The immigration issue was vastly underestimated during Reagan’s time. But he was wrong on this, as he was wrong on a number of other issues. He was a great President, but he wasn’t perfect. Sanford having grave faults does neither make him a Reagan, and pointing this out does not deminish Reagan.
Agreed on all points. Rather than dismissing candidates when they take a single position we disagree with, I think we have to judge all Republican candidates, including Sanford, by their positions on all issues as a whole and give particular attention to the devotion they have to their ideals. A consistent ideology and a passionate belief in it is the #1 quality we should look for in a candidate. Sanford has this because he has (I hate to use the term) an intellectual curiosity and knowledge of history by which he has formed his principles.
I have met many politicians, including Sanford and put him among the few I trust and respect. One story he tells is when he was meeting with some Republican friends in his office discussing politics, one said "The name of the game is staying in the game." He told that man, "You win the war by fighting for what you believe, even if it takes you out of the game. What would have happened at Normandy if each individual soldier had been trying to stay in the game. More would have survived. But we would have lost the war." He is willing to sacrifice his own self interest for the conservative and American cause. I believe he truly means that. I only ask that you give this man another look. I didn't see it myself first until I really studied the man. But there is a promise that is deeper than can be seen with a passing glance.