Reagan's Revolution (69 page)
Like thousands of others, Reagan’s speech inspired me. Not to say that I didn’t have a lifelong commitment to conservatism. My parents were charter members of the New York State Conservative Party, beginning in 1962. They were foot soldiers in Upstate New York, and they dragged my brother and me to every political event you could imagine. They attended every Conservative state convention as delegates. Fundraisers for Barbara Keating, Paul Adams, John Jaquith, Jim Buckley, and others became a rite of passage for New York conservatives at the Shirleys’ modest suburban home in Syracuse.
In 1965, my father arrived home with a record album and made my brother and me sit down and listen to it. When it was over, Dad exclaimed, “This man Reagan himself should be President!” The recording was of Reagan’s speech the previous October for Barry Goldwater entitled
Rendezvous With Destiny
. My father was also the first registered Conservative in the state of New York, having gone to the Board of Elections the night its status had been granted and waited for hours until the office opened.
As the head of the Onondaga County Conservative Party, he organized an annual summer outdoor fundraiser, which both Bill and Jim Buckley often attended. It was in 1966 when Bill showed up in a seersucker sport jacket. It was the first time I had ever seen such a jacket, and I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever beheld.
Every night over dinner our family had extended political debates and discussions ranging from the Vietnam War to the environment to race relations to unions. They went on and on. Here, my brother and I developed our conservative philosophies through argument and discussion. In 1970, my mother ran for the county legislature against the incumbent liberal Republican and a run-of-the-mill Democrat. Although she did not win, she took enough votes away from the Republican to deny him re-election—and that was the point. The GOP could not take conservatives for granted any longer. Also, she was the first Conservative running for office in all of New York to be endorsed over her opponents by a major daily newspaper, the
Syracuse Herald Journal
. When my father passed away in 1977, he was running for the school board on the Conservative
and
Republican lines. By 1977, Republicans were finally beginning to understand.
When I got back to college in the fall of 1976, I volunteered on the Ford campaign in Springfield, Massachusetts, where we did lit drops, registered voters, and did whatever we could with the meager resources provided to Massachusetts by the national campaign. As one can imagine, since the Bay State was the only state George McGovern carried against Richard Nixon four years earlier, it was not a top priority for Ford.
Twenty-eight years later, I am still involved in politics. And I am just one of the thousands of young Americans who heard the Reagan message, felt the magic, and decided to do something about it.
Many of the two hundred people I interviewed have asked me about the behaviors and varying pathologies of some of the people involved—on the Ford side, on the Reagan side, at the White House, in the media, and at the Republican National Committee. Some involved women, others mild drug use, others gambling, and, with many, drinking. In fact, part of the backdrop of politics in 1976 was that everybody drank—sometimes a lot. Even Gerald Ford was known to enjoy a couple of high balls after 5 P.M. or while relaxing with reporters on Air Force One. It was completely normal for most men in politics—and some women—to have two or three drinks at lunch and then meet up for cocktails after work.
But I chose to write this book because it is a missing part of the history of Ronald Reagan’s rise from a former Governor to World Leader, and how he transformed American politics—not to trash people for their foibles and personal misbehavior.
I concluded that I would only address those problems that had a direct bearing on the ability of these people to do their jobs. In the case of Bob Hartmann, Ford’s key aide, after speaking to many people, I came to the conclusion that his heavy drinking affected his ability to perform his tasks. In the case of John Sears, while he clearly liked to drink at the time, I concluded after talking with the people who knew him best that his drinking did not affect his ability to do his job. Jack Germond, for example, told me that John Sears would drink martinis all through dinner, “but it didn’t stop him from being smarter than hell . . . it didn’t affect his performance.”
Reagan also enjoyed a glass of wine or a cocktail, but he would usually stick to just one or two drinks—he could mix a martini with the best of them. It was also a different time in that politicians, politicos, and reporters would often drink and dine together without fear of what was said showing up in the newspaper the next morning.
On the subject of women, one senior member of one of the two campaigns parked a Winnebago in the parking lot of the Kemper Arena and stashed his girlfriend there for the week of the convention—even though this man was “happily” married. But this indiscretion did not adversely impact his ability to perform his job, so there is no need to name him, his wife, or the woman involved. The details are simply not important.
