Lessons from the 1976 Republican Convention: Why Ronald Reagan Lost the Nomination| | Retro Report
Vložit
- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
- In 1976 at the Republican National Convention, Ronald Reagan learned that owning the soul of a party wasn’t the same as taking home its nomination. Lesson plan for Educators: bit.ly/RR-convention1976
Sign up for a free Retro Report in the Classroom newsletter to receive free teacher resources: retroreport.org/educationnewsl...
Browse through dozens more lesson plans and videos here: www.retroreport.org/education/
CONNECT WITH RETRO REPORT
Website: www.retroreport.org
Twitter: / retroreport
Facebook: / retroreport
Instagram: / retroreport
CZcams: / retroreport
Retro Report in the Classroom: www.retroreport.org/education/
Retro Report Newsletter: www.retroreport.org/newsletters/
Retro Report is an independent, nonprofit news organization that injects context into today’s discussions of both current events and history. Learn more at RetroReport.org.
When Reagan lost the nomination in 1976, Newsweek, or Time magazine wrote:
"He will be sixty-nine after four years. Too old to run."
Four years later we were made to understand that "life begins at sixty-nine."
After Ford pardoned Nixon.....he was never going to beat Carter...
Ford actually performed well in the ‘76 election, but it was always the Democrats election to lose. Carter should’ve won in a landslide, but his campaign made a significant misstep with the Playboy magazine interview.
I respectfully disagree. If the election was 10 days later, Ford would probably have beaten Carter, his pardon of Nixon not withstanding. Ford was surging and Carter was fading fast, dropping like a rock. Ford just ran out of time. Carter and Ford eventually became very close personal friends. Of course Reagan did not really have any friends, except for his wife Nancy.
@@mliliena bit like 2020 with Biden. Biden should have crushed trump but his age, lack of enthusiasm around him, and underestimate of trumps popularity nearly cost him.
Don't forget that at one point, Ford was leading Carter in the polls - for whatever that's worth - and the final result was very close. What ultimately sank Ford was the economy. The recession had ended by election night but inflation and unemployment remained high all through 1976. Even though unemployment was declining, the recovery had not created enough jobs to make a difference and as we would later see in 1980, 1992, & 2008, when the economy is bad, the incumbent party won't get reelected. If the recovery had begun a few months earlier which would have given the economy more time to create more jobs, I believe Ford would have won.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390 I don’t recall that Ford ever was leading Carter in the polls as you mention. What point was that? I do recall that Carter had a huge lead over Ford after the 1976 DNC, around 30 points. After the RNC in August, Ford began to chip away at Carter’s lead, and he staged a furious rally in October, but came up just short in the November election. He probably would have caught Carter if the election was on November 10th instead of November 2nd. But I never recall Ford actually leading Carter in the polls as you say.
The second after Reagan gave his convention speech at the convention the hall know they made the wrong choice it should have been Reagan in 76z. With that said Reagan’s time was four years later.
It's just as well that Reagan did not get nominated in '76. Had he done so and had he managed to defeat Carter, Ronnie would have later faced the same recession that ultimately undermined the Carter Admin which meant that Reagan would probably not have been reelected in 1980. Reagan's not getting the nomination that year would be a blessing in disguise.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390 I don’t believe that Reagan would have managed to beat Carter in 1976. The electorate wanted to punish the GOP because of Watergate and the Nixon pardon, and was not going to elect any Republican that was connected to Nixon, including Reagan. Carter would have narrowly defeated Reagan in 1976 in my humble opinion, just as he narrowly defeated Ford. At the very least, Carter would have been a huge favorite to defeat Reagan in 1976, and then Reagan would probably have retired to California and been done with politics, never to become President of the United States. It might be hard to believe this after Reagan took 44 states from Carter in 1980, but if Reagan had run against Carter in 1976, then Carter probably would have emerged victorious. In politics as in life, timing is everything. And 1976 was Carter’s time to win, just as 1980 was Reagan’s time. As a trained actor, Dutch Reagan was acutely aware of this. By stepping back in 1976 and letting Ford lose to Carter, Reagan skillfully cleared the way for himself to win big in 1980, instead of losing narrowly in 1976.
