ABSTRACT
Sworn into office on January 5, 1967, Governor Ronald Reagan pledged to "cut and squeeze and trim" the state budget and limit government in accordance with the will of "the people."1 Nevertheless, while he continued to use conservative populist rhetoric throughout his gubernatorial years, his actions often differed from his oratory, though the latter helped mask his deviations from conservative principles. During his first year he did slash government spending as he had resolutely promised, in addition to leading the successful effort to oust University of California president Clark Kerr, whom conservatives had long seen as sympathetic to campus demonstrators. On a number of other significant matters, however, Reagan frustrated many of his right-wing constituents, especially in regard to taming the leviathan ofbig government.
