Description
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 policies: 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 outreach to segregationists before and after the nomination of Barry Goldwater, pushed the party to the right. With his natio
