Nelson Rockefeller strictly conservative course. Rockefeller's programs did not consistently follow either liberal or conservative ideology." Early fiscal policies were conservative while later ones were not so. In the later years of his administration "conservative decisions on social programs were paralleled by liberal ones on environmental issues." Rockefeller was opposed by conservatives in the GOP such as Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan because of his liberal political views. As governor, Rockefeller spent more than his predecessors. Rockefeller expanded the state's infrastructure, increased spending on education including a massive expansion of the State University of New York, and increased the state's involvement in
Rockefeller Republican "A lot of people considered Rockefeller very liberal and very dovish on foreign policy, but he was not. He was harder than Nixon, and a lot more hawkish about the mission of America in the world." The term largely fell out of use by the end of the twentieth century and has been replaced by the term "moderate Republican". Rockefeller Republicans were typically moderate to center-right economically, vehemently rejected conservatives like Barry Goldwater, and had social policies that were often culturally liberal. They espoused government and private investments in environmentalism, healthcare and higher education as necessities for a better society