Election Returns

November 6th, 1912

Disappointment in in the air here at Taft's election headquarters, we fought a tough fit but still came up short. Woodrow Wilson won the race by a wide margin, claiming 433 electoral votes. Roosevelt was second with 88, and Taft finished third with 8. Our numbers in the House also dropped, the Democrats now have 291 seats against our 127 and the Progressive's 17. Loses were similar in the Senate, the Democrats now have 51 seats against our 44.

Turnout declined dramatically for this election, only 59.8 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots. Surprisingly, six percent of those who voted casted ballots for Debs--evidently his message got across to the voters.

One plus of this election is that the progressives garnered no governorships. I would predict that the Progressive Party will dissipate in the coming years.

Keep up with my blog over the coming years, I'm sure there will be plenty of criticism over Wilson and his policies. Let's just hope our predictions don't come true.

Below is the electoral map for this election.

November 4th

Tomorrow is election day--don't forget to vote!!!

Here is a political cartoon that I found to be pretty clever, I wonder if this how they really feel going into tonight.

Sherman Dead

October 30^th, 1912

President Taft’s vice president James Sherman died in office today. The cause of death is yet to be known. This will dramatically influence this election, one can only hope that a suitable running mate can be found, and SOON. It is predicted that Taft will choose Nicholas Butler, a very suitable candidate.

Sherman was 57.

Roosevelt Shot

October 14^th, 1912

Word has just came in that Theodore Roosevelt was shot while campaigning in Milwaukee, WI. It is thought that a saloon keeper named John F. Schrank pulled the trigger. Lucky for Roosevelt the bullet hit his eyeglass case and his 50 page speech. He should recover in a timely manner.

Many are speculating the Wilson will stop campaigning during this time to make for a more even race. This may be President Taft’s chance to capitalize and make up some lost ground, especially if things turn for the worst for Roosevelt.

The Woman Vote and Racism

August 23rd, 1912

Over the past few years the states of Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Washington, and California have given women the right to vote. Roosevelt has been an ardent supporter of suffrage, I am of the view this is a ploy to capture a few extra votes. The other candidates have not really solidified their position, which they do not have to if they want to stay safe since it seems inevitable that women will have the right to vote nationally before too long.

As for race, the candidates have very diverse views. Woodrow Wilson’s treatment of African Americans at Princeton was dismal by not allowing them into the school. He also has a very negative few of Eastern Europeans, especially the Polish. This is something that will prevent many in the mid-west for voting for them. Wilson is pro-Asian immigration which may scare away many laborers.

W.E.B. Du Bois had dinner with Roosevelt and his family a few years ago, but today it looks like he is jumping ship. Many blacks have been left to question the views of Roosevelt. Oddly enough, the south questions his view on race.

Debs has a favorable few of blacks, obvious because of his socialist views. What is odd is his feel towards Asian immigrants, who he is opposed to. How can a socialist have such a negative view of such a disparate group of people?

Many blacks are wary of our great president because of his racist southerner Secretary of War. If I was to make a prediction, the blacks will split their vote between Roosevelt and Taft.

Judicial Recall

August 16th, 1912

Judicial recall is the idea that people hold the right to determine whether the judge has the right to hold the office. There are too many activist judges out there, and a few people have the view that a vote should be held to oust the candidate from office. Others have the few that the people can hold a referendum on individual decisions. President Taft disagrees with these tendencies because recall will violate the sanctity of the judiciary, this blog sides with him on this decision.

Roosevelt is the champion of judicial recall. We must be wary of voting for him for this reason. The same is true for Wilson; while he is not in favor of the tariff, he is in favor of referendum.

Look out for next post, it is in regards to women and their ability to vote.

The Tariff

August 8^th, 1912

We all know that the tariff has provides social cohesion, patriotism, and a bright economic future. Just look at America’s GDP. Between 1897 and 1901 the average GDP was $1.3 billion; projections for 1912-1916 show the GDP at $40.3 billion. This of course could not be possible without the Republican leadership that we have had over the past few years, and the tariff. President Taft is obviously in favor of the tariff, and will do little to reduce it if he is reelected. A recent issue of Harpers shows our president dodging the tariff issue, I think the last four years should go to prove this notion false.

I’m uncertain as to whether or not Roosevelt knows what his view is on the tariff. During his nomination speech Roosevelt was asked about his view on the tariff and ducked it. This is going to be an issue for him for the rest of the election, he better solidify his position.

Woodrow Wilson is a free-trader. He wants to lower the tariff. This is going to destroy our economy, just look at Great Britain and Germany. Great Britain’s free-trade policy has devastated their economy because of labor unrest while Germany is thriving because of their protectionist ways. Sure it would be great if the world was free of tariffs, but the US cannot be the first to do away with them. If Wilson is elected we will be doomed, mark my words.

