnson, who campaigned presenting him as a warmonger liberal in favor of atomic war and supported by the Ku Klux Klan, who wanted to abolish social welfare programs created in the 1930s (like Social Security). Lyndon Johnson advocated more of those programs, and after 1965, he instituted three: Medicare, Medicaid and the War on Poverty.

But Goldwater brought to the country the creed he had developed for 12 years in the Senate. Its political campaign was framed within the classic liberalism concentrated in reducing the power of the federal government, favoring the economic and political liberties, supporting a foreign policy based on a fervent anticommunism. It is considered that he played a key role in the rebirth of the conservative and libertarian movements in the USA, paying the price for Ronald Reagan to be elected President of the United States in 1980.

Answer 2

Answer:

a.) conservatives were considered inconsequential

Explanation:

Given the tumultuous years of the 1950s and 1960s, as seen through the activity of war and civil rights movements, the role of the government had been expanded through legislation and reform.  So, by the time Barry Goldwater entered the political stage, the notion that the government should have less involvement in American politics was not highly regarded, because the government had a recent trajectory of influencing public and private life.