Barry Goldwater, Congressional Record, 16 Sept. 1981:
There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerfull ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus, God, or Allah, or whatever one calls the supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God’s name on one’s behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I’m frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in A,B,C, and D. Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of conservatism.
I am now curious to know what Sen. Goldwater thought of AIPAC.
He must have said that after his daughter had that abortion..
You’re still mad about that, aren’t you.
Has anyone checked this quotation and citation? Can’t seem to find it in the Congressional Record of that exact date.
It turns out the quote is from the LA times on sept. 17, 1981.
For the, er, record, it’s from the Congressional Record on Sept. 15, 1981. (Cong. Record, vol. 127, part 15, pp. 20589-90.) The text can be viewed at The Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org/details/congressionalrec127funit).