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08137355 The President bee BEBD FGOOT Conservative Poper Digest 7777 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia 22043 no (703) 893-1411 for August 2, 1982 President Ronald Reagen The White House Washington, D.C. 20501 Dear Mr. President: I wanted to send you a copy of the July Conservative Digest --- partly because it contains an "open letter" from me to you, but also because I wanted to tell you how painful it was for me to authorize an issue devoted to the sub fect "Has Reagan Deserted the Conservatives?". i-d my concern is twofold. on a personal and philosophical level, 85 someone who admires and respects you and who wishes you and your administration the greatest success possible, I am disappointed to see that the trend in personnel and policies in your administration is distinctly away from your campaign positions and to the center and even to the left on some issues. On the political level, I am convinced that unless you begin to address the interests and concerns of the conservative constituencies that comprised your winning electoral coalition in 1980, you will find that many of them will not be there when you need them in the 1982 and 1984 elections and to help you in your many legislative battles. Some of your staff members have tried publicly to minimize the extent of conservative concern with your administration. I can only assume that they have been doing the same within the White House itself. They have tried to imply that such criticism is characteristic of only 8 small and isolated fringe. But that isn't the case, and I felt that a dramatic demonstration of the seriousness of the accumulated weight of conservative concern was the only way to make the case before it is too late. Because, Mr. President, it isn't too late to address the problem and correct it. The CBS/New York Times polls have shown a steady erosion of your support among conservatives; from 59% approval and 30% disapproval in January 1982 to 50% approval and 37% disepproval in June J982. If you act decisively and act now you can reverse this disturbing trend.

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    "ocrText": "08137355\nThe President bee BEBD\nFGOOT\nConservative\nPoper\nDigest\n7777 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia 22043\nno\n(703) 893-1411\nfor\nAugust 2, 1982\nPresident Ronald Reagen\nThe White House\nWashington, D.C. 20501\nDear Mr. President:\nI wanted to send you a copy of the July Conservative Digest\n---\npartly because it contains an \"open letter\" from me to you, but\nalso because I wanted to tell you how painful it was for me to\nauthorize an issue devoted to the sub fect \"Has Reagan Deserted the\nConservatives?\".\ni-d\nmy concern is twofold. on a personal and philosophical level,\n85 someone who admires and respects you and who wishes you and your\nadministration the greatest success possible, I am disappointed to see\nthat the trend in personnel and policies in your administration is\ndistinctly away from your campaign positions and to the center and\neven to the left on some issues.\nOn the political level, I am convinced that unless you begin to\naddress the interests and concerns of the conservative constituencies\nthat comprised your winning electoral coalition in 1980, you will find\nthat many of them will not be there when you need them in the 1982 and\n1984 elections and to help you in your many legislative battles.\nSome of your staff members have tried publicly to minimize the\nextent of conservative concern with your administration. I can only\nassume that they have been doing the same within the White House\nitself. They have tried to imply that such criticism is\ncharacteristic of only 8 small and isolated fringe.\nBut that isn't the case, and I felt that a dramatic\ndemonstration of the seriousness of the accumulated weight of\nconservative concern was the only way to make the case before it is\ntoo late.\nBecause, Mr. President, it isn't too late to address the problem\nand correct it.\nThe CBS/New York Times polls have shown a steady erosion of your\nsupport among conservatives; from 59% approval and 30% disapproval in\nJanuary 1982 to 50% approval and 37% disepproval in June J982. If you\nact decisively and act now you can reverse this disturbing trend."
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