Goldwater Heirs Split Between McCain and Obama

The descendants of conservative Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) are split as to whether the late, iconic Senator would support Barack Obama for president.

“Nothing about McCain, except for maybe a uniform, compares to the same ideology of what Goldwater stood for as a politician,” CC Goldwater, a filmmaker and granddaughter of the Senator wrote on the Huffington Post Thursday. “The McCain/Palin plan is to appear diverse and inclusive, using women and minorities to push an agenda that makes us all financially vulnerable, fearful, and less safe.”

CC Goldwater recently produced a HBO documentary, “Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater,” exploring her grandfather’s legacy.

But Goldwater’s own son unloaded on his niece for public apostasy in a followup post at Huffington Friday morning.

“Being Barry Goldwater’s son and living in Arizona, one would assume that I would be voting for our state’s senator, John McCain,” Barry Goldwater, Jr. wrote in a post taking aim at CC’s endorsement. “Well, I am. The decision truly is a no-brainer.”

“Together the Goldwaters, including CC, should work together to redefine the Republican Party and make it the model Barry Goldwater Sr. stood for,” Goldwater, Jr. wrote.

John McCain won his seat in the Senate after Goldwater, the 1964 Republican nominee for president, retired.

–Michael O’Brien