Letter from Washington

A generally unremarked development is that the New Righters had been mulling over the idea of holding a full-fledged all-Republican midterm Mini-Convention in September like the one the Democrats held in Philadelphia this past June. Indeed, plans had solidified to the point where one thousand rooms were reserved for the throng in a Dallas hotel. Now the idea has been somewhat altered: the assemblage will be under conservative (rather than broadly Republican) auspices, and will be held in Washington.

The problem was not one of how to generate a crowd. Rather, it was how do you get Republican sponsorship when Ronald Reagan is seen by the New Right as having split himself off so sharply from his constituency on so many litmus issues, like Bob Dole’s world-record tax ugly. To avoid trying to jerry-build Republican sponsorship, captains of the New Right decided instead to stage a series of hearings, at which witnesses would testify on issues of moment, as at the 1980 Republican platform conference. A 1982 platform would then be fashioned to which candidates of both parties would be invited to subscribe. Got the picture? Don’t be surprised if the media hype this exercise into a 1982 conservative loyalty test, perhaps making heavier weather of it than it deserves. Also don’t be surprised if Ronald Reagan gets pelted by New Right rain as the 1982 conservative midterm platform conference thunders and lightens.

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A generally unremarked development is that the New Righters had been mulling over the idea of holding a full-fledged all-Republican midterm Mini-Convention in September like the one the Democrats held in Philadelphia this past June. Indeed, plans had solidified to the point where one thousand rooms were reserved for the throng in a Dallas hotel. Now the idea has been somewhat altered: the assemblage will be under conservative (rather than broadly Republican) auspices, and will be held in Washington.

The problem was not one of how to generate a crowd. Rather, it was how do you get Republican sponsorship when Ronald Reagan is seen by the New Right as having split himself off so sharply from his constituency on so many litmus issues, like Bob Dole’s world-record tax ugly. To avoid trying to jerry-build Republican sponsorship, captains of the New Right decided instead to stage a series of hearings, at which witnesses would testify on issues of moment, as at the 1980 Republican platform conference. A 1982 platform would then be fashioned to which candidates of both parties would be invited to subscribe. Got the picture? Don’t be surprised if the media hype this exercise into a 1982 conservative loyalty test, perhaps making heavier weather of it than it deserves. Also don’t be surprised if Ronald Reagan gets pelted by New Right rain as the 1982 conservative midterm platform conference thunders and lightens.