Alf Landon

History Favors Obama and Democratic Party Second Term Presidencies

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In the discussion over whether Barack Obama will have a second term of office, one must consider history as a guide.

If one looks at the facts, one discovers that only THREE Democratic Presidents have ever been defeated for re-election–Martin Van Buren in 1840; Grover Cleveland in 1888 (even though he actually won the popular vote by about 100,000 nationally); and Jimmy Carter in 1980.

So in the past 124 years, only one Democrat has lost re-election, and face the facts, Barack Obama is NOT Jimmy Carter and Mitt Romney is not Ronald Reagan!

Grover Cleveland came back to win in the following election over Benjamin Harrison who had defeated him in 1888, being the only nonconsecutive terms President in American history.

Woodrow Wilson had a very close contest against Charles Evans Hughes for re-election in 1916, but won.

Franklin D. Roosevelt still had over 20 percent unemployment when he first ran for re-election in 1936, but won a landslide over Alf Landon, as well as solid victories over Wendell Willkie in 1940 and Thomas E. Dewey in 1944.

Harry Truman overcame all polls and defeated Dewey in an upset victory in 1948, even after the opposition party had won both houses of Congress in 1946.

Lyndon B. Johnson won the biggest popular vote landslide in history over Barry Goldwater in 1964.

Bill Clinton won a solid victory over Bob Dole in 1996, despite having lost both houses of Congress in 1994.

And despite criticisms, Barack Obama has a positive record of achievement in his first term to match that of Wilson and FDR in their first term and Lyndon B. Johnson in his first year, and more than Grover Cleveland, Harry Truman, and Bill Clinton in their first term, and Jimmy Carter in his only term of office.

So don’t bet too heavily on Obama losing re-election in November!

Barack Obama Evokes FDR: Don’t Change Horses In Mid Stream!

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In 1936, Franklin D. Roosevelt was President, and the nation was in the depths of the Great Depression.

From a high of 25 percent unemployment, we had seen the unemployment rate decline to about 17 percent, in most estimates. In other words, we had seen a decline, but there was a lot of work to do on improving the economic picture. FDR chose to emphasize the progress made, and the idea why would anyone want to revert to the policies that had failed under Herbert Hoover.

He would use the concept of “Don’t Change Horses in Mid Stream” as the argument to re-elect him. It worked, as even with the high but improved unemployment rate, FDR won all but Maine and Vermont, and a total landslide in both electoral and popular votes against Kansas Governor Alf Landon in 1936.

Now in 2012, Barack Obama is using the same appeal: that with unemployment skyrocketing in 2009, and the rate raising to almost ten percent before declining, that great progress has been made in job creation, about 3.7 million jobs, with the chance of regaining ALL of the lost jobs by the time of the election, and with the rate now 8.3 percent, it could go down below 8 percent by November.

So therefore, why would one wish to return to the George W. Bush policies that failed economically, and led to the Great Recession, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression?

The Obama strategy seems to be working, as he now has a majority of the registered voters supporting him, and meanwhile, Mitt Romney is gaining fewer voters for himself, even as he wins primaries and caucuses!

George McGovern’s New Book: Promoting Liberal Values Forty Years After His Presidential Candidacy!

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Former Senator and 1972 Democratic Presidential nominee George McGovern is coming to the Miami Book Fair International to promote his book, WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A DEMOCRAT.

Now 89 years old, already the second longest surviving major party presidential nominee who lost the election, only surpassed by former Republican nominee and Governor Alf Landon in the 1936 Presidential election (who survived 51 years after his defeat), McGovern wishes to emphasize the importance of government in our lives at a time when many Republicans refer to government as a great evil in our lives!

Proud to call himself a liberal, he is critical of those who promote fear, and mourns the loss of bipartisanship in Washington DC, which used to see much cooperation across the aisle in the US Senate and US House of Representatives. He is supportive of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and critical of the Tea Party Movement.

On December 2, as part of the CONTENDERS series on Friday nights from 8-10 pm Eastern time, the life and career of George McGovern will be examined on C Span. Everyone should tune in and admire and appreciate the greatness of this man who lost, but added dignity and principle to the political process that is American democracy!

From Alf Landon And Gerald Ford To John McCain And John Boehner: Nothing Changes! :(

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It is amazing how history repeats itself!

In 1935, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration passed the Social Security Act into law. The Republican party immediately denounced it as “Socialism”, and campaigned on repealing it. Kansas Governor Alf Landon ran his Presidential campaign of 1936 on that issue, and he ended up winning two states!

Social Security was never repealed, and Barry Goldwater suffered the biggest landslide defeat in percentage, greater than Landon, when he suggested in the 1964 Presidential campaign that Social Security be made “voluntary”!

George W. Bush tried to promote privatization of Social Security in 2005, and in 2006, the GOP lost control of both houses of Congress. And yet, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, one of the young future leaders of the party, is promoting privatization of both Social Security and Medicare as part of the Republican plan for the future when the GOP gains control of Congress again!

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson was able to enact Medicare legislation, and the GOP denounced it as “Socialism”. Determined to repeal it, Minority Leader Gerald Ford (later to be President), appeared on Meet the Press in January 1967 to promote the effort!

Medicare was never repealed, and when Senator Bob Dole, who voted against it in the House of Representatives, ran for President in 1996, he bragged that he had opposed it, and proceeded to lose the election to President Bill Clinton!

Now, with the Health Care reform bill passed, the 2008 GOP Presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, is calling for its repeal, and Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio is sounding very similar in his rhetoric and arguments to Gerald Ford!

And it is a certainty that the law will NOT be repealed, but instead improved over time, and that it will be an albatross around the Republican party’s neck, as Social Security and Medicare proved to be, keeping the Democratic majority in voter registration, which now has been continuous since 1932, longer than the GOP advantage in registration from 1860 to 1932!

The Republican party, by opposing these three major forms of path breaking and landmark social legislation, have “shot themselves in the foot” politically, as it is very clear that once the American people know the details of the legislation, they will embrace it. The problems that the legislation poses will be overcome by further legislation down the road, but Health Care reform in outline is here to stay no matter what 14 states’ Attorney Generals do or Tea Party people protest!

It would be nice if the Republican party would change its historical image, which for so long, has been negative, promoting fear and insecurity. Rather than moving toward the social justice that this nation needs and demands, to promote the American dream of a true democracy, they continue to obstruct to their own detriment!