What would Reagan do?

Michael Reagan tells us how his father would respond to the McCain nomination.

In 1976 the Ford vs. Reagan campaign for the Republican presidential nomination got so heated it looked as if my father and Jerry Ford would never again talk to one another. When it was over and Ford had won, what did Ronald Reagan do? He simply went all-out to help Ford win his re-election, as did I and as did my sister Maureen. My dad simply followed his rule of backing the Republican candidate no matter who he was. Assuming that John McCain will be the Republican nominee, you can bet my father would be itching to get out on the campaign trail working to elect him even if he disagreed with him on a number of issues.

In other words, those of you claiming to be Reagan conservatives who persist in stating that you will not vote for John McCain for president are posers and imposters. You appropriate the good name of the father of modern conservatism and the architect of nearly three decades of GOP dominance of the executive branch in order to justify political behavior diametrically opposed to that he engaged in himself.

What’s more, what was the outcome when a group of conservatives failed to heed his example in 1976 and chose to sit out the election or vote third party?

Unlike my father, a lot of conservatives stayed home in 1976, and we got four years of Jimmy Carter, whose main legacy was to drive the Shah of Iran from power and create the Islamic Republic of Iran with a bunch of wild-eyed mullahs running the show. He also gave us 20 percent inflation and long, long lines at the gas pumps. And don’t forget 440 days of Americans held hostage by the mullahs. By staying home those conservatives made possible the future election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. We are still suffering from the legacy of James Earl Carter, thanks to the conservatives who refused to follow Ronald Reagan’s example and instead sulked at home while the nation was being handed over to the worst president in American history. We were still in the middle of the Cold War in those days, and by staying home conservatives risked losing that war by allowing an incompetent leader to become commander in chief.

We stand at a crossroads this election. We can choose to back a leader willing to pursue a policy of victory over Islamism, or we can allow the election of a president dedicated to a policy of weakness and surrender. We can capitalize on the advances of conservative principle over the last three decades, or we can squander them by refusing to back a candidate who isn’t pure enough. We can aid the election of a moderately conservative president, or ensure the election of an unabashedly liberal one.

The real question, though, is not “What would Reagan do?” That is in the past, and we know what he did when confronted with precisely this situation.

My friends, the real question is “What will we do?”

As for me, I choose to follow in the footsteps of Reagan – and urge you to do the same.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Rosemary's Thoughts, Nuke Gingrich, Faultline USA, third world county, 123beta, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Shadowscope, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Celebrity Smack, Cao's Blog, Big Dog's Weblog, and Dumb Ox Daily News, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.