The Inside Scoop: How Reagan Was Forced to Make George Bush Sr. Vice President

Credit to Shutterstock.com.

“I never went through so much hell in all my life as I did at the Republican Convention in 1980.” — Ronald Reagan

In today’s divisive political climate, it’s time to look back at a president who changed the course of history for the better.

I always introduce myself at investment conferences by telling the audience, “I started my investment newsletter, Forecasts & Strategies, the year the greatest president of the 20th century was elected. So, who was that?”

Everyone knows my answer: Ronald Reagan.

It’s worth remembering that, for investors, Reaganomics ignited a 40-year bull market in stocks and bonds.

Let’s bring back the glory days of Reaganomics.

But his career as a political leader could have ended suddenly in 1980.

Below, I tell a never-before-story: the time at the Republican National Convention in 1980 when Reagan was FORCED to add George H. W. Bush as vice president… or else! Yes, the man who called Reagan’s supply-side policy “voodoo economics” was made his running mate.

See the Movie ‘Reagan’

I thought of this story after my wife and I saw the film “Reagan” on Labor Day. Despite the negative reviews by critics, we agree with the vast majority of audience-goers. There was a reason why it is selling out. It is a thrill in every way.

The actor Jon Voight was kind enough to do a two-minute personal invitation to all our FreedomFest attendees this year in Vegas to see the “Reagan” biopic that he narrates (he plays a top Russian official). Watch it here: Jon Voight Talks to FreedomFest Attendees About “Reagan” Film – YouTube.

We are friends with Mark Joseph, the producer, and saw an earlier version and gave him our feedback. But the final version was so much different, we were amazed. I can see now why it took five years to make!

The movie was inspiring, and the acting was terrific. The filmmakers did a great job making Dennis Quaid look like a young Reagan, and the flashbacks were extremely well done.

It was cool to hear Bob Dylan himself sing one of Cole Porter’s songs, “Don’t Fence Me In.”

My wife Jo Ann, producer of the Anthem Film festival every year at FreedomFest, wrote her own powerful review. Check it out here:  Reagan Redux – Liberty (libertyunbound.com).

Reagan Achieved Two Goals

Reagan was a great president for two reasons: Reaganomics (tax cuts, deregulation, controlling inflation and reducing the size of government) and foreign policy (fighting communism). The main focus of the film was foreign policy and defeating the Soviet Union. There was one tense moment when nuclear war could have broken out.

As you know, it was largely the economic issues of inflation and big government that elected Reagan, so they should have had more on that aspect of his administration, and the economic crisis of price controls, inflation, recession and the energy crisis.

They had a good scene about Reagan reprimanding David Stockman over the tax cuts versus balancing the budget, and a little about the battle over the tax cut with Tip O’Neill. I fully expected a scene of his signing the 1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act at the Reagan Ranch, which is quite famous.

I liked the way they portrayed his wife Nancy as a true partner in the entire film….very well done.

My Encounters With the Great Communicator

I met Reagan many times at White House press conferences and once when he was testifying against the Panama Canal treaty in 1977. I was impressed with the Great Communicator. Senator Orrin Hatch introduced me to him and his wife Nancy. We talked about his friendship with and admiration of my uncle Cleon Skousen.

Reagan knew how to handle a hostile press without insulting them. I had a White House press pass and always got a kick out of watching ABC reporter Sam Donaldson (pictured below) prancing around like a prima donna, hoping to catch Reagan make a blunder. He never did.

Ronald Reagan press conference in the early 1980s. I attended several press conferences in the White House. Can you find me in the photo? Credit: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Reagan’s Mistakes

Reagan was not perfect. As governor of California, he had to work with a Democratically controlled state house and senate, which made Reagan look like a big-spending Republican, not much different than Nelson Rockefeller in New York.

As president, he promoted his wife’s War on Drugs, reversed his 1981 tax cuts with TEFRA, bailed out Social Security and ignored his campaign promises to abolish the wasteful Department of Education.

He never balanced the budget, but that was largely because the House was controlled by Tip O’Neill and the Democrats during the entire eight years Reagan was in office.

Overall, his heart was in the right place and on net balance, he was a giant in the land.

Yet, there is one scary story that could have derailed his mission.

