What happened to the Goldwater Cycle?

Two years ago I addressed the question of whether the Presidential election of 2016 would reprise the Goldwater defeat of 1964. In retrospect, my analysis titled  “A Goldwater Cycle?” published in Chronicles of Culture on April 7, 2015 was not far off the mark. Whether my prediction is accurate that Sen. Rand Paul is now positioned to be the nominee in 2020 remains to be seen.