Commentators, especially since the Democratic party reforms following 1968, have expressed serious concerns about the role of party activists in the American political system. Have they become so concerned with ideological purity that they are unable to nominate strong candidates? Are activists loyal only to particular interest groups, with little concern for the parties as institutions? Are the reformed nominating procedures open to takeover by new activists, who exit the party immediately after the presidential nominations fight? With such an unrepresentative set of activists, can parties adjust to changing environments? Based on a survey of more than 17,000 delegates to state presidential nominating conventions in eleven states in 1980, this pathbreaking book addresses these questions in a comprehensive way for the first time. Heretofore most of the generalizations about party activists in the presidential nomination process have been based on studies of national convention delegates, in particular those attending the 1972 conventions. But those delegates were atypical activists, as this book shows. The state of the activist stratum of the parties differs from what many of the critics have suggested.
A significant contribution to our understanding of minor parties and party system change. The authors develop a new theory and provide strong empirical evidence in support of it. They show that the Perot's candidacy has had a strong and lasting impact on partisan competition in elections. ---Paul Herrnson, Director, Center for American Politics and Citizenship Professor, Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland "Powerfully persuasive in its exhaustive research, Three's a Crowd may surprise many by revealing the long- ignored but pivotal impact of Perot voters on every national election since 1992." ---Clay Mulford, Jones Day and General Counsel to the 1992 Perot Presidential Campaign and to the Reform Party. "Rapaport and Stone have written an engaging and important book. They bring fresh perspectives, interesting data, and much good sense to this project. Three's a Crowd is fundamentally about political change, which will, in turn, change how scholars and pundits think of Ross Perot in particular, and third parties in general." ---John G. Geer, Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University and Editor of The Journal of Politics "The definitive analysis of the Perot movement, its role in the 1994 GOP victory, and the emergence of an enduring governing majority." ---L. Sandy Maisel, Director, Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs, Colby College Three's a Crowd begins with the simple insight that third parties are creatures of the American two-party system, and derive their support from the failures of the Democratic and Republican parties. While third parties flash briefly in the gaps left by those failures, they nevertheless follow a familiar pattern: a sensation in one election, a disappointment in the next. Rapoport and Stone conclude that this steep arc results from one or both major parties successfully absorbing the third party's constituency. In the first election, the third party raises new issues and defines new constituencies; in the second, the major parties move in on the new territory. But in appropriating the third party's constituents, the major parties open themselves up to change. This is what the authors call the "dynamic of third parties." The Perot campaign exemplified this effect in 1992 and 1996. Political observers of contemporary electoral politics missed the significance of Perot's independent campaign for the presidency in 1992. Rapoport and Stone, who had unfettered-and unparalleled-access to the Perot political machine, show how his run perfectly embodies the third-party dynamic. Yet until now no one has considered the aftermath of the Perot movement through that lens. For anyone who seeks to understand the workings of our stubbornly two-party structure, this eagerly awaited and definitive analysis will shed new light on the role of third parties in the American political system.
With a foreword from Senator Marco Rubio, a stirring collection of Ronald Reagan's most inspiring speeches, offering his timeless wisdom and guidance for our day. In his 1989 farewell address, Ronald Reagan said, "I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation--from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in principles that have guided us for two centuries." The Heart of a Great Nation brings together Reagan's most powerful speeches, as relevant to our chaotic world as they were when he first gave them. In a period of our country's history consumed by economic stagnation, national instability, and the looming threat of communism, Reagan spoke directly to the hearts of everyday Americans. His wisdom on matters of family, freedom, and nationhood helped guide the country back to its founding principles and ushered in an era of prosperity and national pride. Today, as we find our country treading similar ground, Reagan's wisdom speaks to us once again, offering guidance to everyone looking to navigate the present and remember the legacy of this great nation--which can one day be reclaimed.
