The Ripon Society has a fascinating — and timely — article written by Dr. William C. Binning, Chairman Youngstown State University’s Political Science Department, that uses Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign stop in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley as a springboard to specifically outline lessons present day Republicans running for election and re-election might consider learning.
This article needs to be read IN FULL. We’ll only give you the beginning and end:
It’s been said that politics these days is fought along the margins, with each party trying to motivate its political base while the political center is virtually ignored. If that is true, then perhaps it is a good time to recall a candidate who reached out toward the center and, in doing so, was able to win support that crossed and, in fact, transcended party lines.
The candidate was Ronald Reagan; the year was 1980. Reagan’s overwhelming victory over Jimmy Carter that fall was not just a repudiation of a failed presidency that was preoccupied with malaise and paralyzed by hostages. It was also the result of his success in connecting with a group of voters who had spent their entire lives voting Democratic.
Much has been written about Ronald Reagan’s appeal to these ethnic blue collar voters – voters who would forever become known as Reagan Democrats. But little if anything has been written about how his ability to connect with these voters matters today, and why the example he set in reaching out to them is relevant to Republican candidates trying to win election and reelection this fall.
And the end:
If there is one final lesson to take away from Ronald Reagan’s visit to Youngstown, it is this – candidates should never be afraid to look beyond their traditional constituencies for votes. Reagan did not win the Mahoning Valley in 1980. But the unprecedented level of support he ended up winning in the area helped put him over the top in the state, and contributed to his overwhelming victory nationwide. It also reflected his view of campaigning.
“I don’t think of the voters as voters,â€? he wrote in a letter to a supporter on March 14 of that year. “They are people. And I have to tell you something else. I find it most stimulating and even inspiring to meet the people of this country as you meet them during a campaign. You learn what truly great people they are.”
Ronald Reagan viewed voters as people – not Republicans, not Democrats, but people. It’s what brought him to Youngstown 27 years ago. It’s also what made him great.
There’s a LOT in between — including specific lessons that can be applied today.
Reagan remains an icon to many Americans and anathema to some parts of the Democratic party. But he did indeed successfully reach out to a group that became known as the Reagan Democrats. There are increasing signs that, this year, the Reagan Democrats are returning “home.”
This is a MUST READ for Republicans, Democrats and independents.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.