Oct. 27 marked the 50th anniversary of what many argue to be Ronald Reagan's most consequential speech. He was not yet president, that would come 17 years later, but the themes touched on in his speech in support of Barry Goldwater's 1964 bid for the presidency echoed throughout his presidency, and continue to influence the modern conservative movement.
According to Steven F. Hayward, the Ronald Reagan distinguished visiting professor at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy, Reagan's speech (titled, "A Time for Choosing") "provided a template — an understanding of government as ruinously ambitious and out of control, projecting weakness and uncertainty to our enemies abroad — that still defines conservatism today."
In the speech, Reagan chronicles his transformation from a New Deal Democrat with great respect for the statesmen of that party, to a concerned conservative, convinced that the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson was leading the Democrats (and America) to believe "that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves."
Many commentators have pointed out that in retrospect, the speech draws a stark contrast to Reagan's more optimistic approach to political rhetoric that would become a hallmark of his presidential years. "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant," he said midway through the speech, "it's just that they know so much that isn't so."
Ultimately, the speech failed to boost the struggling Goldwater's chances at election. But it succeeded in helping to establish a man known primarily for his film roles as one of the most consequential political figures of the second half of the 20th century.
"Read today, the speech still vibrates with a passionate intensity rarely found in any contemporary political discourse," The Daily Beast's Stuart Stevens wrote in a reflection on the speech. "This wasn’t a focused-grouped, calculated appeal to different constituencies. It was the voice of one man, deeply troubled by the course of his nation."
JJ Feinauer is a web producer for Moneywise and Opinion on DeseretNews.com. Email: jfeinauer@deseretdigital.com, Twitter: jjfeinauer.