Reagan's Words are Relevant Today

On March 1, 1975, in the wake of the disastrous post-Watergate election, Ronald Reagan stood before a disheartened Conservative Political Action Conference and proclaimed, "A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers."

Then, as now, there was a din of voices from the media and from "moderate" Republicans calling on the Party to abandon its conservative principles.

Reagan's Message

Here is what Ronald Reagan told the assembled delegates of CPAC that day:

"I am impatient with those Republicans who after the last election rushed into print saying, "We must broaden the base of our party” - when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the differences between ourselves and our opponents.

Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?

Let our banner proclaim our belief in a free market as the greatest provider for the people.

Let us explore ways to ward off socialism, not by increasing government's coercive power, but by increasing participation by the people in the ownership of our industrial machine.

It is time to reassert our principles and raise them to full view. And if there are those who cannot subscribe to these principles, then let them go their way."

Five years later, Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States.

Clutching Victory from Defeat

Once again, we have endured an electoral disaster that left the Republican Party wandering in the wilderness and wondering what we have to do to regain the trust and support of the American people.

Once again, the defeat came as a result of abandoning our conservative ideals.  So, what is the solution?

The answer is clear. Heed the words of Ronald Reagan: Raise a banner of bold colors, not pale pastels.  Do not compromise our principles in the mistaken belief that we will be rewarded at the ballot box. On the contrary, that would put the Republican Party on the road to oblivion.