TLS signed “Dick,” one page, 7.25 x 10.5, personal letterhead, April 30, 1965. Letter to Ronald Reagan, offering sage political advice in advance of Reagan's gubernatorial campaign. In full: "This is just a note to tell you how much I appreciated your introduction at the Goldwater Dinner and also to urge you to continue to resist the temptation of 'striking back' at any of the other potential candidates for Governor. I do not know what your political plans eventually will turn out to be. However, as I told you, I am sure that no one can beat Brown if the Republican primary is a bitter blood-letting battle and that is why I am urging Republicans not only in California but throughout the nation, to learn from the lessons of 1964 and prove their qualifications for a nomination by showing how well they can take on our Democratic opponents rather than how well they can take on Republicans." In fine condition.
Reagan would announce his candidacy for the California governorship in 1966, mounting a campaign based on individual freedoms and small government. The primaries were contentious, as California's liberal Republicans attacked Reagan for his conservative views. In response, Reagan popularized the 'eleventh commandment'—attributed to California Republican Party chairman Gaylord Parkinson, but outlined in kind by Nixon in the present letter: 'Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.' In his 1990 autobiography An American Life, Reagan wrote: 'It's a rule I followed during that campaign and have ever since.' Nixon, a fellow California conservative and former vice president, worked tirelessly behind the scenes on Reagan's behalf, helping him to secure the nomination, and, ultimately, the governorship.
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