I was reading Barry Goldwater's obit in the Washington Post (here), and this passage struck me as interesting:

"A lot of so-called conservatives today don't know what the word means," he told the Los Angeles Times in a 1994 interview. "They think I've turned liberal because I believe a woman has a right to an abortion. That's a decision that's up to the pregnant woman, not up to the pope or some do-gooders or the religious right. It's not a conservative issue at all."

During the 1990s, Mr. Goldwater spoke out in favor of allowing gays to serve in the military, and he worked in Phoenix to end job discrimination against gays. In 1994, he became honorary chairman of a drive to pass a federal law preventing job discrimination against gays.

"The big thing is to make this country, along with every other country in the world with a few exceptions, quit discriminating against people just because they're gay," he said. "You don't have to agree with it, but they have a constitutional right to be gay. And that's what brings me into it."

So Goldwater's brand of conservatism seem to be much more libertarian. This kinda confuses me because it's often said that he prefigured Reagan's presidency. Other than the obvious fact that Reagan became a household name with his "A Time for Choosing" speech, in what way is this true? I thought the rise of the religious right came with his presidency, so it seems like his brand of conservatism -- or, at least, the brand prominent during his tenure -- is at odds with Goldwater's.

I also know that around this time the southern Democrats were opposed to desegregation. So it seems like our current political map, with the Democrats having a platform of social liberalism and the Republicans having a platform of social conservatism, does not fit the politics of that time period. Roughly when did this shift in platform occur, and what were the forces that drove it?