Reagan's 11th Commandment was to never speak ill of a fellow Republican. Today that law is broken repeatedly, and I myself am guilty. But when we keep the fight "within the family", it is a bit more acceptable. When we decide to "go against the family"--a little Corleone there--we have disaster.
So we had four years of Jimmy Carter, the man who started the surrender to Islamic fundamentalism with his weak-kneed policy in Iran.
Reagan didn't care for the East Coast hoity-toity Republican establishment...but he stayed with the party nevertheless.
Reagan's example is the one to follow, not Pat Buchanan's or Ross Perot's. Work for change within the party, yes--but do NOT abandon it. Abandonment gives power to the party that is worse than even the country club Republican party--the party of Henry Wallace, FDR's socialist VEEP, the party of Howard Dean, the party of Hitlery, the party of the Breck Girl, the party of John "Global Test" Kerry.
That is unacceptable.
Of which he was continuing a policy established by Jerry Ford actually. No assassination upon foreign heads of state. A Ford E.O. The heads of state supporting terrorism then knew the U.S. would not punish them with death. Carter signed a simuliar E.O. as did Reagan. Reagan did choose a military strike though.