I love when today’s politics have some similarities with the past. 1840 was a big year for the newly created Whig party, it was their first Presidential win. In 1840 the Whigs ran William Henry Harrison against the Democratic incumbent Martin Van Buren. Harrison came from money in Virginia and attended the right schools and was part of the upper crust of society. As an adult he joined the military and made a name for himself killing Indians at the battle of Tippecanoe. The best way to get a presidential nod was by being a war hero, and Harrison in 1840 fit that bill. They ran him on the slogan Tippecanoe and Tyler too (Tyler was the VP) trying to remind the voters of his service. However the Democrats found a piece of dirt on Harrison which they planned to use to smear his name. When Harrison retired from the Army part of his benefits included a few barrels of hard cider. The Democrats began writing that Harrison sat around all day in a log cabin drinking hard cider, with the unasked question, do you want a president who lives in a log cabin and drinks cider. Unfortunately for the Democrats the answer was yes. The Whigs decided to use hard cider and log cabins to their benefit, they began having parties and picnics in which they served hard cider out of log cabin mugs. The idea here, and this was the first time it was used, was to convince the people that Harrison was one of them. It is hard to run for president saying, I am richer than you, I never had to work, I am better than you, so vote for me. What the Whigs did, and Democrats will use this now, is to tell the people that they are like us, and understand what we are going through. I just wish the American people were smart enough to see through this.
This bring us to today. Pay attention to the next few months as both parties try to make the push to appeal to the little guy. Four years ago at the Democratic national convention was the best, every speaker began his talk with a story about how his father was a poor miller, plumber, shift worker, etc., and how they came from nothing to reach the level they were currently at. They will do the same this year. Again four years ago, how did we choose between two Princeton grads that came from wealthy powerful families, they both tried to convince us they were one of us. I do not believe it was a coincidence Bush bought a ranch just before running for president and he likes pictures taken of him clearing brush. That’s what common folks do, right?
But then this past weekend there was the ultimate faux pas. Obama while talking to rich liberals in San Francisco (yes liberals are rich too) in what he thought was a closed meeting made a comment about small town blue collar workers. He said they were bitter about their economic circumstances and so “cling to guns and religion.” In other words the only reason small town people are religious is that they are poor. Of course Hillary has jumped all over this calling him an elitist (like she is not) and mocking small town regular people values. This will not hurt Obama in the Democratic race, but it can hurt him greatly in the national race. He is supposed to court the regular guy not mock him. Of course Obama has tried to defend what he said with the most famous political defense, they are twisting my words and taking them out of context. He has apologized for his word choice, saying that is not what he meant. The problem I have with that is that his most famous speech is Words Matter. He has said he himself is a religious man so why would he mock religion. I would answer that small town America religion and his religion are not the same thing. I am pretty positive no preacher in Iowa is saying “God Damn America” the way Obama’s pastor did. I just hope Americans are starting to see the real Obama, not the slick good speaker, calling for change, but instead see that the Emperor is not wearing clothes.
Its interesting to see how many politicians try to follow the example of William Henry Harrison, watch Obama scramble now to appeal to small town folks. However they should be warned about the rest of Harrison’s story. It was a cold and raining day when Harrison gave his inaugural address, and he gave one of the longest in history. During his speech he caught a cold which eventually turned to pneumonia and he died within the month. Maybe they should copy someone else.
This bring us to today. Pay attention to the next few months as both parties try to make the push to appeal to the little guy. Four years ago at the Democratic national convention was the best, every speaker began his talk with a story about how his father was a poor miller, plumber, shift worker, etc., and how they came from nothing to reach the level they were currently at. They will do the same this year. Again four years ago, how did we choose between two Princeton grads that came from wealthy powerful families, they both tried to convince us they were one of us. I do not believe it was a coincidence Bush bought a ranch just before running for president and he likes pictures taken of him clearing brush. That’s what common folks do, right?
But then this past weekend there was the ultimate faux pas. Obama while talking to rich liberals in San Francisco (yes liberals are rich too) in what he thought was a closed meeting made a comment about small town blue collar workers. He said they were bitter about their economic circumstances and so “cling to guns and religion.” In other words the only reason small town people are religious is that they are poor. Of course Hillary has jumped all over this calling him an elitist (like she is not) and mocking small town regular people values. This will not hurt Obama in the Democratic race, but it can hurt him greatly in the national race. He is supposed to court the regular guy not mock him. Of course Obama has tried to defend what he said with the most famous political defense, they are twisting my words and taking them out of context. He has apologized for his word choice, saying that is not what he meant. The problem I have with that is that his most famous speech is Words Matter. He has said he himself is a religious man so why would he mock religion. I would answer that small town America religion and his religion are not the same thing. I am pretty positive no preacher in Iowa is saying “God Damn America” the way Obama’s pastor did. I just hope Americans are starting to see the real Obama, not the slick good speaker, calling for change, but instead see that the Emperor is not wearing clothes.
Its interesting to see how many politicians try to follow the example of William Henry Harrison, watch Obama scramble now to appeal to small town folks. However they should be warned about the rest of Harrison’s story. It was a cold and raining day when Harrison gave his inaugural address, and he gave one of the longest in history. During his speech he caught a cold which eventually turned to pneumonia and he died within the month. Maybe they should copy someone else.
1 comment:
Why must we make the same mistakes over and over? Politicians are rarely like us. We can't vote ourselves pay raises in the middle of the night. We don't have the best healthcare in the country, which we don't have to pay for. We don't have pensions that beat social security hands down! I guess we small town Americans chose the wrong profession!
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