The late Mayor Richard J. Daley, always a traditionalist, is said to have voted at least once in the recent Chicago primary election and is preparing to do his best for Democratic nominee Harold Washington in the coming general election.
Conservative criticism of the Reagan record has been receiving a good deal of media attention, though in fact only a few prominent conservatives are mutinous—notably Howard Phillips, Richard Viguerie, M. Stanton Evans, and John Lofton. “Reagan,” declares Phillips, head of the Conservative Caucus, “is a total disaster.” “There has been no Reagan revolution in Washington,” Evans told the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, and “there will be no Reagan revolution.” Criticisms focused on the tax increases, the White House staff, and the absence so far of legislative progress on a variety of “social issues.” This conservative rebellion appears to have enlisted very few followers. As William Rusher told the Conference, Reagan has shifted the terms of political debate in this country. “We are not arguing if taxes should be cut,” he said, “but how much. We are not arguing whether domestic spending should be cut, but how much. . . . Let us appreciate what we have. He is our leader. He is our winner.” “The President has not been a total success,” argued Lyn Nofziger, “and anybody who expects him to be is not realistic.” Though most conservatives appear to agree with Rusher and Nofziger, the criticism offered by the minority does have the useful effect of focusing on the unfinished agenda.
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