1976 GOP Convention

[QuizGuy66]

wow from the department of stuff that could never happen now.

The media trailer gets taken over for a meeting of political operatives/delegates and the media having 2 people inside the private meeting.

Crazy.

[rick9565]

Ford, Bush, Gore all challenged from within their own party, all defeated.

Rocky probably wanted the phone fixed so he could call his girlfriend.

[FRSFreeStatePlus]

You had a divided Republican Party in 1976 that was essentially split 50-50 and they still almost won the Presidential Election.

[rar9518]

@FRSFreeStatePlus The 1976 RNC was the best thing to happen to the Republicans. From this moment on party discipline became the biggest concern of the Republican party. Only in 1992 has there ever been a crack in that discipline. They essentially pick there candidate well in advance and stick with him through the entire primaries and general election. And god forbid you ever EVER challenge an incumbent Republican president. Pat Buchanan was virtually disowned for doing it in 1992.

[FRSFreeState]

"United we Stand Divided we Fall" can best sum up the Republican Party in 1976

[marcostar57]

Where's the audio?? I recorded some of the convention on cassette tapes; I have them somewhere & they still sound good.

[bigjohnmac]

The fact of the matter is that under Reagan we had the largest and longest lasting period of peacetime economic growth in our history!!! We had not only a lasting recovery but Reagan made Americans feel good about ourselves and we were motivated to excel. Under Carter, Kennedy or any other liberal Democrat, we would have seen continued malaise, less economic opportunities, a deeper recession and a weaker national defense. America needs a man like Reagan again!!!

[marcostar57]

@bigjohnmac Yes, Ronnie was a God ... I say my prayers to him every night....

[WhiteArmy1918]

Reagan should have been the GOP Nominee in 1976,he would have beaten Carter,then with High Inflation,U.S. Hostages being taken in Iran,Ted Kennedy would be the 1980 Democrat Nominee and he would have beaten Reagan in 1980,America would be a paradise today.

[ratbasket]

Well I don't know about paradise but I do believe the gap between the rich and poor would not be so ridiculous and the political atmosphere would not be so angry and poisoned. Also we probably would still have some manufacturing jobs in the little ol' U.S. of A. If you study Reagan you will discover what a mean spirited son of a bitch he really was.

[martymcfett]

@WhiteArmy1918 Carter's policies caused the high inflation of the late 70's. With Reagan, this wouldn't've happened. As for the hostages, Reagan would've had the balls to go in an rescue those hostages the right way. As for Kennedy, Chappaquidick was what killed him in 1980, so he really didn't have a chance in hell. If by "paradise" you mean like the USSR, FYI - the Berlin Wall came down over 20 years ago.

[WhiteArmy1918]

@martymcfett After 220 US Marines died in a bombing in Beirut,Lebanon Reagan cut and run and did nothing.Reagan was a rotten president,read the books "The Man Who Sold the World and the Betrayal of Main Street America" by William Kleinknecht and "Tear Down this Myth:The Right Wing Distortation of the Reagan Legacy" by Wiliam Bunch.You have no evidence that all of the problems that happened in the late 1970's would not have happened if Reagan was President then.

[martymcfett]

@WhiteArmy1918 Stop using KGB propaganda talking points as "proof" that Reagan was a rotten president. Might I recommend reading "The Reagan Diaries," a day to day diary Reagan kept while president, put together by Douglas Brinkley? Or How about Reagan's autobiography: Ronald Reagan: An American Life. As for Lebanon, he made the right move GETTING OUT OF THERE BEFORE MORE TROOPS DIED IN BEIRUT'S BLOODBATH, and he did take out the Hezbollah facility which harbored the bombers of our marines.

[martymcfett]

@WhiteArmy1918 Let's take a look at those late 70's problems 1 by 1. Stagflation=Carter, Inflation fell faster under Reagan than before or after. Refusal to expand oil production at home in face of energy crisis=Carter: Reagan reversed this day 1 in office. While Carter honored nuke treaties w/USSR, USSR didn't, and stockpiled more weapons: Reagan ended Cold War. He had his flaws (should've ended drug war), but every president does. None are perfect, but Reagan was damn near close.

[joebradio]

can you hear me now?