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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (191696)	6/15/2012 6:54:50 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 543732

Later, with W, they learned that acting skill wasn't even required!

To: koan who wrote (191696)	6/16/2012 12:17:00 AM
From: Bread Upon The Water	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 543732

Reagan was involved in politics all his life even before he became a politician per se as he was the actor guild's union rep (and a Democrat) and this is why, according to his first wife, Jane Wynman, they divorced--because Reagan wouldn't shut up about politics. So it's not as if Reagan was a political blank screen waiting to be written upon. buzzle.com politico.com I agree about Reagan. Rat once posted the story of how a bunch of rich guys sort of found Reagan and used his acting skills to get him elected and do their bidding. Which of course was to take over the country. Which they have done a pretty good job of.

To: koan who wrote (191696)	6/16/2012 12:59:37 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 543732

The Kitchen Cabinet Lyn "Sancho" Nofziger noted of the 1966 California gubernatorial election, “Ronald Reagan materialized out of thin air with no political background, no political cronies, and no political machine . . . He didn’t even run his own campaign.” An enigmatic facet of Reagan’s rise to power is the role played by a small group of wealthy conservatives known as his “Kitchen Cabinet.” This handful of men initiated, financed and guided Reagan’s political career. Many Gentiles in the group subsequently bankrolled prominent think tanks and nonprofit organizations promoting anti-Communist, libertarian, and conservative social causes. The Kitchen Cabinet coalesced after Reagan delivered a Republican fundraising speech at the Coconut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles in 1964. Five or six men from the audience asked Reagan if he’d deliver the same speech on nationwide TV in support of Barry Goldwater’s presidential bid if they purchased the airtime. He agreed. The result was the famous “A Time for Choosing” speech broadcast over the NBC television network on October 27, 1964. Biographer Bill Boyarsky has compared the effect of this speech on rank-and-file conservatives and anti-Communists with the impact William Jennings Bryan's 1896 "Cross of Gold" speech had on farmers and laborers. Goldwater (an Episcopalian half Jew) did not invite Reagan to deliver the speech. The two men, rivals for the leadership of the conservative movement, were not close. In 1976 Goldwater even endorsed Gerald Ford—regarded by Reagan with contempt—for President over the Californian. Rather, Reagan’s wealthy backers made Goldwater an offer he couldn’t refuse: a free half hour of prime time television (Reagan’s filmed speech) right before the November election. Nevertheless, Goldwater balked, unsuccessfully attempting to dump Reagan and use the time slot to broadcast a film of himself with ex-President Eisenhower instead. After Reagan’s speech had aired, Goldwater’s campaign switchboard lit up. Thousands of people called to pledge support. “During the next few days, my speech was played and replayed at fund-raising events and on local television stations around the country and it ultimately raised eight million dollars for Goldwater and the party.” (Reagan, 143) “A Time for Choosing,” coupled with Goldwater’s crushing defeat, instantly elevated Ronald Reagan to the undisputed leadership of the conservative Republican movement. The Los Angeles Times summarized: “Reagan's political fortunes rose from the ashes of Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater's spectacular defeat in 1964. Reagan offered a friendly antidote to Goldwater's strident rhetoric. Reagan's tone suggested patriotic concern and continuity with the past. Unlike Goldwater, he could sell conservatism with a smile.” The founder of the Kitchen Cabinet was wealthy Los Angeles Ford dealer Holmes P. Tuttle (d. 1989), an Eisenhower Republican “who Reagan owed more than anyone,” according to Michael Deaver. Reagan named the following individuals as being those who initially persuaded him to run for Governor of California: “Holmes Tuttle, Henry Salvatori, Justin Dart, Leonard Firestone, Cy Rubel, and a handful of others who became known collectively as my ‘Kitchen Cabinet.’” (Reagan, 156) Tuttle, Salvatori, and Rubel established “The Friends of Ronald Reagan” to raise funds and prepare Reagan for the governorship. J. Neil Reagan, the candidate’s brother (a vice president of McCann-Erickson, the advertising agency), was brought aboard to handle marketing. The Cabinet hired California consulting firm Spencer-Roberts & Associates to oversee the campaign. Stuart Spencer remained a trusted advisor thereafter. Donald Regan observed of him: “Spencer is a ruthless pragmatist, and although he has never held any official role in the Administration, he is one of the few people who is licensed to speak his mind to the President and his wife on all subjects and has the audacity to do so. The Reagans have formed the habit, over many years, of listening very carefully to what he says.” (Regan, 57) more siliconinvestor.com