March 1981 plu"ne XVII, No.1 Price $1.50 COMMENTARY Reagan's H istoric Opportunity COMMENTARY rom the viewpoint of the Republican Party, Ronald Reagan has won the most impressive Presidential vic· Ftory since Dwight Eisenhower's 1952 election. Not Reagan 's Historic only has Reagan run impreSSively in aU regions of the coun· Opportunity 2 try. he has contributed to the Republican capture of the U.S. Senate and to the strong Republican showings in guberna­ The Cabinet: torial and state legislative races. Two individuals deserve No t A Bad Start, primary credit for the 1980 party building success - Ronald Generally 4 Reagan and Bill Brock. Unlike the successful Republican Presidential nominees in the 1952 and 1972 landslides, Rea­ Republi can Sweep Could gan tied his cam paign closely to the efforts of other Republi. Mean COP Control of can candidates. The result was a party building success un­ matched since Franklin O. Roosevelt's 1932 victory. Senate for Rest of Decade 5 Besides Reagan and, of course, Jimmy Carter whose policy drift helped to fuel the Republican triumph, Republican Na· An Open Le tter to tional Chairman Bill Brock deserves enormous credit fot the Moderate Republicans 8 top to bottom Republican triumphs. Shonly, after assuming the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee 1982: TIle Hope for a Brock began a party building effort to strengthen the party Congressional Majority 11 at the grass roots and to win control of legislatures and governslnps in order to guarantee a fair shake in reapportion­ ment and redistricting to follow the 1980 census. Brock also played a central role in the brilliantly conceived "Time for a Change" national television advertising campaign winch appears to have conditioned the climate for the unexpected Republican successes of November 4. Reagan has a historic opportunity to transform our political lanscape but to do so he must interpret his mandate accu rate­ ly. The Reagan triumph was a mixture of affirmation of trust and hope in the principles espoused by Reagan and of rejection of the poliCies of his major party opponent. This mixed mandate is nothing new- such was the case with both RIPON fOR(JM Lyndon Johnson's 1964 landslide and Richard Nixon's 1972 victory. Yet both of these Presidential winners mis­ Edlton Wltll"m P. McKenzl. E""ull"" Editor: SlIm",.1 A. 51'1 •••• read their landslide victories as carte blanche endorsements Art Director: EUulMlih L" (The GrlPl'llc Tun.) of their policies. THE RIPON FORUM (tS$N 0035-5526J 'I pubUshed monthly In 19'1 except for J,nu.ry Ind Feb,u.ry (1980 subKribe'5 mlY hive SuDtc,lPUonl ••"enaeo to .lIow for puolluUon Interruption) bY Ihe Analysis of the election day exit poUs and the returns them· Ripon Society. Inc. selves reveals that Rea gan has a mandate for considerable change in some areas. In the PUDtlCltlon, 11'1 .. $00:.1"111" hopes to prowloe 01 lorum f or "un lous, well ,.sol,cheo p.adou'I, .no , spl,lt 01 c ••atl". c,lIlclsm Ino I" " ovilion In tne Reoubllc .., Pa,tv. MlnUK, lpu Ind ooololl"PI'I' ••• sollclt.d, bUI d o nol ,.p .... nl Ih. vl,wlol the Socl.ty unless so ,t.t'd. The 51 percent of the voters who chose Reagan for President Cont.nts .... coPv.lghted C 1981 by Ih. Ripon So<:IOIV. Inc., 800 on Nov. 4th differed widely on a number of divisive social 181h Street, N.W., Wuhlngton, D.C. 20006. issues such as the equal rights amendment and abortion. Yet Se.cond cl .., pQlOtage and tHs paid It WlShlngton. D.C. andlddlllon.1 they have virtual unanimity on several key issues which milling o ffices. moved them to support Governor Reagan. First, they desire SUIlK.lptlon rates: Sl !5 P" yea., S1.50 10. stud~'"ts, se.vlcem.n, Pe.c. Corps, Vln" "nd Olh• • vOl un tee's. Dv•• seas, add S6. PI.aH competent and consistent management of the economy and a allow liv. _kS fo, .dd ••u c"angoes. reduction in the rate of inflation. Second, they desire a more Tn. RiPOn Socl.ty, Inc .• Richa,d S.lvatl."a, P,.sld.nl, Is .. R.pueU· rational incentives and rewards system, which will reward can " .H.ren .. nd POlley o,ganlzellon whOH m.mDen a', Ousln.", Ka".mlc, and p,of.sslon,1 m.n and wom.n. II Is h."dqu.rl.,." In savings and investment, entrepreneurial innovation and hard WlShlngton, D.C., wltn flft ..n cn,pt.,s, 10 ..... 1 IUlUlt.d SUt>cn'Pten, "nd Nlllon.1 Assoclat. m.mtllrs Ih,OUghout tn. United St,tOl. Tn. work. Third, they believe that government must be made SoclllV IS support.d by chlPt.r dU.S, Indlvldu,l cont. lbutlonl, .na accountable to the citizenry. Fourth, they desire a consis· ,.v.nu.,I,om In PUl;llIe,l lonl ,nd contrlc t wo.I<. tent and strong foreign policy which commands respect from our allies and adversaries alike . 