In 1980, Reagan put Bush I, a moderate Republican, on his ticket

[Yavin4]

During the Republican nomination campaign, Bush mocked the core of Reagan's tax cut message by calling it "voodoo economics".

Why did Reagan do that? Because he needed a united party to go after Jimmy Carter. Reagan was the leader of the conservative movement, yet he understood the need to bring people along with the movement instead of mocking and insulting them.

--On Edit--

[leftieNanner]

1. Good Point

One of my concerns with Bernie Sanders is that he would not go that route, but choose a Nina Turner type flame thrower.

[themaguffin]

2. Reagan went after Carter, made it a referendum. With Bernie, it wouldn't be a referendum and we

would lose.

Letting trump off the hook.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. There's just so much there

Reagan was a front man for the religious conservatives that grabbed control of the party, a submovement that began post-Goldwater in 1964. President Carter had sufficient problems with inflation and Iran to make him vulnerable without a united GOP, even if many Democrats still believe the GOP had a hand in the delayed hostage resolution. Some still believe Ted Kennedy's candidacy caused division in Democratic ranks. Did Reagan understand any of what he was doing, or was he an actor delivering lines that felt good? So I seriously doubt the premises of your construct.

[irisblue]

4. Bush 1was not a moderate. That is not true.

[Yavin4]

5. In 1980, he was.

He was a pro-choice, moderate on domestic issues and a hawk on foreign policy.

&t=485s

[irisblue]

7. Yavin, I'm going to disagree with you on this point.

Yes it is true the current gop is very hard right with a libertarian overlay. His social policies were for sure more aligned with NorthEastern republican principles. And this is in line with your reply to me, those who were limited gov't involvement in daily lives are called moderates now, then not so much.

But using the term moderate for the man who the US rep to China, 74-75, & was CIA director 75-76 really pushes that description for me. He acquiesced to Reagan's foreign policy easily.

That term does not work for me.

YMMV.

[Yavin4]

8. You are judging Bush from a Democratic perspective.

To the Republicans, he was moderate to Liberal which is why Pat Buchanan challenged him in 1992 for the nomination of the party.

Yes, he was a hawk on foreign policy but so to were a lot of then-Liberal Dems like Bobby Kennedy.

[irisblue]

9. Yavin,

I am a very liberal Democrat yes. I remember those years first hand, I am judging by my life experience. Bush 1was a faithful servant to Reagan.

As I said, YMMV, and that is fine, your POV is yours, mine is different. My opinion is not an attack on you.

[Yavin4]

11. Let me try one more time

During the 1980 Republican campaign for the nomination, Bush I was considered the moderate by Republican party standards at the time. Conservatives wanted Jack Kemp to be Reagan's VP, but Reagan chose Bush I in order to fold the moderates under his conservative movement.

To you and I, Bush I was a conservative much like Amy Klobuchar is a liberal to a lot Republicans.

[irisblue]

12. And I was in Detroit at that convention. I know what I saw and heard

And I am done on the topic of Bush1 as a moderate republican today.
Enjoy your day.

[guillaumeb]

6. Bush Sr. helped Reagan hide the Iran-Contra crimes.

He was no moderate.

He was a racist, and an enabler of Reagan's crimes.

[tritsofme]

10. It was quite a strange convention. Gerald Ford nearly became the VP nominee in a "co-president"

agreement with Reagan, that came together and fell apart very late in the game before selecting Bush.

[brooklynite]

13. Reagan was a better national candidate than Sanders is, in my opinion

1. Reagan campaigned on mainstream conservative policy positions like strong defense and tax cuts: he did NOT campaign on radical conservative policies like, say eliminating social security.

2. Reagan won by appealing to centrist Democrats in the middle; he did NOT promise that there was an untapped pool of right-wing nonvoters waiting for a "real conservative".

3. Reagan was a strong Republican Party member and understood the importance of Party coalition building; he did NOT step in to the Republican Party only when it was convenient.

[BeyondGeography]

14. Not really buying this parallel...Reagan appealed on his own to a lot of JFK Democrats

in no small part because they were thrilled with his racist rhetoric. They weren't ideological. Reagan started out as a pro-labor Democrat, too, remember? He wasn't lauded for saying the same things his whole life by the faithful. And he didn't have Reagan TV online reminding all his supporters non-stop why he was The One because of it.

Personally, I think heads would explode in Bernie World if he nominated a moderate. There's no risk of this anyway since he has said he will only ask a full-throated supporter of MFA to run with him as VP.