Yes, but it hadn't become entrenched in the minds of the rest of the party to the point that they wanted to destroy the govt like they do today.
In Reagan's day there were still old line Republicans who understood that compromise was the way things got done in Washington. Sure, nothing happened overnight, but they knew that's the way the world worked.
And they still had integrity and respect for the institutions and its rules and the decorum and protocols, etc.
Nowadays they're a bunch of shameless, spineless cretins who are willing to allow a grifter, con artist carnival barker palooka with a cult following to shit and piss all over it all just to save their own skins.
Worse yet, some of them actually admire what Trump is.
These are frightening, worrisome times for anyone with an ounce of reverence and respect for the traditions that made this country great.
That's why that whole "MAGA" thing is so galling and filled with irony.
Great is the exact opposite of what Trump and his spineless, sycophantic minions are making America.