Grover Cleveland had been the mayor of Buffalo, NY in 1881 and the following year, governor of New York. He led the Bourbon Democrats, a classical liberal organization opposed to high tariffs, inflation, imperialism, and subsidies to business. He fought against political corruption, patronage, and bossism. Grover Cleveland was praised for honesty, self-reliance, integrity, and commitment to the principles of classical liberalism.
| 1884 – Cleveland Elected He was first elected president as a Democrat in 1884 with support from the republican Mugwumps. He tried to reduce corruption by basing political appointments on merit. He thought of himself as a “guardian” president responsible for keeping congress and government spending in check. He made frequent use of his veto powers. He fought to have protective tariffs reduced. |
| 1888 - Cleveland Defeated In 1888 he won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote to Benjamin Harrison. The lower tariffs contributed to his loss in the 1888 election. Heavy voter turnout in the industrial Northeast by voters who felt their jobs were being threatened contributed to his loss. |
| 1892 - Cleveland Elected Again At the Democratic convention, Cleveland won the party nomination with little opposition. He campaigned on a platform of lowering tariffs. The race was affected by labor violence at silver mines in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and at Andrew Carnegie’s steelworks in Homestead, Pennsylvania. Strikes were triggered by wage cuts for workers. Many felt that Harrison’s high-tariff policy was unfriendly to labor. Cleveland won the popular vote and the electoral college against the incumbent Benjamin Harrison, who had defeated him four years earlier. |
Can this happen again?
 | Donald Trump is an owner of golf courses, casinos, office buildings and played a successful businessman on television when he decided to run for President in 2014. He is a billionaire developer of eponymous buildings and a familiar personality. Donald Trump and his businesses have been plaintiff or defendant in more than 4,000 state and federal legal actions, including six business bankruptcies. |
| 2016 - Trump Elected Trump ran a nationalistic, “America First” campaign which pushed the idea that he would “Make America Great Again“. He blamed immigrants, trade agreements, and the political correctness of the socialist elites for all that is wrong with the country. His inflammatory style was a cheap and effective way to attract media attention. Trump received 304 electoral votes and Clinton 227 to win the election. He lost the popular vote. |
| 2020 - Trump Defeated The Covid outbreak was declared to be a Pandemic in February 2020 and by the summer of 2020, according to the Gallup Pole, Trump’s approval rating had slipped to 38% because of his handling of the pandemic and the impact on the economy. Biden defeated Trump winning both the popular (81.2 million to 74.2 million) and Electoral College votes (306 to 232). |
2024 – Biden Incumbent and Trump the Challenger Issues
| Economy | The question is whether enough Americans think the economy is working for them personally. Cost-of-living concerns dominate public polling and inflation remains high. Jobs are being created, inflation is declining (slowly) but perceptions are slow to catch up. |
| Immigration | Our immigration system is a complicated mess. Now it is a political hot potato with blame on the menu. Accomplishing anything prior to the election will be difficult. Donald Trump has warned Republicans to reject a $118 billion bipartisan border deal which links tougher immigration laws and aid for Ukraine and Israel. |
| Wars | Congress is having trouble providing aid to Israel and Ukraine. Trump proclaims that he can end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. |
| Climate | Forest fires, hurricanes, wild weather extremes, and damaging floods – it is obvious that climate change is real. Public polling reflects this: 70% of Americans and 50% of Republicans want action. Trump says he doesn’t believe human activity contributes to climate change, nor that climate change is affecting the weather. He is opposed to investment in conversion to clean energy. |
| Violence | Mass shootings in the United States are on the rise, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive “It’s not the gun that pulls the trigger, it’s the person that pulls the trigger,” says Trump. The second amendment has to be repealed: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” |
VOTE!