Ronald Reagan was a great and determined campaigner, one who believed deeply in principles and who had clearly defined views on the major public policy issues of the times. While he differed markedly in outlook and temperament from what traditionally had been known as the Republican “establishment” and was determined to bring meaningful change to government, he recognized clearly that there were limits to campaign vitriol and attacks.
That was why Reagan, in his first campaign for governor in 1966, embraced an “11th Commandment,” which held that “Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.” Vicious personal attacks had been leveled at Reagan by his opponents, but rather than respond in kind, Reagan took the high road, and won handily, launching his storied political career.
Reagan actually contested the presidency three times: in 1968, against Nixon and Rockefeller; in 1976, against a sitting president, Gerald Ford; and in 1980, against five other candidates, including George H.W. Bush. In 1976, he very nearly pulled it off at the Republican Convention in Kansas City, coming within a whisker of defeating Ford for the nomination. Significantly, on the night of the balloting, a disappointed Reagan came down out of the massive arena to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ford, and then went to campaign in 20 states for the Ford ticket.
In Colorado, we now witness Marc Holtzman, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor while claiming to be a disciple, or perhaps an apostle, of the late President Reagan, and suggesting that his profound admiration for Reagan informs his approach to the campaign. I doubt very much that Reagan would think much of Holtzman’s “scorched earth” strategy to remain in a race that he so obviously cannot win.
Having known Holtzman for a quarter of a century or so, I have provided advice to him in many matters over the years, until recently. In his unsuccessful race for Congress in 1986, I campaigned for him.
I have known of his passion for elective office, and of his several attempts to gain political traction. One can and should admire this scrappy determination, but it is a different story when it comes to the present and essentially hopeless crusade he leads after having lost decisively at the Republican convention weeks ago.
This time, he appears to disregard the stark reality that he simply cannot win, yet he goes on, attacking an amorphous “establishment” that he claims is engaged in a plot to deny him a place on the ballot, while directly attacking his opponent, Bob Beauprez. This only damages the Republican Party and undermines party unity.
Imagine for a moment that Reagan, having lost to Ford in 1976 by the tiniest of margins, had found a way to continue the battle beyond the nominating convention, and had formulated complex legal and procedural challenges designed to keep his chances alive. Or if Richard Nixon had chosen to challenge the election results of 1960, when he lost to John F. Kennedy, citing the machinations of Mayor Richard Daley in Chicago and the widespread use of Kennedy family “walking-around money” in West Virginia. Nixon knew that a challenge might well be successful, but he also knew that, for the good of the country and certainly the good of his party, he should accept the result and retire gracefully.
This advice to Marc Holtzman comes from one who is not part of any “establishment,” but rather from a longtime Republican and veteran “Reaganaut” who has served on the front line.
Holtzman should now take special cognizance of the Reagan example, retire gracefully and endorse the inevitable nominee of the Republican Party, Bob Beauprez.
Reagan would never have approved of the bitter struggle now being waged by Holtzman. To paraphrase the late Sen. Lloyd Bentsen in the vice presidential debates of 1988, “Marc, I served with Ronald Reagan, I knew Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan was a friend of mine. Marc, you are no Ronald Reagan.”
Richard V. Allen, who has a home in the Cherry Creek neighborhood, served as President Ronald Reagan’s national security adviser. He is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace.