I also found the media coverage of the 1976 campaign—especially of Ronald Reagan—to be professional and for the most part fair. Reagan did experience the occasional pot shot from the mainstream media and certainly from the editorial writers and liberal columnists. But the newspaper reporters were generally fair to Reagan. However, the networks and the weeklies—especially CBS and
Time
— would sometimes take gratuitous shots at Reagan.
Still, the material I gathered from all these sources was invaluable. I don’t know how many hours I put in working on this book, but I never looked at it as anything other than a labor of love. Writing this book has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.
Perhaps as much as having had the chance to work for Reagan himself.
M
y deepest appreciation and gratitude goes to my colleague, Andi Hedberg, for all of her hard work reviewing drafts, researching, fact checking, transcribing interviews, watching endless hours of video, traveling to the Reagan and Ford Presidential Libraries, her advice and counsel, and especially for putting up with the author’s quirkiness. This book would have not been possible without her tireless work and steadfast leadership of the “blonde mafia” of researchers and interns.
Special kudos go to Brittany Moore, Max Courington, Stephen Saunders, and Dan Szy for their outstanding work in research and editing. Without them, this book would have remained just a dream. Also thanks to Kyle Vander Meulen, Jamie Curtis, Karol Sheinin, Jenise Snyder, and Laura Russell for their help with this book as well. Dennis Warren, former UPI photographer who covered the 1976 Reagan campaign, was most generous in allowing us access to his library of photos, and to him we are also indebted.
And special thanks to Mrs. Ronald Reagan and President Reagan’s Chief of Staff, Ms. Joanne Drake, for generously granting us unprecedented access to previously unopened files on the 1976 campaign stored at the Reagan Library.
Also thanks to Vice President Richard Cheney for granting me so much interview time despite the pressures of his position. This interview took place on the day the Vice President was to greet Mrs. Reagan and the caisson bearing the body of President Reagan on June 9, 2004, at the U.S. Capitol. It was an emotional day for both of us.
I am also deeply indebted to my friend and business partner, Diana Banister, on whose shoulders I placed so much in the many months I was working on this book. The staff also at Shirley and Banister Public Affairs had to put up with a lot, and I thank them for their patience and understanding.
I am deeply grateful to my friend Fred Barnes for agreeing to write the foreword to this book. As he has covered American politics for over thirty years, including the 1976 campaign, Fred has a unique perspective on Reagan’s challenge to Ford.
Special mention must be made of Jules Witcover, Lou Cannon, and Peter Hannaford, whose many fine books and writings that covered much of this period provided so much critical research for
Reagan’s Revolution
. They all also graciously granted me extensive interview time for which I am indebted to each of them.
Finally, many thanks are owed to David Dunham and Joel Miller with Nelson Current for having the faith and confidence in this book. Their support has been invaluable.
Also, thanks to:
American Conservative Union
Brigham Young University
Human Events
John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs
Library of Congress
Republican National Committee
The Smithsonian Institution
And:
Rick Ahern
Phil Alexander
Richard Allen
Marty Anderson
Ernie Angelo
Katheryn Ashbrook
Doug Bailey
James Baker III
Jeff Bell
Charlie Black
Morton Blackwell
Duke Blackwood
Terry Boyle
Steve Branch
Bill Brock
Floyd Brown
David Bufkin
Jim Burnley
Howard “Bo” Callaway
Lou Cannon
Al Cardenas
Jerry Carmen
Maria Cino
Brooke Clement
Madeline Cohen
Muriel Coleman
Phil Crane
Stacy Davis
Michael Deaver
Don Devine
