[Antoninus]

Ronald Reagan had one litmus test he applied to candidates. Were they Republicans? If they were he backed them all the way. He would let the party choose the candidate and he would support and vote for the candidate. He didn’t go sniffing around trying to find some flaw in their character or their past. Once nominated, they were his choice.

Ronald Reagan also coined the phrase: "I didn't leave the Democratic party, the Democratic party left me."

If the Republicans leave conservatives behind, we'll just do what Ronald Reagan did, I guess.

[stockstrader]

So, "The democrats don't have litimus tests"?

Oh really? Yep, lots of anti-abortion democrats on the national scene! /s

[Condor51]

The same is true of Rudy Giuliani. On every major issue, he is a solidly conservative and extraordinarily adept executive, but because he backs abortion and some form of gun control, America’s mayor -- the hero of 9/11 ...

This is insane, Rudy is not "solidly conservative" on anything.

And 'some' gun control?!? That's complete B#LLSH*T. Rudy might as well be President of the Brady Bunch. His views on 'gun control' equal those of every despot dictator in the 20th Century. Federal Licensing and 'Testing' of ALL gun owners is NOT 'some' gun control.

Plus anyone who views Ruth Buzzy Ginsburg as a 'strict constructionist' as Rudy does is NOT solidly conservative. Rudy would appoint judges just like her. Not Alito, not Scalia, not Roberts. Every court, every appellate district would mirror the 9th circus. This is proved by his actions as mayor in appointing 62 DEMOCRAT judges out of 66.

As to 'America's Mayor' - nonsense. Oprah gave him that moniker. OPRAH!!! Rudy Julie-Annie is NOT my mayor and NEVER was.

And Julie-Annie is NO hero - period, end, stop. He is a political opportunist who has milked 9-11 for countless millions in personal gain.

I loathe the mutt!

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I'm sorry Mike.

I just can't sacrifice my principles for the sake of political expediency. As much as I would like to throw away everything I believe in just to win, I'm not wired that way.

If it were just one issue, maybe I could walk away from long held beliefs and embrace winning as the only thing that matters, but there's a great deal more than just one issue preventing me from throwing everything I hold dear into the garbage.

I'm sorry, but if the slaughter of children, the abrogation of the Second Amendment, sacrificing American Sovereignty, and giving a thumbs up to buggery are acceptable to the GOP, the GOP is not acceptable to me.

And don't trot out that tired old line about people changing. Political conversions are a dime a dozen. You can only trust a politicians record, the words that come out of his mouth MUST be viewed in light of his past ACTIONS.

No, there's some things that just can not be.

[KoRn]

Very good article!!

Michael Reagan is dead on with his assessment. Just the pure venom that I've been seeing lately here on FR regarding the candidates illustrates everything Reagan is warning us about.

[ajolympian2004]

An AWESOME video tribute to Ronald Reagan! here -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac5xFOC9otw

Ronald Reagan’s speeches (audio and transcripts) -
http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/scripps/digitalarchive/speechDetail/32

Ronald Reagan Library and Foundation -
http://www.reaganfoundation.org/

Official site for the USS Ronald Reagan - CVN 76, now deployed at sea -
http://www.reagan.navy.mil/

[paul51]

I'm not looking for perfection, just someone who believes responsible, law abiding citizens have a right to defend themselves. This basic principal is so fundamental that if any candidate can not see their way to support it, I will never vote for them, regardless of their party.

[Leatherneck_MT]

I would suppose this is the reason conservatives (for the most part) are conservatives first and second.

[kidd]

The Democrats don’t have litmus tests.

The sign of a dumb article.

Perhaps Mr. Micheal should have a chat with Joe Lieberman.

[Killborn]

Conservatives need to learn the lessons liberals learned:

You don't wait for the knight in shining armor, you train one from the squires.

Instead of wanting people to vote for a candidate, we have to get the people to want to vote for him/her.

Emotion trumps intellect.

[dirtboy]

It may come as a surprise to these purists, but Ronald Reagan once supported abortion too. Yet nobody ever questioned his strong pro-life credentials after his conversion to Republicanism. They accepted his sincerity. Why can’t they accept Mitt Romney’s?

Conservative ephiphanies that do not coincide with a run for a new office are much more convincing.

[Sloth]

Ronald Reagan had one litmus test he applied to candidates. Were they Republicans? If they were he backed them all the way.

Proof that Reagan was, indeed, wrong sometimes.

By the way, has Mitt Romney ever explained in detail *why*he changed his mind on abortion?

[xzins]

Ronald Reagan had one litmus test he applied to candidates. Were they Republicans?

I reject that analysis for the primaries. Reagan himself had bruising primaries and his CONSERVATISM won out.

I WILL find and vote for a real conservative in the primaries.

It's that simple.

In the general, I'll vote for anyone except McCain. If he's the nominee, I'll write in the same guy I vote for in the primaries.

[Ol' Sparky]

What disgusting column. How can a Christian like Michael Reagan justify supporting a notorious adultery, someone that is rabidly in favor of abortion and the homosexual agenda?

Rudy is conservative with the exception of one issue? Who is Michael trying to fool? Rudy has more in common with Bill Clinton than his father. Rudy is pro-aborton, pro-homosexual agenda, pro-gun control and pro-man-made global warming. There is also reason to believe he isn't a fiscal conservative based on the way his admistrattion spent money in his second term in office in New York.

It's wonder conservativism is in such bad shape when conservative talk show hosts are proposing voting for RINOs for office.

[Ramcat]

This is a good article.
The problem is not with Republicans or conservatives rejecting a candidate with blemishes.
The problem is that the MSM seems to be picking our candidates for us.
How hard would it be to find a pro-life, pro-gun, tax cutting, small government, secure borders candidate?
These are the reasons, to whatever degree, that most people vote Republican.
If we pick a candidate who can inclusively articulate the above positions, we win. If we ignore any of the above positions, we ignore a key constituency at the cost of loosing national elections. It's simple really.

[MaxMax]

Hey boy wonder,
why not ask the Dem's to change theirs and see what hits the fan.

[devolve]

- VOTE 3rd PARTY -

BECAUSE 8 YEARS WAS JUST NOT ENOUGH

[petitfour]

Ditto, Mike Reagan. I was just talking to hubby about this yesterday, and I said the same things. He, of course, agreed with me. It was our anniversary!

[Christian4Bush]

bump

[Mercat]

Thank you Michael.