Robert Gottlieb and Irene Wolt Thinking Big: The Story of the Los Angeles Times, Its Publishers and Their Influence on Southern California, G.P. Putnam's Sons: NY, 1977, 603 pp., 1965
Chapter 24 Politics in Flux
1. The Rise: Ronald Reagan
"In 1965 the California Republicans were in a period of transition. The party's cohesiveness had broken down during the six years following the 1958 musical chairs campaign. The powerful individuals who had run Republican affairs since the days of Frank Merriam and Earl Warren had either died off or dropped out of politics, and a vacuum had developed. . . ." p. 399
". . . the forces of incumbent Pat Brown, under attack from both the left and right wings within the Democratic Party, floundered. Sam Yorty opposed Brown in the Democratic primary, and criticized him for his failure to smash student protests and black rebellions. (To the surprise of many, Yorty polled 40 percent of the vote.) The largest grass-roots organization of Democrats, the CDC, also undercut the governor when it came out against the Vietnam War, despite the warnings of Brown and other mainstream Democrats. . . .
"In contrast, Ronald Regan seemed to offer firmness and discipline . . ." p. 400