Today, we're going to take a brief, yet enlightening walk through the presidential campaigns of the Republican Party from the beginning of the conservative movement. What will be surprising in the end (but really shouldn't be) is that now is, as it was then ... same as it ever was.
The conservative movement was born in the early 20th century in opposition to Herbert Hoover's Big Government agenda and Roosevelt''s New Deal. It was firmly rooted in the timeless principles upon which this country was founded - individual rights, private property, and small government. The "fathers" of the movement were people like H.L. Mencken and T.S. Eliot. Conservatism was not a "Republican" movement, but a grassroots one of "the people."
The following is a look at the bitter fight by the Republican Establishment to keep the party moving in a decidedly Leftist direction, while promoting "moderates" in order to keep the conservatives out of power.
1936 Presidential Election:
Early in 1936, an infamous yet forgotten meeting took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The meeting was between a handful of high-profile Republican players, including Thomas Lamont and Thomas Cochran of J.P. Morgan and Company, Alfred P. Sloan of General Motors, Dr. Glenn Frank, president of the University of Wisconsin, as well as 4 other prominent financiers and industrialists. The purpose of this meeting was to "decide" who the Republican candidate would be for '36 and in case of loss, the 1940 candidate would be chosen too.
Before I go any further ... I should ask, does this tinfoil hat make my butt look big?
Let me put it this way ... if you don't think big money players have significant (behind the scenes) influence on politics, I've got a terrific deal on a bridge to sell you. Grow up and get your head out of the sand. The political process is far from pure.
So confident were these men that nobody would beat Roosevelt, they decided to throw their support behind Kansas Governor Alf Landon. A choice made mostly to appease the mid-west constituency, but also because he would govern left-of-center (in the unlikely chance he won). After all, Landon once bragged about how he "cooperated with the New Deal to the best of [his] ability!"
Roosevelt beat Landon in a landslide victory, the Republican "kingmakers" were relieved knowing the current foreign policy and New Deal were safe, and the Republican Party had successfully appeased the mid-west.
1940 Presidential Election:
The 2 leading Republican contenders in 1940 were Thomas E. Dewey, whose claim to fame was as the special prosecutor who took down notorious mafia-types like "Lucky" Luciano, and Senator Robert A. Taft, a popular and principled conservative from Ohio. However, our "kingmakers" had decided they wanted to run a guy named Wendell Willkie. Who was Wendell Willkie? Well, he was a registered Democrat, former member of the Socialist Club, and a completely unknown head of a large utility company.
Despite such an unappealing background, the Saturday Evening Post suddenly printed an article suggesting Willkie for the Republican nomination. The next thing you know, every newspaper and magazine began writing about Willkie. His face soon appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, and other prestigious magazines wrote favorable articles about him, such as Life and Fortune.
This "magic" media-blitz turned Willkie into a star, and out of nowhere, prominent Republicans like Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen, switched their endorsements over to Willkie. But even after all this, with only 7 weeks before the Republican Convention left, he remained a distant third. Thinking their man may not win, Sen. Taft and his wife were invited to a dinner party in New York about a week before the convention, hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Ogden Reid, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune.
The guests of this high-profile event included Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lamont of J.P. Morgan and Company, Lord Lothian the Ambassador to the United States from Great Britian, Mr. and Mrs. John Pillsbury of yes, that Pillsbury Company, and Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Willkie. The majority of the conversation revolved around the need and duty of the U.S. to support Britian's war effort. Willkie of course, was full guns ready to enter the war, but Taft maintained his position that Americans didn't want to go to war in Europe to fight totalitarianism, if all they're going to get is socialism back here at home.
A couple days after the dinner event, the New York Herald Tribune wrote a 3-column endorsement of Willkie, and the Republican Party went on an all-out campaign blitz supporting Willkie. Campaign speeches were packed with "noisemakers" chanting "we want Willkie," and Philadelphia taxi cab drivers were paid $5 to "talk-up" Willkie as they drove people to the convention. "Operation Telegram" went into effect, with pleasant females calling prominent citizens saying "This is Western Union calling. Would you let us send the following telegram to your Delegates at the Convention in Philadelphia in behalf of Wendell Willkie?" Flattered, they said yes (not knowing they'd get stuck with the bill later on).
Delegates were offered large donations for a Willkie vote too, and many others got calls from the bankers who held their mortgages, subtly suggesting their debts may be called if they didn't vote for Willkie. And they succeeded! Despite Willkie having no grassroots appeal whatsoever, he won the nomination and ran on a "me-too" (moderate) platform. Of course, he lost the election by a landslide.
The "kingmakers" were quite satisfied though. They didn't care whether Willkie actually won or not, only that Roosevelt's foreign policy and the New Deal would remain unchallenged.
1944 Presidential Election:
The "kingmakers" discovered a new tool, a poll developed by Dr. Gallup, which surveyed very few people and reliably came up with the answers they desired. Their candidate of choice this time was Thomas E. Dewey, and right before the Republican Convention, Dewey was favored by 68% of Republican voters (in the Gallup Poll)! In other words ... he was the only candidate with a chance to win. Sound familiar?
Why did they get behind Dewey, a guy they once perceived as a threat? One, because Dewey had agreed to continue Roosevelt's foreign policy and New Deal domestic agenda. Two, because in the middle of World War II, it wasn't likely Americans would vote for a change in administrations anyways.
The "only one who can win" mantra wasn't the only thing that began during the 1944 campaign. The pattern of "moderate" Republican candidates refusing to campaign on their best issues started then too.
Strong Republican Issues in 1944:
- Roosevelt encouraged the Pearl Harbor attack by refusing to negotiate with the pro-American government of Prince Konyoe of Japan.
- Roosevelt had advanced warnings of the attack, our military had already broken the Japanese code, but he ignored them.
- Roosevelt should be held personally responsible for the Pearl Harbor disaster.
- Roosevelt was breaking the two-term American presidential tradition yet again, by seeking his fourth term.
These were mainstream issues of interest to the American people at the time, but Dewey never mentioned even a word about any of these. And once again Roosevelt remained president, his fourth term, and the foreign policy and New Deal would continue without political threat.
Don't worry, there's no Black Helicopters hovering outside your window. You have nothing to worry about, I'm not Alex Jones.
We'll continue the story in Part Two.
