Goldwater was a strong supporter of environmental protection, saying in 1965:
I feel very definitely that the [Nixon] administration is absolutely correct in cracking down on companies and corporations and municipalities that continue to pollute the nation’s air and water. While I am a great believer in the free competitive enterprise system and all that it entails, I am an even stronger believer in the right of our people to live in a clean and pollution-free environment. To this end, it is my belief that when pollution is found, it should be halted at the source, even if this requires stringent government action against important segments of our national economy.
The legends tell of a time when conservatives were supportive of the environment. But I’ve never seen it and I’m a old.
It was never true. Conservatives are named optimistically like Democratic Republic of NK or Soviet Republic.
It was probably an outlier then too.