Posted on 03/07/2016 10:26:57 AM PST by xzins
A week ago I attended the funeral for my friend and one-time boss Drew Lewis.
Drew — formally Andrew L. Lewis Jr. — was famous as President Reagan's secretary of Transportation who fired the air traffic controllers. He had been the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania in 1974, and as both the party GOP finance chair and longtime Pennsylvania Republican National Committeeman, he was a considerable presence in what is today referred to as "The Establishment."
But there was more to the Lewis story than that, and an episode from his life comes to mind as we watch an all out civil war — frequently described as a "hostile takeover" — break out between today's GOP Establishment and Donald Trump.
A few days ago, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP's 2012 presidential nominee and the very embodiment of the GOP Establishment, made a frontal attack on Trump.
Romney said Trump was "a phony, a fraud." Which was considerably different than four years ago when Romney begged for Trump's endorsement and, winning it, praised Trump for his ability to"understand how our economy works and to create jobs for the American people."
The utter windmill changing hypocrisy that has so infuriated the base of the GOP could not possibly be better illustrated than by Romney's attack on Trump. No wonder there is a move afoot for a "hostile takeover" of the GOP.
Reagan's Pa. 'takeover'
The Trump campaign is a modern replay of the Reagan and Lewis "hostile takeover" of the Pennsylvania GOP in 1980.
The episode that comes to mind from Drew's life and a "hostile takeover" of the Pennsylvania Republican Establishment begins in 1976, when his best friend from childhood, Pennsylvania's Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Schweiker, was surprisingly selected by Reagan as Reagan's choice for a running mate if Reagan won that year's GOP presidential nomination over President Gerald Ford.
Ford was the GOP Establishment's man. So too, went the thought, was Lewis, who was running Ford's Pennsylvania campaign.
In fact, the selection of Schweiker was in part targeted to get old friend Lewis to abandon Ford and bring the state's national convention delegates with him, thus putting Reagan over the top.
The maneuver failed, Reagan lost to Ford and the Establishment was pleased, particularly with their man Drew Lewis.
But they misjudged Lewis. His loyalty to Ford was simple: he had given his word and would not go back on it. It had nothing to do with being the Establishment's man.
Four years later it was a different story altogether. So impressed was then-former California Gov, Reagan with Lewis in opposition that he made a point of courting the young Pennsylvanian. The two men hit it off — and the rest of the story was told to me by Lewis himself.
It seems that once Drew made up his mind and endorsed Reagan for president in the lead-up to the 1980 campaign — over Reagan's very Establishment opponent George H.W. Bush — his peers in the Pennsylvania GOP Establishment were aghast.
One of them, a very prominent man who had been one of Lewis' predecessors as the Republican National Committeeman from Pennsylvania, sat down and penned a sharp and very unpleasant note to Drew.
Essentially, Lewis was being accused of being a traitor to his class.
Drew's response was, as always, polite. But that note was a declaration of political war, making of Pennsylvania one battle in the massive war between Reagan and the national Republican Establishment.
To use a term that frequently surfaces today with Trump, Lewis — a world class businessman himself — was executing a hostile Reagan takeover of the Pennsylvania Republican Party.
While the Bush campaign concentrated on winning the Pennsylvania GOP primary, Drew was driving the length and breadth of Pennsylvania to hand pick prominent local Reagan supporters to put their names on the ballot as Reagan delegates.
In Pennsylvania, GOP delegate candidates have only their names on the ballot — with no indication whom they support.
Thus Drew's determination to go congressional district by congressional district and find Reaganites well-known in their own right. He did.
And come the night of the Pennsylvania primary the headlines went to Bush, who won the popular vote.
But the actual delegates? They went overwhelmingly to Reagan, thanks to Drew's strategy. Not long after, Bush yielded to Reagan. The "hostile takeover" of the GOP by Ronald Reagan — in Pennsylvania and everywhere else — was complete.
A page out of history
The other day the doorbell rang at my home in Camp Hill. Standing there was a young woman seeking my signature to put her brother on the ballot as a Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention. It was a Sunday — and 19 degrees outside.
Her brother the candidate — local lawyer Marc Scaringi — shortly appeared. The two were working the neighborhood house by house to carry the day in the April primary for Trump delegates.
They had no idea I was a Trump supporter — and no other supporters of any other candidate have appeared at my door. It was the Drew Lewis "hostile takeover" strategy for Reagan right at my front doorstep. This time, for Donald Trump.
Make no mistake. What is unfolding from my doorstep all across the nation with the Trump campaign is a modern replay of the Reagan and Lewis "hostile takeover" of the GOP. And as in 1980's ferocious battle between Reagan and the GOP Establishment — an Establishment Reagan derided as "fraternal order" and "pale pastel" Republicans — Trump is winning.
