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ByMichaelR.Blood The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Nancy Rea- gan spent decades protect- ing the legacy of her hus- band, but some of President Ronald Reagan's famous political advice appears lost among the White House candidates who embrace him as a guiding light. It's known as the 11th Commandment: Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican. The former first lady's death Sunday in Los Ange- les closed the Reagan era at a time when crude in- sults, appeals to extremism and locker-room braggado- cio have shaped the party's 2016 presidential primary, a clashing image with the sunny "Morning again in America" theme Reagan employed as a candidate a generation ago. The 40th president didn't author the advice about re- straint on the campaign trail, and he didn't always follow it to the word, but he recognized the GOP needed to avoid infighting that could lead to a splin- tered party and a Novem- ber defeat. A former California Re- publican chairman, Gay- lord Parkinson, coined the phrase in the mid-1960s to tamp down bickering be- tween political factions in Reagan's first run for gover- nor. A similar split between conservatives and moder- ates contributed to Barry Goldwater's defeat in the 1964 presidential election. In his autobiography, "An American Life," Rea- gan wrote of his campaign for governor: "It's a rule I followed ... and I have ever since." Reagan recognized that the Republican Party was not going to win unless the sides united, biographer Lou Cannon said. Donald "Trump has blown this up and all the others have piled in. One could argue this would be a good time to restore it, but it isn't going to happen in this election," Cannon said. "It's hard for me to see how they cannot pay a price for it," he added. Nancy Reagan's death "reflects the symbolic pass- ing into history of the mark- ers established by the for- mer president for cam- paigns to have certain standards which should never be breached," for- mer Reagan campaign aide and speechwriter Kenneth Khachigian said. "It seems like a bad dream to turn on the de- bates and hear the degrad- ing dialogue," Khachigian said in an email, describ- ing the campaign as "heart- breaking." Since Reagan's death in 2004, Republican presiden- tial candidates often claim to be his rightful heir, hold him up as a patron saint or outline proposals they say he inspired. Ted Cruz calls himself the first true conservative running for president since Reagan and has promised to employ a "Reaganite" ap- proach. Jeb Bush, now out of the campaign, called his tax-cut plan "Reagan-in- spired." And Trump has al- luded to Reagan's political shift — the former actor was once a Hollywood Dem- ocrat — to defend his own conservative makeover. Reagan's depiction on the presidential campaign trail can often be at odds with the record. Reagan is seen as an apostle of lower taxes, but during his years as gover- nor, from 1967 to 1975, he supported what was then the largest tax increase in California history. Cutting deals with Democratic lead- ers in Congress, he slashed and raised taxes during his White House days. Reagan never presented a balanced budget to Con- gress. A 1986 law he signed established a one-year am- nesty program for people who entered the U.S. ille- gally and had been in the country at least four years. In recent days, the Re- publican presidential cam- paign has become increas- ingly foul-toned, as candi- dates and the Republican establishment look for ways to slow Trump's mo- mentum. Former nominee Mitt Romney called the front- runner "a phony, a fraud" inclined to "absurd third- grade theatrics." In re- sponse, Trump called him a failed candidate. Trump re- peatedlyreferstoSen.Marco Rubioas"littleMarco,"while Rubio has called Trump a con man. Cruz has called Trump "part of the corrup- tion in Washington." The boorish spectacle of the race dismayed many vis- itors at the Reagan library in Simi Valley. Reagan's ef- forts to broaden and unify the party are commem- orated at the hilltop site, where Nancy Reagan will be buried beside him Sat- urday. The GOP candidates may attend her funeral. "With what's going on now with the Republicans, I'm hoping they can learn about class and tact from Nancy Reagan," said Jon- athan Kritzer of Moor- park, a Los Angeles suburb. "They're tearing themselves up out there." Sharon Hirtzer said she hopes the former first la- dy's death "puts the focus for the Republican Party on the greatness of Ronald Reagan." "The level of the rhetoric has been extremely nega- tive," the Chicago resident said of the candidates. FRACTIOUS PARTY GOP candidates claim Reagan mantle, forget his words DENNISCOOK—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE First lady Nancy Reagan holding the Reagans' pet Rex, a King Charles spaniel, as she and President Reagan walk on the White House South lawn in 1986. ROGELIO V. SOLIS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, calls upon his supporters get out the vote in Mississippi's primary , during a campaign stop in Florence, Miss., on Monday. By Jonathan J. Cooper and Kristena Hansen The Associated Press SALEM, ORE. In a typical month, 2,000 people reg- ister to vote in Oregon. In the first six days of this year, more than 4,300 joined the voter rolls under a new ini- tiative that automatically signs up voters when they apply for driver's licenses. Oregon is the first state to adopt the idea that it is the government's responsi- bility to register voters — a move that could increase the number of registered voters by 13 percent by the November election. California has approved similar legislation, and au- tomatic registration bills have been introduced in more than a dozen other states. But it remains to be seen whether the idea will take hold beyond two West Coast states dominated by Democrats or whether the newly registered will decide to participate. "There's no other fun- damental right we have as citizens that requires you to register or fill out a form," said Alex Padilla, Califor- nia's Democratic secretary of state, who advocated for the law. "I don't have to register somewhere to exer- cise my freedom of speech. I don't have to fill out a form somewhere to exercise my right to not be discrimi- nated against." Researchers at the Pew Center on the States re- ported in 2012, before the last presidential election, that 51 million Americans were eligible to vote but unregistered. Pew said last year that the United States has one of the lowest voter- participation rates of the democratic world. President Barack Obama praised Oregon and Califor- nia twice last month and urged more states to follow their lead. "The job of our democ- racy is to make it easier, not make it harder for our citizens to be able to vote," Obama told Democratic governors in a meeting at the White House on Feb. 19. Theideahasplentyofcrit- ics, who worry it will lead to moreerrorsinvoterregistra- tion databases, and could be especiallyproblematic in the 12 states — including Cal- ifornia — that grant driv- ing privileges to people who can't prove they're legally in the United States. Officials in Oregon and California said driving records make clear who is a citizen. "If you take away that need for that voter to com- municate with their elec- tion official, mistakes will be made ... due to limita- tion of resources," said Lo- gan Churchwell, a spokes- man for True the Vote, which advocates policies to protect election integrity. Automatic registration received no Republican votes in Oregon and just one in California. Recent election changes in GOP- dominated states have of- ten gone in the other di- rection, requiring voters to take more steps to cast bal- lots such as showing photo identification or showing proof of citizenship at the time of registration. Republicans say these efforts are intended to pre- vent voter fraud and secure public confidence in elec- tions, but Democrats say they're efforts to limit ac- cess to the ballot. Voter registration laws in the U.S. have only been around for about 150 years, said Paul Gronke, a politi- cal science professor at Reed College in Portland who spe- cializes in voter behavior. "Voter registration was put in place in the U.S. in the 1870s and the 1880s — and the historical record is very clear — first to hold out Catholics, southern Eu- ropean immigrants and to push African Americans off the rolls," he said. Today, Gronke said, reg- istration still is by far one of the biggest barriers to voting. Minorities, lower-income and young people are the least likely groups to reg- ister because they move around a lot and forget to update their address or miss the deadline, or poli- tics isn't a priority to them while they're preoccupied with making ends meet. Researchers are eager to see whether people who are automatically registered actually cast ballots. Once registered, potential vot- ers will begin getting mail and telephone calls they've never received before, from campaigns and election ad- ministrators alike. OREGON AND CALIFORNIA Automatic voter registration takes hold in West Coast states RICH PEDRONCELLI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE A voter marks his ballot while voting in Elk Grove. | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2016 8 A