With twenty-eight speeches spanning the Reagan era, The Greatest Speeches of Ronald Reagan provides readers with a direct source into President Reagan's profound belief in God, freedom, individualism, limited government, and his great love for his country. Ronald Wilson Reagan, the fortieth president of the United States, was also one of America's greatest orators. Known as "The Great Communicator," he shared his vision of the greatness of America while guiding the nation to an unprecedented prosperity and renewed vigor. When President Reagan assumed the presidency in 1981, America's economy ebbed with 12 percent inflation and 8 million unemployed. Reagan's predecessor spoke of a national "malaise". Abroad, America's adversary, the Soviet Union, was expanding its influence. The Soviet Union's nuclear weapons capability surpassed that of the United States and previous nuclear arms treaties were failures. President Reagan's goals were simple: To reduce the size of the federal government Lower taxes Stabilize the economy Restore the belief of the American people in their government Win the Cold War When President Reagan left office in 1989, these goals had been achieved: Americans were enjoying the longest uninterrupted span of prosperity in the nation's history. After a massive military build-up, the largest in peacetime, President Reagan had negotiated a nuclear arms treaty that greatly reduced the threat of nuclear war. By expanding the military, he achieved peace through strength and set the stage for the demise of the Soviet Union. From the time he arrived on the political scene in 1964-throughout his presidency and beyond, Ronald Reagan used his speeches to inspire and reinvigorate America. When he spoke, Reagan said he was preaching a sermon. The American people saw his vision of America and his dreams for the future, and they overwhelmingly responded; he was re-elected in 1984 by the largest number of electoral votes in the nation's history. In this collection of twenty-eight speeches spanning the Reagan era, with an Introduction from his son, Michael Reagan, you may read for yourself his inspirational sermons. From his first speech in the political arena in 1964 to his Last Letter to America, informing Americans of his Alzheimer's disease, Ronald Reagan's words show a profound belief in God, freedom, individualism, limited government, and his great love for his country.
During the eight years that Ronald Reagan served as president of the United States, a period of sustained economic prosperity and increased American power on the world stage, many of his advisers claimed authorship of the ideas that comprised 'the Reagan revolution.' The press, in turn, lent credence to the idea that President Reagan was merely a skilled communicator of those ideas, the consummate actor, not the director or producer. Few people realised that Reagan had left a paper trail of original writings that make clear he was the intellectual powerhouse behind his administration's landmark policies. Hidden in archives for more than twenty years, Reagan's pre-presidential writings reveal an active mind wrestling with the problems of a sluggish economy, social pathologies, welfare, reform and the Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union. Selected and annotated by three leading scholars, two of whom were among Reagan's principal domestic-policy advisers, these writings unlock the puzzle of the man so many historians have tried to comprehend, with so little success. A publishing landmark, REAGAN, IN HIS OWN HAND will redefine the way we think about American history of the past quarter-century, and about the fortieth American president.
Contributors include Ben Shapiro, Senator Ted Cruz, U.S. Congressman Mark Meadows, Allie Beth Stuckey, Charlie Kirk, Katie Pavlich, Michael Reagan, KT McFarland, Dan Schneider, and Wayne LaPierre. Preface by Vice President Mike Pence. Ronald Reagan's wisdom is more relevant today than ever—and so are the speeches he gave at the Conservative Political Action Conference, collected here in one volume for the first time. Reagan’s wit, passion, and insight are on full display in these addresses that roused the conservative movement when it was embattled—and that celebrated its successes when Reagan led conservatives to political victory and the White House. In Reagan at CPAC, the former president's speeches are accompanied by commentaries from an all-star cast of conservative contributors who put Reagan's words in context while showcasing the remarkable relevance of Reagan's insights to the challenges we face today. Edited and introduced by Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, and with an afterword by Reagan’s former Counselor and Attorney General Edwin Meese III, Reagan at CPAC is an invaluable addition to any conservative’s bookshelf.