2 Ripon Forum To capitalize on this mandate for economic and structural advocated by Ronald Reagan. Thus, the Reagan Admin istra­ reform, Reagan should act boldly and be willing to make tion can begin to overhaul our incentive structure without sharp deparlUres. fueling infla tion. To arrest inflation he will have to be willing to incur the Reagan's mandate for a stronger and more consistent fore ign wrath of powerful and vocal interests. TIus will require policy hardly requires thaI he begin a massive buildup of ac tion to cut back inflationary indexing of many entitl e­ strategic weapons. The Administration's first military bud­ ments programs, courage to resist the short term political get priority must be to create a climate to attract and retain temptation of economic protectionism, willingness to curb talented men and women into our armed services. Second, the growth of subsidies to politically powerful producer in­ we must build up our deple ted conventional inventories terests and a commitment to deregulat ion to benefit con­ wltich have been drained ever since our involvement in Viet­ sumers and reduce barriers to entry fo r new businesses. nam. Increases in military pay, improvements in our con­ vent ional forces, and bolstering of ou r st rategic systems will Such pro-eompetitive and fiscally prudent policies can pro­ require some increases in real defense spending, bu t the test vide a climate for the Significant cuts in marginal tax rates of Reagan's leaderslup may well be his ability to persuade our allies to share the burdens of any defense buildup. STATEMENT OF OWNE RSHIP, MANACEMENT AND TIle Reagan Administration must in the next few months CIRCULATION: 1. Tit le of Publication: Ripon Forum. 2. reach out in a dramatic way to blacks who remained over­ Date of Filing: February 26, 1981. 3. Frequency of issue: whelmingly outside the winning coalition on November 4 . Four times: A. No. of issues published annually. 4. B. Reagan's success in governing will depend on his being per­ Annual Subscription Price: S 15.00. 4. Location of Known ceived as President of all the people. More important than OfOce of Publication: 800 18th 51., N.W., Washington , D.C_ some symbolic high level appointmen ts, important though 20006. 5. Location of the Headquarters or General Business they be, is President Reagan's ability to build on the imagi­ Offices of the Publishers: 800 18th St., N.W., Washington, nati ve agenda set forth in his speech to the National Urban D.C. 20006. 6. Name and Address of Publisher: The Ri pon League. The creation of en terprise zones, the adoption of Society Incorporated , 800 18th St. , N,W., Washington, D.C. innovative approaches to combat youth unemployment , 20006. Name and Address of Editor: William P. McKenzie, and the fostering of minority economic development and 800 18th SI., N.W., Washington, D.C_ 20006. 7. Owner: communit y self-help initiatives offer appealing alternatives The Ripon Society, Inc., 800 18th St., NW., Washington, to the pale paternalism which is the offering of tile current D.C. 20006. 8. Kn own bondholders, mortgages, and other Democratic Party. security holders owning or holding one percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: none. Reagan can also reach out to the Americans who supported the Anderson independent candidacy or the Clark Libertar­ Average No. of Actual No. of ian candidacy. TIlOse vo ters, the great bulk of whom are dis­ Copies Each Copies of tressed with the bankruptcy of the current Democra tic Party, Issue During Single Is ~ue 10. Extent and Nature Preceding Published can be attracted by a program geared to incentives, en tre­ of Circulation 12 Months Nearest Filing preneun:lu p and community initiative. Wlule ge nerally social issue libertarians repelled by the politics of the Moral Major­ A. Total No. of Copies ity, many of the Anderson and Clark voters and sympalhizers Printed 3123 8000 who peeled off in the closing weeks of the campaign to the B. Paid Circulation two major party candidates can be allracted to support the 1. Sales Through Dealers st ructural changes which the Reagan mandate can produce. and Carriers, Street Vendors, and Counter Unlike his Republican predecessor, Dwight Eisenhowe. Sales 0 0 whose successful governing style Re agan seems likely to emu­ 2. Ma il Subscriptions 1822 1807 late, President Reagan would do well to tend to the struc­ C. Total Paid Circulation 1822 1807 ture of the Republi can Party. Reagan has won an impressive D. Free Distri bution by national victory and in a manner unprecedented for a Repub­ Mail , Carrier or Other lican Presidential challenger, has carri ed a plurality of the Means: Samples, Roman Catholic vote.