[nathanbedford]

In 1964 another New Yorker, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, campaigned against Barry Goldwater describing him as out of the mainstream. When Goldwater and his supporters maintained that he was well in the mainstream of middle America, the Republican establishment declared that it was a rather "meandering" stream.

New Yorkers have been trying to define to their own purposes doctrinal purity of conservatism since I have been following politics and long before.

Matt, you are a newbie to Free Republic, I am reluctant to discount your contributions solely for that reason but your reply is internally inconsistent and smacks of an opportunistic attack against Ted Cruz. I hope I am wrong in this assessment.

Ronald Reagan proved to my satisfaction that the Big tent arguments advanced by rinos is wrong. Rather, the winning approach is to identify compelling conservative principles and articulate a compelling conservative philosophy and watch people tear open the tent flaps to come inside.

[cripplecreek]

People who compare Trump to Reagan crack me up. Trump couldn’t give this speech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nukzTmu8tPA

Kindness, humility, reaching out etc.

[CatherineofAragon]

"Ronald Reagan proved to my satisfaction that the Big tent arguments advanced by rinos is wrong. Rather, the winning approach is to identify compelling conservative principles and articulate a compelling conservative philosophy and watch people tear open the tent flaps to come inside."

That's what Cruz does, too. Instead of putting on big sideshows in the cities, he gets out there in the areas no one else bothers with and actually talks with the people.