User blog comment:YNot1989/New ATL (Reagan in 1960)/@comment-74.69.58.3-20090927042607

Flaws: Both parties were at that time generally dominated by Liberal-Moderate coalitions (with the Dems having the Dixiecrats who ranged in views and were often Social Liberal themselves, but often served as the Conservative representatives at least in part). Similarly, the Conservatives in the GOP were light-years more Conservative than the Dixiecrats, albeit far weaker and smaller. Similarly, I'm not sure you appreciate the full tapestry of the factions which filled the parties at this point.

Secondly, the reason Reagan left was because he had changed his views totally from a Liberal, New Deal Democrat to a radical Conservative following the reading of the biography "Witness", and his views were perfectly in sync with the Conservative faction of the GOP. This leads me to doubt a Conservative Reagan will remain with the Democrats. And on that note, Reagan was extremely radical in his Conservatism at this point. There's no Blue Dog factor here, and it's not exaggeration. His views were extremely radical when he first became a Conservative and only moderated over time (though even then, not all too much until he got to the White House, and even then...). There's McCarthyism and extremism which played to the Western base of the Conservatives in the GOP, but would have scared any sane voter of the political climate at the time as far away as possible. And the Dixiecrats and Conservatives in the Democratic party won't be apt to accept him either in my opinion.

Thirdly, he would have no political experience in 1960 to back him up.