In retrospect? Sitting in the Central Schwenkfelder Church in Lansdale surrounded by hundreds listening to the emotional tributes to Drew Lewis, the historical reality of Lewis's role in the Reagan "hostile takeover" of the Pennsylvania GOP of the day reminds exactly why Trump is succeeding in his own bid to update and renew what has become known to history as the "Reagan Revolution."
In 2016 — 36 years after the Reagan-Lewis hostile takeover of the Pennsylvania Republican Party — the Trump hostile takeover is literally at my doorstep. Suggestion to the GOP Establishment in Pennsylvania?
Pay attention.
Jeffrey Lord is a former Reagan White House political director, author, columnist and CNN commentator. He writes from Camp Hill.
From the article:
***The other day the doorbell rang at my home in Camp Hill. Standing there was a young woman seeking my signature to put her brother on the ballot as a Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention. It was a Sunday — and 19 degrees outside.
Her brother the candidate — local lawyer Marc Scaringi — shortly appeared. The two were working the neighborhood house by house to carry the day in the April primary for Trump delegates.
They had no idea I was a Trump supporter — and no other supporters of any other candidate have appeared at my door. It was the Drew Lewis “hostile takeover” strategy for Reagan right at my front doorstep. This time, for Donald Trump.
Make no mistake. What is unfolding from my doorstep all across the nation with the Trump campaign is a modern replay of the Reagan and Lewis “hostile takeover” of the GOP. And as in 1980’s ferocious battle between Reagan and the GOP Establishment — an Establishment Reagan derided as “fraternal order” and “pale pastel” Republicans — Trump is winning. ***
He also served in the Reagan White House as an associate political director.[2] In that position he assisted in the judicial nomination process for several nominees, including Robert Bork.[3]
Door-to-door says much about the nature of the Trump campaign. Back to the REAL grass roots and the basics of identity politics...identifying yourself to the guy standing at your front door. Love it!
"I will feel ever so virtuous if you commit suicide."
Its a grass-roots revolution in the Republican Party and its Romneys, McCains, Ryans and McConnells don’t see what is happening beneath their feet. They’re that clueless and stupid.
Trump is the least of their worries looking forward to November.
The establishment WILL surrender (have surrendered?) to the IslamoFascists.
Make no mistake.
Go Trump!
I voted this weekend in Florida. Felt good for the first time in forever.
Will Rubio recover from losing in his own state? Or will this be the end of the road for him?
Actually Trump seems to have hit his ceiling. Cruz is the one in the last week’s voting who has exceeded actual vote by 10-30% over what the polls said he would get. Expect more surprises tomorrow.
The Trump revolution is not likely to reduce the size of government, empower small business in the free market, oppose the degeneracy of post modern culture or improve our standing as the shinning light of liberty for the world.
Thanks for posting this xzins. Enlightening article. Go Trump.
Check out the article
“Will Rubio recover from losing in his own state? Or will this be the end of the road for him?”
Answers: He won’t recover from loosing Florida. He may well “continue on” despite the fact that it is the end of the road. To the extent that he siphons off votes from Cruz, staying in is a good thing with the winner-take-all states coming up, but it would be better if both he and K-sick got out. They are nothing at this juncture but a couple of GOPe “hit men,” trying to keep Trump from securing the number of deligates he needs to win on the first ballot at the convention.
I hope Rubio hangs in for a few more contests after 3/15. After he loses Florida, he’ll be pulling single digits and little to no delegates, so he won’t be any real harm to anyone. Like Jeb, it will be fun to try and watch him continue to spin his crushing defeats as proof that he’s the one people want. I kind of miss having Jeb around as a perfect establishment punching bag, LOL.
Not too sure about all of that but Trump would be a step in the right direction. One small step for man, one giant leap for America, especially if he had a true constitutionalist like Cruz as VP to carry America’s recovery further after eight years.
No way. The GOP was very unified in 1980. The closest challenger to Reagan was Bush and he was well back in the pack.
Hi libby,
I think it’s the 48 hour anti-Trump media onslaughts that have preceded each primary. They will break something last minute or they will find a theme the last minute and they will relentlessly attack throughout the media.
That pushes late deciders, undecideds away from Trump.
That’s not an excuse. It’s an explanation.
It’s on him to find a solution for it. If he can’t figure it out, then they will probably try to make it work even better as they head to the winner-take-all states.
I do think that Florida and Ohio are a crossroads for real conservatives. At that point we’ll have to determine the anti-establishment candidate with a REALISTIC path to victory remaining, and we’ll have to swallow our pride and back that guy, or we’ll end up with a brokered convention WHICH even CRUZ says he does NOT want.
Do you think a crushing loss in Florida will prevent him ever holding office again in Florida in any capacity?
There are a lot of empowered small businesses in my neighborhood. Unfortunately your f'n free market means they are all Mexican Grocery stores.
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