“My eighty-percent friend is not my twenty-percent enemy”

“The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor” (or, “My eighty-percent friend is not my twenty-percent enemy”) is credited to Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), but it’s not known when he said it. “My old boss Ronald Reagan used to say, ‘Somebody who agrees with me 80 percent of the time is a friend and ally, not a 20 percent traitor,’” said Haley Barbour, a one-time Reagan political aide, in 1993. The saying means that no one agrees with everyone on everything; slight disagreements are to be expected.
 
New York City politician Ed Koch (1924-2013) had a similar saying: “Agree with me on 9 of 12 issues, vote for me. Agree with me on 12 of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist.”
     
 
Wikiquote: Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (6 February 1911 – 5 June 2004) was an American actor and politician, who became 33rd Governor of California and 40th President of the United States; He was the husband of Jane Wyman (1940–1948) and Nancy Davis (married in 1952).
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Unsourced
The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor.
. Said as chastisement to his staff for canceling an opponent’s meeting with then Governor Reagan. Quoted on KCBS radio in 1972 by Reagan’s gubernatorial chief of staff.[specific citation needed]
. Variant: That person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally; not a 20 percent traitor.
 
1 February 1993, Washington (DC) Times, “Haley Barbour at the RNC”:‎
“My old boss Ronald Reagan used to say, ‘Somebody who agrees with me 80 percent of the time is a friend and ally, not a 20 percent traitor.’”
 
15 August 1996, Marietta (GA) Daily Journal, “GOP National Convention, pg. 7A, col. 2:
“I’d be a big Dole supporter even if we didn’t have the same name in common. I don’t totally agree with everything Dole and Jack Kemp say, but I agree with Ronald Reagan when you agree with someone 90 percent of the time, you call them a 90 percent friend, not a 10 percent enemy.” Stephen Dole, Southworth, Wash.
 
19 June 1997, Park Cities People (Dallas, TX), “Apply Christian rules to political objectives” by Ralph Reed Jr., pg. 10, col. 1:
An 80 percent friend is not a 20 percent enemy. There are very few people in politics with whom you will agree 100 percent of the time.
 
Google Books
Dark Horse:
A Political Thriller
By Ralph Reed
New York, NY: Howard Books (Simon & Schuster)
2008
Pg. 233:
“We must remember Ronald Reagan’s admonition that an eighty percent friend is not a twenty percent enemy,” Jimmerson proclaimed.
 
Twitter
US4Palin -Ron Devito
‏@US4Palin
Sarah Palin’s Fair Weather “Friends”: “My eighty-percent friend is not my twenty-percent enemy.”
... http://bit.ly/bGsmqj #tcot #spwbt #sgp
2:38 AM - 3 Feb 10
   
New York (NY) Times
G.O.P. Confidence Tested by Fears of Searing Divisions
By JEFF ZELENY
Published: April 12, 2010
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He (Haley Barbour—ed.) told the audience to remember an adage from Ronald Reagan: “A friend who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is your friend and ally. He’s not a 20-percent traitor.”
 
The Swash
THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, PART II
POSTED BY THESWASH.COM - AUGUST 31, 2012
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Rand is on a tightrope and many people are losing trust in him. Sure, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt but he is officially in bed with cobras and it will only be a matter of time before he gets bit. All things considered, I still consider him one of the good guys and I am a firm believer in Ronald Reagan’s great quote where he said, “My eighty-percent friend is not my twenty-percent enemy.”
 
Business Insider
REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN: We Need To Stop Saying ‘Stupid, Idiotic Things’
Brett LoGiurato | Mar. 22, 2013, 11:34 AM
Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus followed up on the RNC’s so-called “autopsy report” on “Morning Joe” Friday, telling its hosts that Republicans need to stop saying “stupid” and “idiotic” things and urging a shorter presidential primary process.
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“You’ve got to make Reagan’s 80-20 rule cool again. And that’s just that my 80 percent friend is not my 20 percent enemy,” Priebus said.
 
Twitter
Wells Griffith
‏@WellsGriffith
“My 80 percent friend is not my 20 percent enemy” - Pres. Ronald Reagan #opportunity @GOP
6:03 AM - 22 Mar 13