How Reagan Won By Losing (From WSJ’s Political Diary)
Ever since the Young America’s Foundation bought Ronald Reagan’s old ranch near Santa Barbara, it has become almost a shrine to old friends and admirers of the Gipper. History was made there, as visitors can still see the tree stump on which Mr. Reagan signed the 1981 supply-side tax cuts that helped set off a generation of largely uninterrupted economic growth.
History was on the mind of many of the foot soldiers in the Reagan Revolution this past weekend as about 70 of them gathered at the Reagan Ranch for a conference marking the 30th anniversary of Reagan’s 1976 primary challenge of President Jerry Ford. The conference took its inspiration from the recent book by Craig Shirley entitled "Reagan’s Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started it All." As Human Events put it, the weekend "reinforced the theme that while the 1976 campaign fell short at the time, it was indispensable to Reagan’s election victory in 1980 and all that followed, from the U.S. economic recovery of the 1980s, to the restoration of American self-confidence and patriotism, to the unraveling of the Soviet Communist empire."
Former Attorney General Ed Meese told the group that the 1976 race helped form a nationwide group of battle-trained campaign workers who continued to promote Reagan’s attributes in the years leading up to the 1980 presidential race. Reagan became a truly national figure in the 1976 race, winning delegates all over the country and impressing the news media, which never expected the former governor to come within an eyelash of unseating a sitting president.
Echoes of the 1976 campaign can be heard to this day. Mr. Shirley, who runs a Washington consulting firm and campaigned for Mr. Reagan in the 1980s, recalled that he was inspired to enter politics by listening to Reagan’s "Call to Arms" speech at the 1976 GOP convention in Kansas City. He noted that the speech also inspired many others, including Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele who is running for the U.S. Senate this year in Maryland and could become the first black Republican to be elected Senator in over 30 years.
There was general agreement that while many contemporary Republican politicians have fallen short of the Reagan Standard for leadership, all have been influenced by him and that his example remains one that continues to inspire his party and the country.
— John Fund