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List Price: $25.00
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Type: Hardcover
Item#: c5676
ISBN#: 068484320X
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They didn’t see him coming: How Reagan stunned the liberals in his first political triumph
And why they’ve never quite recovered from the shattering blow
The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan’s First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics
by Mathew Dallek
In 1966, Ronald Reagan’s astounding million-vote victory in the California gubernatorial race against incumbent Pat Brown caught the liberal establishment by surprise. The entrenched Democratic party, which viewed Reagan with disdain, had mistakenly considered him more an annoyance than a political threat. Just how did conservatism deliver such a crushing blow to liberalism?
(continued from above)
At last this story is properly told by insightful scholar Matthew Dallek, who captures the defining moment when Reagan rose to leadership at a pivotal time: just when liberalism was beginning to fray around the edges. The wear was already beginning to show when the Watts riots broke out and Berkeley students wreaked havoc with belligerent sit-in protests; liberalism wasn’t holding up under the pressure.
Despite the social unrest, Gov. Brown thought he had the election in his pocket. Until, that is, the shining optimism and unwavering principles of Reagan caught up with him. Here is the story of the real emergence of the Reagan Revolution: it didn’t happen in 1980, but in 1966, during his face-off with Governor Brown, when Reagan first gave voice to the popular conservative ideas that endure to this day. Dallek, writing as a dispassionate historical observer, comes to the warming conclusion: “the Reagan Revolution would prove so lasting because the formulas developed in the heat of the moment -- pro-social order, pro-individual liberty, anti-government meddling -- had a lasting appeal.”
But that’s not the only music to a conservative’s ears you’ll find in this fascinating analysis. Remember when conservatives weren’t afraid to fight for what they believe in? There are lessons for today’s political landscape in The Right Moment, and a renewed sense that, in the end, conservatism will ultimately triumph over the flawed ideas of liberalism. Highlights:
- How the California fair housing issue was a turning point in the 1960s that liberals failed to notice
- Why the liberals arrogantly assumed that the future was theirs for the taking
- The attempts to derail Reagan’s campaign, including the clever tactics of a moderate Republican leader who tried unsuccessfully to paint him as an extremist
- How the liberals’ hardened view that American conservatism was no longer a legitimate political force opened the door to a conservative coup d’etat
- What happened when Reagan asked some political consultants home to dinner (his touch of humor convinced them to come aboard)
- What Reagan did to get around his critics’ charge that he was merely an actor simulating a role ... the reporters closed in for the kill, only to come away disappointed
- Why Reagan wanted to hit (with his fist) his opponent in the primary
- How the incumbent governor’s decision to play dirty in the campaign turned into a disaster
- Why Pat Brown was foolish in wanting to face Reagan instead of another Republican candidate -- and how he totally underestimated Reagan’s huge appeal with the middle
- How Reagan was able to capitalize on the social unrest that defined ‘60s California; riots and campus protests
- How, despite being regarded as a B-movie actor, shrill anti-Communist, and president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan was more adept at assessing the political climate than the seasoned professionals, even the popular and powerful Pat Brown
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 LAWRENCE GNASS
I would not say that Matthew Dallek is a staunch conservative, but this is a good read for those Reagan junkies interested in 1960's California politics.
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