Time for a History Lesson

I enjoy dabbling in history, not as a serious student, just for my own enjoyment.  The philosopher, novelist, essayist and poet, George Santayana wrote "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".  History contains every mistake that has ever been made, so the more you know, the more prepared you are for life.

History isn't limited to the tedious memorization of dates, our education system seems obsessed with, in fact, the date is the least important part.  History is my great Grandfather telling me that if I wanted to catch a rabbit, all I had to do was pour salt on its tail.  Only took me about 3 hours running around the fields with a salt shaker to learn that lesson.  History is my sister telling me about falling asleep and driving into the median in her truck, and what she did about it.  Came in very handy when I was forced off the road, doing 75 mph, in New Mexico.  The trick is to head to the middle of the median and stop.  Don't try to pull back on the road, or you'll roll over.  History is everywhere, all you have to do is recognize and learn from it when given the opportunity.

The upcoming election and last weeks Republican National Convention have convinced me that Mitt Romney and the GOP are not students of history.  This could possibly pose some problems for the Romney-Ryan campaign.  However, since most American voters seem to be clueless when it comes to history (and the economy, and foreign policy, and the constitution and how to use a turn signal), there is a good chance no one will notice.

In 2004, President George W. Bush was running for re-election and was somewhat vulnerable.  The Democratic Party nominated Senator John Kerry for President.  Sen. Kerry had been characterized as a Vietnam War veteran and hero, had significant advantages when it came to funding a campaign and should have had no trouble winning the election.  Except, there were questions about his military service, doubts about the validity of some of his service awards and about his war hero stories existed.  A simple solution was available, sign one piece of paper and authorize the release of his service records.  He refused to do this and lost the election.  After reading both the authorized and unauthorized biographies of Sen. Kerry, I'm convinced that a release of his service records would have destroyed his campaign.  It probably would have saved many millions of dollars that were donated to his campaign, but it would have forever ended his political career.

In 2008, Senator John McCain won the GOP nomination to replace President Bush.  After eight years of the Bush-Cheney regime, the Democrats should have been highly favored to win the election.  All they needed was a decent candidate with no major skeletons in their closet.  Instead, they selected a freshman Senator, that not only had an unusual name, but he was an African-American as well.  Combining a lack of political experience with bigotry, took the Democrats from a sure thing to the underdog.  Now all Sen. McCain needed was the right running-mate and he could move into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.  Instead, he chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

I know that Mrs. Palin has her fans, but there was no benefit to selecting her.  Alaska's population is too small to have an impact and her far right-wing beliefs only appeal to the voters which are already solidly behind any non-Democratic candidate.  This drove a significant number of moderate Republicans to vote for Sen. Obama and kept moderate Democrats from voting for Sen. McCain.  The rest is history.

Another Sen. McCain blunder was when a reporter asked how many houses he owned and the Senator did not know the answer.  Anyone else ever have that problem?  This created a distance between Sen. McCain and the average voter.  Now along comes Mitt Romney.  Can you visualize him sitting in Hooters cheering for his team and sharing a few pitchers with the guys?  How about changing a tire, or unclogging a toilet?  Do you see him worrying about how he's going to pay the bills if something goes wrong?  There is nothing wrong about being born into wealth, or with making millions.  I'm all in favor of both.  I just don't see Mitt Romney as someone that can understand the problems the average American faces.

There have been repeated calls for Mitt Romney to release his tax returns and in response he has released his return for 2010 and his estimated return for 2011.  Most of us had to have our 2011 taxes completed by April 16, 2012, but then his returns are quite a bit more complicated than mine.  I would be willing to bet that he spends more money having his taxes prepared each year than I've made over the last 10 years.  Until he releases all of his returns for a significant number of years, The Democrats have a distinct advantage any time taxation is mentioned.  Perhaps before the nomination, someone should have thought about how those records, unless they are squeaky clean, can cause problems.

Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan has been chosen to complete the GOP ticket.  At 42, Rep. Ryan is, young, fit and attractive, an ideal poster child for the GOP.  In a few more years he could be considered as a possible Presidential candidate.  Remember your history lesson?  Rep. Ryan's ideology doesn't appeal to moderate voters of either party.  With the recent Todd Akin blunder still leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouth, the last thing the Republicans need is another "No Abortion For Any Reason" mouthpiece on the national stage.  Once again, the Republican Presidential candidate has felt the need to placate the minority in the party that will never vote outside the party.

During the Republican National Convention, Rep. Ryan's speech contained several misleading statements, misrepresentations and some outright lies.  Check the news and you'll see what I mean.  Personally, I try to limit my lies to ones that I can't be caught in or ones that don't make me look bad when I am caught.  So, telling a girl, I was trying to pick up in a bar 30 years ago, that my sprained knee had happened trying out for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was okay with me.  Not that it worked, but at least I didn't have to worry about being called out for it.

History, if you pay attention to it, there are a great number of lessons to be learned.  If you ignore it, don't be surprised when you keep repeating past mistakes.

Here's a summation of my history lesson for the GOP:  
     1.  Choose a candidate with a broad appeal, especially with moderate voters.
     2.  Choose a candidate that can bring personal transparency to the campaign.
          Their life needs to be an open book for all to see.
     3.  Choose a candidate that the average American can relate to, someone who
          has struggled to pay the rent, someone who understands our problems and concerns.
     4.  Choose a Vice-President candidate who broadens your Presidential candidates
          appeal rather than limiting it.
     5.  When talking about the issues use facts.  Save the stories for tucking your kids
          in at night.