He didn't mean lay down and let the party run all over you. BTW those who use that quote forget it was one GHW Bush who flamed Reagan up one side and down the other. Then after replacing Reagan tore down all he did. I think that quote is being used for a purpose it was never intended for. Reagan would have likely been talking pretty ill against the GOP of the past 11 years had he been dealing with them. He sure would not have wasted a majority in both houses.
I would have loved to have seen Reagan handling ones like Specter. LOL Speak no ill? Yea sure. The party needs some hostility. IT IS DEAD! Maybe some hostile voters who are real sick and tired of things can wake it up again to something besides the Democratic Party's doormat it has become.
You don't get it...debate the ideas, not the individuals. Too many seem to say "Rudy isn't 100% conservative, so I'm going to dreg up whatever chunk of garbage, rumor or innuendo I can about his personal life to smear him"
THAT'S the kind of crap the democrats pull.
But, maybe that's the way politics works. If your candidate isn't popular enough to out poll the front runner, attack the front runner to bring him back to you. Of course that tactic does nothing to improve the process and does much to harm it, but that's ok....a real conservative can win then!