Nelson Rockefeller's Dilemma: The Fight to Save Moderate Republicanism

by Marsha E. Barrett

Nelson Rockefeller's Dilemma reveals the fascinating and influential political career of the four-time New York State governor and US vice president. Marsha E. Barrett's portrayal of this multi-faceted political player focuses on the eclipse of moderate Republicanism and the betrayal of deeply held principles for political power. Although never able to win his party's presidential nomination, Rockefeller's tenure as governor was notable for typically liberal infrastructure projects, expanding the state's university system, and investing in local services and the social safety net. As the Civil Rights movement intensified in the early 1960s, Rockefeller envisioned a Republican Party recommitted to its Lincolnian heritage as a defender of Black equality. But the party's extreme right wing, encouraged by its successful outeach to segregationists before and after the nomination of Barry Goldwater, pushed the party to the right. With his national political ambitions fading by the late 1960s, Rockefeller began to tack right himself on social and racial issues, refusing to endorse efforts to address police brutality, accusing, without proof, Black welfare mothers of cheating the system, or introducing harsh drug laws that disproportionately incarcerated people of color. These betrayals of his own ideals did little to win him the support of the party faithful, and his vice presidency ended in humiliation, rather than the validation of moderate ideals. An in-depth, insightful, and timely political history, Nelson Rockefeller's Dilemma details how the standard-bearer of moderate Republicanism lost the battle for the soul of the Party of Lincoln, leading to mainlining of white-grievance populism for the post-civil rights era.

Genres: Politics, History, American History

400 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2024

Reviews

[Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author argues that Rockefeller moved to the right as the 1960s progressed and he left the Party of Lincoln (a party that supported African Americans behind). It is not a biography but a political portrait of a moment in time. My biggest issue with the book was the extremely long paragraphs that made it harder to read.

[Earl Ecklund III · Rating 5 out of 5]

in this fascinating study of Nelson Rockefeller's years as governor of New York Marsha Barrett gives great insight into how the Republican party shifted strongly to the right and abandoned the Lincoln legacy of protecting the rights of African Americans.

Rockefeller began his career as a moderate Republican who sought to uphold the Lincoln legacy and work towards civil rights protections for African Americans while also using the governorship of New York as a stepping stone to the presidency. Rockefeller was stymied first by Richard Nixon in 1960 who already had the nomination secured well in advance and again in 1964 by Barry Goldwater when many former Democrats switched allegiances over civil rights.

Rockefeller made one more attempt at the presidency in 1968 but never made any progress towards his ultimate goal watching his rival Richard Nixon secure the nomination and the election that year. Around this time Rockefeller began a shift towards the right as he sought to tackle the issue of narcotics addiction laws and pushed for increased sentences for drug dealers. Ultimately these laws disproportionately effected the same minority votes Rockefeller had eagerly sought in earlier campaigns.

Rockefeller tried to justify his new policies by saying they were merely the same as his previous stances on issues when they clearly were not. Rockefeller ultimately resigned the governorship long before the full scope of the tougher sentences was clear so he never had to acknowledge its failure.

I highly recommend this book as an important study into Nelson Rockefeller's political career and the history of the Republican party in the 1960s.

[Matt K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely detailed but could’ve been 150 pages. Solid read for anyone unfamiliar with Nelson Rockefeller