Sen. Robert A. Taft, as “Mr. Republican” set the stage for “Mr. Conservative,” Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ).  Sen. Goldwater would run for president in 1964, and though he lost the race to Lyndon Johnson,  many consider it to be the most consequential loss in American political history as it formally launched the modern conservative movement.  His presidential campaign inspired a generation of activists who built the political conservative infrastructure, took over the Republican Party from the liberal North-eastern Rockefeller Republicans, and set the stage for the presidency of Ronald Reagan only sixteen years later.  His ideals of “the best guarantee of freedom and prosperity is a constitutional government and personal responsibility,” along with his call for “peace through strength, vigilance, and the defeat of our adversary” continue to be the calling card of conservatism to this day.