The Good Ol' Days

Above, Ronald Reagan at the 1976 Republican National Convention. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This year's GOP primary season is different for me.

In past election cycles, I've always had a clear favorite candidate. This year I don't, although all of the Republican contenders would be light years better than the Marxist incumbent in the White House.

This year also brings me back to days of yesteryear when Ronald Reagan was running and I was heavily into political activism.

At the "ripe old age" of 22, I was a California area chairman in my congressional distict (the Hawthorne-Lawndale-Gardena area of Los Angeles County) for Reagan when he ran against President Gerald Ford. I was also a Reagan delegate to the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

Although Reagan lost the nomination to Ford, I still wouldn't trade that experience for anything. After the convention, as we were being bused to the airport for our flight home, we passed a business that had a sign that read, "Goodbye, Republicans. You blew it!" Sure enough, Ford lost to Jimmy Carter in the general election.


Right, actor Michael Landon with Ronald Reagan at the 1980 California Primary Victory Party at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In 1980, I again was the area chairman for Reagan as well as a delegate to the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan. That year, it was plainly obvious that Carter was an incompetent president (much like Obama this year) and that he should be defeated.

Thankfully, Reagan won the GOP nomination and general election.




In 1984, I served as the area chairman for Reagan's re-election campaign and served as an alternate delegate to the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas.


Above, a "welcome home" rally was held for Ronald and Nancy Reagan at Los Angeles International Airport following the 1980 GOP National Convention. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After that year, I ended up getting married and had a daughter (now age 25). That pretty much ended my years of hardcore political activism. But I remain somewhat involved here and there. Once it gets into your blood, it's hard to completely quit.

It will be interesting to see how this year's campaign turns out. This country is at the crossroads. Will it return to being the country that we grew up with or will it be permanently transformed into a socialist mess if Obama wins re-election?