It is not often that we get to witness a true phenomenon.
The Reagan Revolution was exciting but it was not a phenomenon. It was a carefully planned, long fought, and hard-won battle between the Conservative wing and the Progressive wing of the Republican Party.
The Reagan Revolution began with The Speech by Ronaldos Maximus in support of Barry Goldwater delivered on a television program, Rendezvous with Destiny. It blossomed during his two successful terms as Governor of California, and sputtered a little in 1976 when he lost the nomination for President to Gerald Ford in the last contested convention in American History. Then after four years of hard grass roots work Reagan's followers, this author included in their ranks, captured the party from precinct captain to national chairman. The next eight years led to many successes, compromises, and a failure culminating in the party being handed over as a prize to George the First and the rest is History. The Bush dynasty ran the brand into the ground.