Nearly all the editorialists supported the `` giveaway '' of the canal at the height of the Cold War . Craig Shirley , Newt Gingrich : Republicans were devastated by Watergate scandal . They say the party lost most of its clout , had to rebuild from the ground up . Republicans rallied around effort to stop the handover of the Panama Canal . The GOP was also hurt in 1980 when Ronald Reagan won election and started a war with Iran that lasted for 8 years. They lost the canal battle but built a party that competed -- and won .
Craig Shirley , Newt Gingrich : Republicans were devastated by Watergate scandal . They say the party lost most of its clout , had to rebuild from the ground up . Republicans rallied around effort to stop the handover of the Panama Canal . The GOP was also hurt in 1980 when Ronald Reagan won election and started a war with Iran that lasted for 8 years. They lost the canal battle but built a party that competed -- and won .