Ronald Reagan’s autobiography is a work of major historical importance. Here, in his own words, is the story of his life—public and private—told in a book both frank and compellingly readable. Few presidents have accomplished more, or been so effective in changing the direction of government in ways that are both fundamental and lasting, than Ronald Reagan. Certainly no president has more dramatically raised the American spirit, or done so much to restore national strength and self-confidence. Here, then, is a truly American success story—a great and inspiring one. From modest beginnings as the son of a shoe salesman in Tampico, Illinois, Ronald Reagan achieved first a distinguished career in Hollywood and then, as governor of California and as president of the most powerful nation in the world, a career of public service unique in our history. Ronald Reagan’s account of that rise is told here with all the uncompromising candor, modesty, and wit that made him perhaps the most able communicator ever to occupy the White House, and also with the sense of drama of a gifted natural storyteller. He tells us, with warmth and pride, of his early years and of the elements that made him, in later life, a leader of such stubborn integrity, courage, and clear-minded optimism. Reading the account of this childhood, we understand how his parents, struggling to make ends meet despite family problems and the rigors of the Depression, shaped his belief in the virtues of American life—the need to help others, the desire to get ahead and to get things done, the deep trust in the basic goodness, values, and sense of justice of the American people—virtues that few presidents have expressed more eloquently than Ronald Reagan. With absolute authority and a keen eye for the details and the anecdotes that humanize history, Ronald Reagan takes the reader behind the scenes of his extraordinary career, from his first political experiences as president of the Screen Actors Guild (including his first meeting with a beautiful young actress who was later to become Nancy Reagan) to such high points of his presidency as the November 1985 Geneva meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev, during which Reagan invited the Soviet leader outside for a breath of fresh air and then took him off for a walk and a man-to-man chat, without aides, that set the course for arms reduction and charted the end of the Cold War. Here he reveals what went on behind his decision to enter politics and run for the governorship of California, the speech nominating Barry Goldwater that first made Reagan a national political figure, his race for the presidency, his relations with the members of his own cabinet, and his frustrations with Congress. He gives us the details of the great themes and dramatic crises of his eight years in office, from Lebanon to Grenada, from the struggle to achieve arms control to tax reform, from Iran-Contra to the visits abroad that did so much to reestablish the United States in the eyes of the world as a friendly and peaceful power. His narrative is full of insights, from the unseen dangers of Gorbachev’s first visit to the United States to Reagan’s own personal correspondence with major foreign leaders, as well as his innermost feelings about life in the White House, the assassination attempt, his family—and the enduring love between himself and Mrs. Reagan. An American Life is a warm, richly detailed, and deeply human book, a brilliant self-portrait, a significant work of history.
Ronald Reagan left behind a legacy that America will never forget. Now, in this one-of-a-kind collection of his most intimate thoughts, his favorite quotations by others, and his own most collectible jokes, all culled from a newly disclosed set of personal notecards he kept throughout his life and career, fans and admirers of the fortieth president will find a unique window of insight into the soul of an American icon. Edited by Douglas Brinkley, editor of #1 New York Times bestseller The Reagan Diaries, this indispensible Reagan retrospective is perfect for fathers,graduates, and anyone looking to find inspiration in the thoughts and musings of a great American leader.
Ronald Reagan: 100 Years is the official centennial publication from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. Featuring archival photographs of the Reagan family along with insightful text, this book is the ultimate commemorative edition to mark the one hundredth anniversary of President Reagan’s birth. It offers an intimate, insider’s glimpse of the life and legacy of America’s most beloved leader.
Admirers of Ronald Reagan will appreciate this collection of some of his most astute and inspirational sayings, which, even in the short time since his death, are proving timeless. The Deepest and Noblest Aspirations is an inspiring collection of sayings by President Ronald Regan. It is based on the complete quote, " Freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit." This elegantly designed compendium gathes the very best, most thought-provoking statements. A wonderful gift for students, history buffs, and the millions of Americans who admire Ronald Regan snd want to learn more about him
This unique collection of photographs and quotations is a celebration of the warmth, wisdom, and wit of Ronald Reagan, one of America's most beloved presidents. Through more than half a century of public life, he spoke with consistency and contagious optimism to the hearts and minds of American people, and his ability to inspire and persuade led to his reputation as "the Great Communicator." This volume is the consummate treasury of his insights and unwavering beliefs, carefully selected from thousands of speeches and public appearances. It is a spirited tribute to one of the twentieth century's greatest political leaders, whose captivating humor and enduring optimism helped shape a nation.
As one of the greatest presidents of the twentieth century, Ronald Wilson Reagan succeeded in renewing pride in America, strengthening the principles of family, faith, and freedom on which this nation was founded, and restoring our hope for the future. President Reagan endeared himself even to his political opponents with his self-effacing wit and irrepressible optimism. Inspiring, thoughtful, and at times downright funny, he had an amazing gift for stirring emotion, sparking debate, and calling a nation to action. This collection of his public and private words provides a close-up portrait of our fortieth president. From hilarious one-liners to self-deprecating tales to intimate family moments, the selections depict Ronald Reagan in all his many roles -- as world leader, conservative icon, orator, actor, and father.
Many books have been written regarding Ronald Reagan, but this collection of his letters must certainly be among the most varied and revealing aspect of the man. Organized by themes such as "Old Friends", "Running for Office ", "Core Beliefs" the book contains over 1,000 letters stretching from 1922 to 1994 . Whether discussing economic policy with a political for, dispensing marital advice, or sharing a joke with a pen pal.
No president in this century has achieved such popularity as President Reagan did in his eight years in office. For the first time he tells the story of his public life and private life, in a book which is frank, revealing, and compellingly readable. Photographs.
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