The Eleventh Commandment

The Eleventh Commandment is a precept which states, "Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republicans." Although its creation is attributed to former President, Ronald Reagan, it was named by former California state Republican chairman, Gayland Parkinson. In the 1966 California governor primary, then actor, Ronald Reagen, ran a against mayor George Christopher. The primary race led to larege allegation against Reagen, mainly centered at his occupation as an actor. In response to attacks by Christopher, Parkinson advised the candidates to follow the Eleventh Commandment. Reagen later stated its, "A rule I followed during that campaign and ever since." Over the years, the Republican National Convention has been criticized for not following the precept, in recent elections, prominent Republicans have helped in attacking other Republicans during primary seasons. In the 2004 Republican primary race between liberal Republican, Arlen Spector, and conservative, Pat Tommy, Republican institutions support went towards Spector, leading to the defeat of the conservative candidate. In the 2006 Republican primary elections in Rhode Island, conservative, Steven Laffey, ran against liberal Republican Senator, Lincoln Chafee. The National Republican Senatorial Convention funded a barrage of negative advertisements against Laffey. During the heated campaign, Laffey stated to the press, "Whatever happened to Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment?". Although Laffey gained support of some conservative institutions, Laffey could not overcome the funding that Caffee received from other Republican leaders.