I was in junior high school in '76 and this was the first election I followed. The results that year were very close. Ford won more states (27) than Carter did, including California, but Carter won more electoral votes. In the end, the difference was less than 2 million popular votes.
The 1976 election was close even with all of Ford's issues. If Reagan had got it probably would have won.
The sitting president typically gets it lol
Reagan may not have been a great actor, but he was a perfectly competent one. He expertly deployed all the tricks of his trade in his greatest role, as an American politician.
You’re a bore.
He saved the country from the disastrous policies of the terribly incompetent peanut farmer Carter. 21% interest rates. Economy in shambles. Under Reagan we thrived. These are just facts. So leftists do the only thing they ever do. Call people names and make things up when they can't win the debate. Like a third grader.
Ronald Reagan was like a hollow wedding cake consisting only of the icing. It looks so delicious and so ornate, but once you bite into it, you realize you can’t get any nourishment from it. This “cake” was only the sugary exterior. And if that’s all you eat, it’ll make you feel sick.
Damn if that ain't the truth
Total bullshit. This country needs him today
@@mws755Reagan horrible president unless you were rich white collar. Destroyed the honest hard working blue collar worker
Lesson was don't try to be like opposition. Better to nominate a true alternative to other Party 🥳.
Unfortunately, the Republicans haven’t learned this lesson.
Shit Happens
Rockefeller in his elitist true self. Ripping a sign from someones hand. Real classy
Reagan lost the battle and won the war
Ever since reagan became president the US has gone down hill.
Agreed. Right-winger here - - Reagan's neoliberalism (he's not even conservative) sucked for us and continue to sell us out.
@@themainmanborahhow was Reagan not a conservative?
@@robertobrien3571
This is conservatism in a totally different sense than what you'd be familiar with under the liberal paradigm. American conservatism is commonly associated with classical liberalism, or laissez-faire capitalism, which set the foundation for globalization.
_Postliberal_ conservatism however is nationalistic, in that it rejects the very idea of free markets in favor of a robust system grounded in nationhood and cultural identity.
Of course, this isn't the _first_ time we've seen this political tendency in history. We just went through it last century...
@@Synodalianare you trying to claim fascism and Nazism as ‘conservative’. That’s a lol and shows you know nothing about either of those ideologies.
Just because something is Nationalist and protectionist it doesn’t = Fascism!!! lol
I'm not the biggest Reagan fan, but do you genuinely believe the US was in a better place in the late 70s than in the late 80s.
You may disagree with the influence his legacy had but it's worth considering what led to it
❤🐘❤
Ford is one of our best and most underrated POTUS
Nah
As the motto of the vessel that carries his name, "Integrity at the Helm". Scarce little of that in our leaders since.
If you meant POS, then yes. Yes he is a POS
Ford was in over his head. Robert Novak wrote that in Prince of Darkness. He was fortunate to get nominated in 76 even though he was President
@@nathaniellathy6559 I liked my comment better.
I’ll comment to say I like Regan to drown out some brainwashed liberals that exist only on liberal side of CZcams. Regan was a good president and his time wasn’t right in 1976 but it came in 1980 for a reason :)
The only thing you're drowning is your own braincells.
@@Nippleless_Cageand you’re drowning is your socialist Bernie Sanders that is lying to you
Back when the republicans were liberal and had some class before Reagan ruined the party.
Reagan didn't ruin the party. They had class back in the 80s as well.
Always funny how you imbeciles forget that the late 60s and most of the 70s was absolute garbage. Guess who was controlling Congress almost the entirety of the time as well as the presidency periodically? Oh yeah that’s right…
Still classier than the Dems though. Last I checked trannies haven't gone topless at the White House in a Republican administration.
What the hell do we need 2 liberal parties for? Why not just shut the party down at that point?
Ah yes, the classic "liberal = angel, conservative = demon" mindset, good logic
The 2024 Republican Convention is going to look like the 1968 Democratic Convention.
In my view, far, far worse.
I’m looking forward to it.
In what way, may I ask?
Let’s hope not. We can’t afford another four years of Sippy cup Joe.
Lmao
What the hell is that supposed to mean? Dream on. And keep fighting for the swing states to allow unsigned ballots without postmarks to show up days and weeks after election day.
Agreed!