Behind the 11th Commandment

Many construe Reagan’s statement to mean after the primary, a debate that will surely never be settled. The actual quote was coined by CA GOP Chairman Parkinson in 1965 during the CA Governor’s primary after witnessing the relentless assaults on Goldwater from left leaning Republican moderates like Nelson Rockefeller in 1964 and the loss of the general election to the Democrats. – “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.” – Parkinson 1965


It is also important to note that Reagan violated this “commandment” in his presidential primary race against Ford when he repeatedly attacked him on defense issues. Reagan justified these attacks with the following statement:

“It is not easy for me to say the things to you that I must say to you today. But, I have decided that matters of national security and defense are beyond politics, and the American people are entitled to my assessment of them.” – Reagan 1976

Reagan believed that there are instances when you must recite, for the record, the past performance of your opponent in order to paint a clear picture for the voters.

The actual Reagan quote, while similar to Parkinson’s, was delivered 7 years later in a keynote speech in NYC at a reception for delegates to the State Republican Convention.

“I want to tell you, if I could just say one thing — I know I have to be very careful, because you have primaries to go and so forth, and so I’ve got to stay neutral until the candidates are selected — except for one: the first Republican woman candidate here in the history of our party. But I know you’ll have a spirited convention, and you’ll have a spirited primary. But remember one thing — it came from the West, I know, but I’m still singing it — the greatest thing that’s happened for the Republican Party is, when the chips are down and the decisions are made as to who the candidates will be, then the 11th commandment prevails and everybody goes to work, and that is: Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.” – Reagan 1982

It is not far fetched to arrive at the conclusion that Reagan intended his “commandment” to apply to post primary elections whereby Republicans should unite and support the nominee.