The Eleventh Commandment (Ronald Reagan)

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The Eleventh Commandment was a phrase used by President Ronald Reagan during his 1966 campaign for Governor of California. The Commandment reads: "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican." [1] [2]

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History

While popularized by Reagan, "The Eleventh Commandment" was created by the California Republican Party chairman Gaylord Parkinson. In his 1990 autobiography An American Life , Reagan attributed the rule to Parkinson, explained its origin, and claimed to have followed it. He wrote: "The personal attacks against me during the primary finally became so heavy that the state Republican chairman, Gaylord Parkinson, postulated what he called the Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican. It's a rule I followed during that campaign and have ever since." [3]

The goal was to prevent a repetition of the liberal Republican assault on Barry Goldwater, attacks that contributed to Goldwater's defeat in the 1964 United States presidential election. [1] East Coast Republicans like Nelson Rockefeller labeled Goldwater an extremist for his conservative positions, and declared him unfit to hold office. [1] Fellow Republican candidate for governor George Christopher and California's liberal Republicans were leveling similar attacks on Reagan. Hoping to prevent a split in the Republican Party, Parkinson used the phrase as common ground. Party liberals eventually followed Parkinson's advice. [1]

Christopher lost to Reagan in the Republican primary, and Reagan went on to defeat the incumbent governor Pat Brown, father of the future California governor Jerry Brown. Reagan followed this commandment during the first five primaries during the 1976 Republican Party presidential primaries against incumbent Gerald Ford, all of which he lost. He abandoned this approach in the North Carolina primary and beat Ford 52–46, regaining momentum and winning a majority of delegates chosen after that date. Former Texas governor John Connally speculated that Reagan's attacks weakened Ford in the 1976 United States presidential election against his opponent and eventual successor, Jimmy Carter. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Williams, Brian (17 October 2007). "the 11th commandment". NBC Nightly News. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  2. Wilcox, David C. (8 April 2002). "The "Eleventh Commandment"". Enter Stage Right. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  3. Reagan, Ronald (1990). An American Life. Simon and Schuster. p. 150.