The Bull Moose

August 5^th, 1912

I’m currently at the Progressive Party Convention in Chicago. It looks like Roosevelt has formed a new party, nearly guaranteeing a victory for Wilson and his Ilk. Over 2,000 delegates are here, quite a few of which are women, came together to nominate Roosevelt. Jane Addams gave the seconding speech for Roosevelt’s nomination, probably a ploy to make him seem like a suitable candidate.

The Progressives see the Constitution as a “living thing, growing with the people’s growth, strengthening with the people’s strength, aiding the people in their struggle for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, permitting the people to meet their needs as conditions change.” This is a slippery slope, and goes to prove just how much of a socialist Roosevelt is.

Their platform also has some socialist tendencies. They want to provide a National Health Service, social insurance, farm relief, workers compensation, and a limit on injunctions in strikes.

Early guesses are that the party will be called the Bull Moose Party, a reference to something Roosevelt said after he was shot at a while back.

Some are left questioning whether this is a move to keep Taft from being president or if he wants to build a truly progressive party. The coming years will tell. On another note, the coming posts will compare the views of the candidates on certain issues.

Silly Socialists

July 5^th, 1912

Despite receiving three percent of the popular vote in 1908, I somehow forgot to mention the nomination of Eugene Debs by the Socialist Party. From May 12^th to the 18^th, the Socialists discussed ways in which to better publicize their ideals.

A number of anti-Debs candidates have been talked about, but the only credible ones are foreign born. Anyone who takes Debs and his running-mate, Emil Seidel, seriously has been swindled. Especially after the bombing of the LA times back in 1910, probably was due to those pesky socialists.

Word From the Democratic Convention

July 3^rd, 1912

I just returned from Baltimore for the Democratic Convention. President Taft will be running against Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey, more on him below. This was quite the battle between Wilson, Champ Clark and Oscar Underwood.

To win the Democratic nomination a candidate needs two-thirds of the delegates, something Clark was not able to do as the early leader. It took 46 ballots to determine who their nominee was going to be. It probably would have taken longer if Underwood had not released his delegates for Wilson. Shortly after Thomas R. Marshall was named his vice presidential nominee.

Woodrow Wilson is the former president of Princeton University and the current governor on New Jersey. If he is nominated, many will suffer. This is obvious because of his contempt for the tariff that has brought our country so much prosperity. Despite taking so long to nominate a candidate, the Democrats looked more organized this year and pose a risk to the reelection of President Taft.

Good and Bad News

June 25^th, 1912

Last week the Republican National Convention commenced at the Chicago Coliseum in Chicago, IL. The good news is that William Howard Raft and James S. Sherman were nominated for president and vice president respectively. The bad news is that a progressive bolt from the party is imminent.

While Roosevelt had won nine of the primaries, he could not hold back the potential of Taft. Taft’s final tally was 561, well over the 50% needed. Roosevelt finished second with an unimpressive 107 votes, La Follette was third with 36. 322 Roosevelt delegates abstained, signaling that a new party may form.

Being the wimp that he is, Roosevelt spent most of the convention crying about some votes that may have been stolen from him. Many critics think that it would have behooved Roosevelt to prove Taft in-electable (this is certainly not the case) instead of trying to win the nomination through protocol.

The coming weeks will be important for us Republicans. If Roosevelt knew what was good for the 1912 election he would stay in the party and support President Taft.

Today the Democratic National Convention Commences, look for a follow up post sometime next week.

Upcoming Republican Convention

June 11^th, 1912

The Republican Convention is next week in Chicago. Beginning on the 18^th the Republicans will be determining their platform and candidates for president and vice president.This blog fully supports President William Howard Taft because of the prosperity that he has brought this great country. There is no need for change, especially in comparison to Taft’s main rivals for the nomination

On February 21^st Theodore Roosevelt announced that he would be running for the Republican nomination. No surprise after the disagreements that he has had with his successor, President Taft. Most believe that Roosevelt is angry over Taft releasing Gifford Pinchot, Roosevelt’s choice for the Chief of the United States Forest Service. Some worry that Roosevelt waited too long to announce his candidacy, we’ll have to see what this convention holds in store.

Roosevelt believes that the Republicans should stand for social justice through federal action.President Taft has aptly proclaimed that Roosevelt “is in favor of innovations and changes that would make the Constitution worth little more than the paper it is written on.” This blog tends to agree.

Robert “Battle Bob” La Follette has also announced his candidacy for the nomination. As a progressive he may have a problem competing with Roosevelt. Some are worried about his radical nature for attacking railroads, criticizing colleagues, and his disdain for eastern business methods; still others are concerned about his devotion to campaigning given the amount of time he has been spending working on his biography.

Keep up with this blog throughout the election cycle to find out more of the details. The next post will come after the convention, hopefully Taft will be re-nominated.