It didn’t take long for Viso’s boundless energy to lead him back to the political world.  Although still bitter from his treatment by local press and politicians, Viso began to take an interest in Barry Goldwater.  In Viso’s own words: "At the time, I didn’t care about Goldwater's politics or whether he won or lost, but I did identify with him as a public figure under attack, harkening back to my own recall experience.  The local press was hitting him hard, portraying him as a racist, a callous millionaire, and as a man behind the times, without any supporting evidence that I could see."

 

By 1962, although still stinging from his recall from the Santa Clara City Council, James Viso, a Democrat at the time, felt that Republican Barry Goldwater was being treated the same way he had been treated by the press and career politicians during his own recall.  He decided to do something about it.  His plan was to create, at his own expense, a video that would "introduce" Goldwater to the voting public, essentially going around the press and some prominent politicians.  Goldwater was locked in a tough battle with Nelson Rockefeller, leader of the liberal wing of the GOP, for the Republican Party Presidential nomination.  Viso thought his video would clear up some of the lies and distortions about Goldwater. 

 

After getting clearance to produce the video from Senator William Knowland, long-serving Senator from California and Goldwater’s national campaign manager, and Henry Salvatori, Goldwater's California campaign manager, Viso did extensive preliminary interviews with ordinary citizens and local politicians in Goldwater’s home State of Arizona to be the source material for the video.  Viso did the video entirely by himself, writing the script, arranging a cartoonist to help with chapter introductions, renting cameras, microphones, lights and all the other necessary movie paraphernalia, and even purchased all the 16 mm film required to produce the movie.  He also hired a professional cameraman.  The local Republican headquarters in Phoenix allowed Viso to use the outdoor courtyard at their building with a background of many beautiful palm trees as the site for shooting the movie.  While the cameras rolled, Viso sat with people who had worked with Goldwater on a wide range of projects and asked them questions about Goldwater's character. 

 

Viso did not like the final result, especially his performance as moderator.  But he knew just how to fix the problems.  He enlisted recently-turned Republican Ronald Reagan and Reagan’s brother “Moon” to help edit and post-produce the video, staring Reagan as the on-screen moderator for the video.  Viso reasoned that Reagan’s star power, acting skills, and celebrity as a "new" Republican in the limited federal government camp would be just the boost Goldwater needed. 

 

Very proud of his team’s work, Viso took the video to a showing with Senator Knowland, Salvatori, and Goldwater's daughter Joanne.  After viewing Viso’s work, the Senator simply said: “Humph! We’re running Barry Goldwater for President, NOT Ronald Reagan!  Kill it!”  Apparently, Knowland thought Regan was just too powerful, showing great charisma in the video, and would over-power the blunt and often out-spoken Goldwater.   But Goldwater's daughter got her dad's ear and implored him to view the tape.  Goldwater loved the video and ordered it broadcast over local television stations in every county in California in the two weeks before the Republican Convention at the Cow Palace near San Francisco.  Viso's reward was to be invited to the Republican Convention to sit next to Goldwater's wife Peggy in the private Goldwater family box as guest of honor, and see Goldwater win the nomination over Governor Nelson Rockefeller.  The Viso film was later shortened slightly by a professional production company in New York, and hundreds of copies were sent all around the Country as a first salvo in the campaign against Lyndon Johnson.

 

Many people believe the video helped propel Goldwater to the Republican nomination over Rockefeller.  The video also featured prominently in the Presidential campaign against Lyndon Johnson.  Although Goldwater was trounced by Johnson in the election, the most important lasting effect of the video was that it propelled Ronald Reagan to national prominence and solidified the conservative wing of the Republican Party.  It turned out that Senator Knowland’s intuition about the star power of Ronald Reagan was correct. 

 

You can view this important historical video by selecting it in the the "Classic Videos" section of this website or by scanning the QR code below

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