[SoConPubbie]

Post-election studies show that the uncommitted vote moved to Reagan on the weekend before the election, more as an anti-Carter vote than a pro-Reagan endorsement, and that’s what made up the landslide margin in 1980.

Reagan was also very unpopular in his first term due to a stagnant economy and foreign policy tragedies throughout 1983 (remember, Beirut?), and as late as after the first debate he was running even with Mondale in 1984. Those who cite economic recovery as the basis of his support in 1984 are implicitly endorsing the same federal reserve policies which are being criticized today, as they opened the M2 spigot in Spring 1984.

None of that proves that the grass-roots was not heavily involved with supporting Reagan all along from the start of his candidacy.

For all you know, his debate performance swung more establishment and independent voters his way vs. the grass-roots.

In fact, this is a more plausible position because it is exactly those type of people who are more emotional and would be swung by a win in a debate performance because they want to back a winner vs. the grass-roots who have a tendency to be better informed and make decisions based on principles vs. emotion.

Your logic is flawed.

[research99]

The point is that it wasn’t the grassroots that elected Reagan per Cruz’s current rhetoric, but it was in fact an anti-incumbent vote among swing voters in 1980 that removed Carter from office.