The Inside Story of How Reagan Was Forced to Add Bush Sr. to the Republican Ticket

One of the little-known stories is how Ronald Reagan was forced to nominate the Eastern establishment politician George H. W. Bush as his Vice President. It’s not in the movie.

The inside story is found in only one book: “There Were Giants in the Land: Episodes in the Life of W. Cleon Skousen,” based on an entry in Cleon’s private journals.

Cleon was invited to a private meeting with Reagan during the Republican Convention in 1980. Reagan had soundly defeated Bush in the primaries and promised Cleon and his supporters that he would never choose Bush as his running mate, especially after Bush labeled Reagan’s domestic policies “voodoo economics.”

Then, the next day, he suddenly announced in front of the convention that George Bush would be his running mate!

‘I never went through so much hell in my life’

What happened?  In another private meeting, Reagan confessed, “I never went through so much hell in my life when two men described what would happen to me if I didn’t take Bush as vice president.”

Cleon tells the whole sordid account on pp. 330-332 of the Giants book. The Deep State is real!

The Giants book is full of these kinds of stories, including his private meeting with “Gone with the Wind” actress Olivia de Havilland: This Hollywood Story Could Not Be Told Until Now – Mark Skousen.

My uncle (who was like a dad to me) had an incredible career as an FBI agent under J. Edgar Hoover… a major influencer in the anti-communist movement… an author of over 30 books on politics and religion… and called by the New York Times “the Constitutional Guru” of the Conservative movement.

Historian Benjamin Park (Sam Houston State University) recently said: “On an academic level, I genuinely believe that Cleon Skousen was a crucial figure in the development of American thought during the post-World War II era. When researching my book ‘American Zion’, I became convinced that Skousen’s impact on evangelicals and the conservative movement during the second half of the twentieth century has been long underappreciated. No academic historian has yet to demonstrate his central role in the broader American story.”

You can now read his story here, including his many encounters with Ronald Reagan and other important political figures.

His book has been endorsed by Glenn Beck, Newt Gingrich and Senator Mike Lee, among others.

Hardback Copy of ‘Giants’ for Only $29.95 Postpaid!

The Giants book is available in hardback, Audible and Kindle at There Were Giants In The Land – Episodes in the Life of W. Cleon Skousen: W. Cleon Skousen, Compiled and Edited by Jo Ann Skousen and Mark Skousen, Sen. Orrin Hatch: 9780910558327: Amazon.com: Books.

The hardback copy is available for $48.95 on Amazon, but you can pay only $29.95 at www.skousenbooks.com. Jo Ann and I autograph each copy and mail it for free inside the United States.

While waiting for the book to arrive, be sure to see the “Reagan” movie in a theater this week!

Upcoming Appearances

Orlando MoneyShow, Oct. 17-19, Championship Gate Resort: Join me along with Keith Fitz-Gerald, Steve Moore, Charles Payne, Louie Navallier, Kelly Wright, Peter Schiff, George Gilder, Adrian Day, Brien Lundin and Ed Yardini. To learn more and register, go to https://www.orlandomoneyshow.com/registration/. Sign up soon before the $149 registration price rises. Use promo code 063467 for the discount.

COSM Technology Summit, Oct. 31-Nov. 1, Bellevue Hyatt, Seattle, Washington: This conference is sponsored by George Gilder and the Discovery Institute. I’ll be speaking on gross output (GO) and its significance as a critical supply-side statistic. For more information, go to https://cosm.tech/. To receive a $200 discount, use EAGLE-MS as the Promotional Code when registering.

New Orleans 50th Anniversary Investment Conference, Nov. 20-23: I’ve been speaking every year at the famous “gold bug” New Orleans conference since 1977, and will give a unique talk, “My Life-Changing Highlights in New Orleans.” Other speakers include James Grant, Gary Alexander, Robert Prechter, Mary Anne and Pamela Aden and Brien Lundin. It will be memorable. For more information and to register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2024-new-orleans-investment-conference-tickets-752296528167?aff=Skousen.

P.S. I will be holding a subscribers-only teleconference today at 3:00 PM entitled “What Stocks Will Rise the Fastest After the Rate Cuts?” The event is free to attend, but you must register here in order to be able to attend. Don’t miss out!