Eric Dezenhall
Stacey Disterhof
Marci Dobal
Ron Docksai
Becki Donatelli
Frank Donatelli
Becky Norton Dunlop
George Dunlop
Dale Duvall
Bruce Eberle
Fred Eckert
Tom Edmonds
Lee Edwards
Tom Ellis
Stan Evans
Jerry Falwell
Ed Feulner
Howard Fineman
Arthur Finkelstein
Tom Finnigan
Jack Germond
Charlie Gerow
Ed Gillespie
Mike Goldfarb
Mike Grebe
Robert Griffin
Kenneth Hafeli
Mike Hallow
Ralph Hallow
Steph Halper
Peter Hannaford
Kelly Hedberg
Jesse Helms
J. Curtis Herge
Jim Hooley
Brit Hume
Christian Josi
David Keene
Craig Keith
Kevin Kellems
Kenny Klinge
Larry Kudlow
Jim Kuhn
Carole Kuhn
Cara Kresge
Marvin J. Krinsky
Bill Lacey
James V. Lacy
Jim Lake
Art Laffer
Frank Lavin
Michelle Laxalt
Paul Laxalt
Chris Lay
Ladonna Lee
Elizabeth Leonard
Richard Lessner
Drew Lewis
Carrie Anne Liipfert
Mike Long
Tom Loringer
Eddie Mahe
Jason Maloni
William H. McNitt
Peter McPherson
Michael McShane
Ed Meese
Matt Messina
Jim Miller
Zell Miller
Brad Minnick
Nancy Mirshah
Peter Monk
Steve Moore
Billy Mounger
Ed Nichols
Lyn Nofziger
Pat Nolan
Grover Norquist
Bob Novak
Brad O'Leary
Neal Peden-Jones
Benjamin Pezzillo
Kristine Phillips
Charles Pickering
Pat Pizzella
Pam Pryor
Mike Reagan
Rick Reed
Kathy Regan
Nancy Reynolds
Bill Rhatican
Anna Roberts
Jim Roberts
Patti Roberts
Steve Roberts
Ron Robinson
Dana Rohrbacher
Marc Rotterman
Paul Russo
Allan Ryskind
Phyllis Schlafly
Wayne Schley
Bill Schulz
John Sears
Bob Shuster
Claire Schweiker
Richard Schweiker
Kittie Smith
Loren Smith
Tony Snyder
Stuart Spencer
Scott Stanley
Jennifer Sternaman
Roger Stone
Don Totten
Aldo Tutino
Bob Tyrrell
Chuck Tyson
Mary Frances Varner
Richard Viguerie
Terry Wade
Bill Walsh
Victoria Walton
Paul Weyrich
George Will
Tom Winter
Dick Wirthlin
Jules Witcover
Ann Wixon
Bob Woodward
Carter Wrenn
David Yepsen
PREFACE
1
. Gerald Pomper,
The Election of 1976: Reports and Interpretations
(New York: Longman, 1977), 25.
2
. Robert Ajemian, “Reagan: I Don’t Want Another 1964,”
Time
, August 2, 1976, 10-11.
3
.
Des Moines Register
, “264-248 Edge for President Over Reagan: Preference Poll at GOP Caucuses,” January 20, 1976.
4
.
Des Moines Register,
January 20, 1976.
5
.
Des Moines Register,
January 20, 1976.
6
. Brad Minnick, in discussion with the author, March 4, 2004.
7
. Dick Wirthlin, in discussion with the author, March 11, 2004.
8
. Terry Wade, in discussion with the author, June 22, 2004.
9
. Frank Donatelli, in discussion with the author, April 2, 2004.
10
. Paul Laxalt and Michelle Laxalt, in discussion with the author, April 21. 2004.
11
. Paul Laxalt,
Nevada’s Paul Laxalt: A Memoir
(Reno, NV: Jack Bacon and Company, 2000), 307.
12
. Steven F. Hayward,
The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order
(Roseville, CA: Forum, 2001), 479-480.
13
. Sam Donaldson,
ABC Evening News
, ABC, Videotape, August 19, 1976, White House Communications Agency Collection, Gerald Ford Presidential Library, Ann Arbor, MI.
14
. Kenny Klinge, in discussion with the author, May 24, 2004.
15
. Doug Bailey, in discussion with the author, June 16, 2004.
16
. Lou Cannon, in discussion with the author, June 28, 2004.
17
. Robert T. Hartmann,
Palace Politics: An Inside Account of the Ford Years
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980), 180.
INTRODUCTION
1
. Robert T. Hartmann,
Palace Politics: An Inside Account of the Ford Years
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980), 113.
2
. Donald J. Devine, in discussion with the author, 2004.
3
. Michael Barone, in discussion with the author, January 9, 2004.
4
. Nancy Gibbs and Matthew Cooper, “Living In Bill’s Shadow,”
Time
, January 26, 2004, 22+.
5
. Roger Stone, in discussion with the author, April 5, 2004.
6
. Doug Bailey, in discussion with the author, June 16, 2004.
7
.
The American Experience: Reagan
, producers Austin Hoyt and Adriana Bosch (Boston: WGBH, 1998).
8
. George F. Gilder and Bruce K. Chapman,
The Party That Lost Its Head
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1966), 5.