RIP to Ronald Reagan’s Grand Old Party. May it someday rise again. | Opinion

It saddens me to share the passing the Ronald Reagan’s GOP.

Born on Nov. 3, 1976, the Gipper’s GOP passed away Nov. 5. Afflicted with a cancer, this version of the GOP struggled to survive over the last decade.

After the struggles of the party post-Richard Nixon and Watergate, followed by the defeat of Gerald Ford to Jimmy Carter, many questioned if the GOP could survive. However, after his narrow loss in the Republican primaries in 1976, the conservative Reagan used his tremendous communication skills to bring the party together and achieve tremendous electoral and policy successes in the 1980s and beyond.

Reagan provided what a struggling party needed, a leader who could focus on a core set of beliefs. Those beliefs included adherence to the principles of our founding fathers, a belief in personal responsibility, economic freedom, opposition to Communism and the idea that America had an important role as a beacon of freedom and liberty throughout the world.

The ability to articulate a coherent set of policy positions that were woven together to bring America out of a recession and become stronger on the world stage was the tonic needed to save the party and provide Americans hope. A hope that America could emerge better, that individuals could still get ahead and that the government was going to get out of their way and allow them that chance.

Reagan’s economic program was based on research and theories from experts. Commonly called Reaganomics, it relied on theories from people such as Art Laffer, Roger Porter and William Niskanen. His policies cut taxes, simplified them and eliminated some deductions. There are varied opinions on the benefits of these policies. However, Reagan believed in these policies and sold them to all Americans to build support.

The word landslide is regularly used after elections these days, almost always incorrectly. The last real landslide in a Presidential election was Reagan’s victory in 1984. Forty years ago, Reagan won 525 of the 538 electoral votes, with Democrat nominee and former Vice President Walter Mondale winning only his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. In fact, it was the largest electoral college win since 1936.

Reagan’s GOP believed in a strong defense, or as Reagan commonly cited, a policy of “peace through strength.” In the throes of the Cold War, Reagan’s policy towards the Soviet Union included battling Communism on many fronts. Investments of money, intelligence and military equipment were provided strategically throughout the world to stymie the Russians. These policies helped accelerate the end of the Soviet Union and extend freedom to hundreds of millions of people, primarily throughout Europe. Additionally, Reagan’s GOP were strong supporters of NATO, an organization built to help stem the Soviets. His GOP supported the continued expansion of NATO, which has acted as a bulkhead against Russian aggression for years.

Reagan himself spoke repeatedly of the importance of immigration for America. In his final speech as President, he spoke at length about the topic, ending with the words “If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.” I encourage you to Google that speech. Also, he supported reasonable controls on assault weapons in his post-presidential years after a failed assassination attempt in 1981.

Reagan and his GOP saw all Americans not as enemies, but fellow countrymen and women who were on the same team. America’s team. Reagan was happy to work with anyone regardless of their party. Furthermore, he coined the 11th Commandment “thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.” We all know that left the Republican Party a while ago. The best example of that was the 2016 Presidential primary.

All this and more set the GOP up as a dominant force in American politics, winning the Presidency in five of seven presidential elections.

Reagan’s GOP leaves behind many mourners across the country, including many 50-some year olds across Kentucky who became Republicans because of Ronald Reagan, such as myself.

A memorial service will be held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley California. Soon thereafter a service will be held in Kyiv, Ukraine, followed by one in the capitol of every NATO country. A celebration will be held in Moscow.

Adam Koenig spent 16 years as a Republican Kentucky State Representative. He owns a consulting company, Koenig Public Policy and Political Consulting. He can be reached at adam@kpppc.us.