Ronald Reagan Quotes
Too often character assassination has replaced debate in principle here in Washington. Destroy someone's reputation, and you don't have to talk about what he stands for.
Reagan, Ronald. "Remarks on the Nomination of Robert H. Bork to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States." 30 Sept. 1987. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Ronald Reagan, 1987, Office of the Federal Register, 1989.
Calumnaire fortiter, et aliquid adhaerebit. See Pierre Beaumarchais for a later version of this political tactic.
At that time, most of the leading Republicans practiced negative campaigning with vicious personal attacks that were often untrue. He was the only one of the 9 candidates who did not engage in the technique. He came in close to last.
He was the only candidate who was not visciously attacked and slandered by the others, and he did no attacking himself. However, he simply did not attract the voters as did the other candidates who were so negative about their opponents. The Republican party primary voters were so insistent on political party purity that most of the candidates were reduced to the lowest forms of debate and standards of veracity. All the candidates were weakened and diminished by that form of negative primary process. Mitt Romney finally won the nomination but had been bruised badly by the Republican primary election. He last the general election badly.
An expose claimed that arch segregationist Senator Strom Thurmond had a sexual relationship with a Black woman and had a grown daughter as a result of that liaison. Congressman Wison, a redneck racist made this statement. Soon after, the daughter came out of the closet and the affair was out in the open. What is particularly interesting is that Wilson did not claim that the claim was a smear on the Senator’s morality, but he saw an accusation of fathering a mulatto child as a smear in INTEGRITY. This illustrates how pervasive the segregationist mentality extends to all facets of character.
Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989 and became a highly influential voice of modern conservatism. Prior to his presidency, he was a Hollywood actor and union leader before serving as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975.
