Senator Barry Goldwater voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

He did so not because he was a racist (he was far from it, actually) but because he thought the sections pertaining to housing and public accommodations were unconstitutional and gave the federal government too much power while limiting the freedom of homeowners and business owners.

Maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong, but his position totally got both sides of the issue all fired up.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the giant of the Civil Rights Movement, put out this statement (on July 16th, 1964) after hearing that Goldwater had won the Republican nomination. While MLK Jr. says that Barry Goldwater is no racist, he also says the senator's position on the 1964 Act is, essentially, completely out of touch with reality and, beyond that, totally immoral and socially reprehensible.

As usual, King's words are eloquent and stirring, and there can be no doubt that this memo and others like it had a serious impact on Mr. Conservative's presidential campaign.