What Establishment? Reagan had the party behind him when he ran, Chafee, Jeffords, Specter, Hatfield, and the rest.
Anderson was a quixotic outrider who got more support from Democrats and Independents than Republicans, let along elected Republican officials.
“What Establishment?”
The Establishment that resented Reagan for running against Ford in ‘76. The Establishment that when Ford beat Reagan at the convention, breathed a sigh of relief because he was 65 and would be gone forever. The Establishment that when Reagan was assured of the nomination in 1980, tried to convince him to choose Ford as his running mate, as a sort of co-presidency. The Establishment that got Bush as Vice-President, and took the party back to the Ford-ites after Reagan was gone. That Establishment. Read George Will’s columns of the period “Reagan can’t win, too extreme, etc.”
We’ve seen this all before. I’m not comparing Trump to Reagan. But the knives will come out for ANYBODY who stands in their way. Reagan had THE PEOPLE behind him, and was therefore able to sidestep them. And it appears at this point, so does Trump.