\n\nIn other words, the narrative about Goldwater as the guiding light of the post-war GOP is wrong. Nixon, and his allies, have driven the agenda since the late 1940s. Other Republicans (Eisenhower, Goldwater, Reagan) represented factions who, at most, were allowed a seat at the table created by Nixon.
\nFirst, consider the following facts about the elite Republican leadership:
\n* Nixon and his coalition were able to put themselves on the national ticket in 1952, which displaced earlier liberal Republicans.
\n* Nixon and his personal friend Gerald Ford were in office in 1969-1975.
\n* Regan \u00e2\u0080\u0093 who had a different base than Nixon \u00e2\u0080\u0093 had to accommodate another Nixon appointee \u00e2\u0080\u0093 GHW Bush \u00e2\u0080\u0093 as VP in 1980.
\n* Bush (a Nixon appointee) was president from 1989-93 and brought in more Nixon/Ford appointees (e.g., Cheney) to run things.
\n* Bush II\u00e2\u0080\u0099s campaign was run by a mix new folks (Rove, Hughes) and assisted by more old Nixonites (James Baker).
\n* Bush II\u00e2\u0080\u0099s administration, until about 2006 or so, was lead by Nixon and Ford appointees (Rumsfeld, Cheney, Powell).
\nThe Nixon network (him and former staffers/appointees) have been in control of the presidency or vice presidency every time the GOP has won the national election. Furthermore, this network has controlled key national security positions very often in GOP administrations.
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via nixon\u00e2\u0080\u0099s revenge \u00c2\u00ab orgtheory.net.
\n" }