Reagan worked hard to strengthen the Republicans’ organizational and popular base,
surprising his own White House political director with his “total readiness” to raise funds and
make speeches for the party and its candidates. Indeed, Reagan exhibited an enthusiasm for
partisan responsibilities unprecedented among modern presidents (Personal interview with
Mitchell Daniels, assistant to the president for political and governmental affairs, June 5, 1986).
As one account has it, “in 1983 and 1984 during his own reelection effort, Reagan made more
than two dozen campaign and fundraising appearances for all branches of the party organization
and candidates at every level…[and] During the pitched and ultimately losing battle to retain
control of the Senate for the Republicans in 1986, Reagan played the good soldier, visiting
twenty-two key states repeatedly and raising $33 million for the party and its candidates” (Sabato
1988). Former Republican Party Chairman William Brock, who had observed the relationship of
every president since Eisenhower with the party, concluded in 1987 that “…Reagan has been in
many respects an ardent party leader. Of the six presidents I have known, he has worked the
hardest to strengthen the party” (Personal interview: August 12, 1987).
Strengthening the Republican Coalition
Reagan’s rhetoric and attention to party building were joined to important policy
changes. His administration pursued a combination of tax reductions, defense spending, and
economic deregulation that served to disrupt the old Democratic coalition and forge new ties
between Republicans and important constituencies. Tax cuts, coupled with dramatically
increased defense spending, led to an increasing federal deficit, which constrained Democrats’
ability to provide resources and programs to constituents, while deregulation weakened the
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