Is Ron Paul the Reincarnation of Grover Cleveland?
What do Ron Paul and a fat, New York Democrat have in common? You'll be surprised. by Jake Morphonios
(libertarian)
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
On the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Texas Congressman Ron Paul was asked about his favorite US President. For those who are up on their US History, Paul’s preference should come as no surprise – it is President Grover Cleveland.
President Cleveland, who lived from 1837 to 1908, is the only man to have served two non-consecutive terms as president - though he actually won the popular vote in a third presidential election. Surprisingly, Cleveland accomplished all this as a Democrat during a political era otherwise dominated by Republicans.
Why does Ron Paul like Cleveland? On the Tonight Show, he said it was because President Cleveland was quick to veto bills passed by Congress. But there are many more reasons why Paul likes Cleveland. The similarities between the interpretations and philosophies of the two men are striking.
“Simply put, freedom is the absence of government coercion. The Constitution established a very limited, decentralized government to provide national defense and little else. Any government coercion beyond that necessary to secure those rights was forbidden. This reflected the founders’ belief that democratic government could be as tyrannical as any King. Few Americans understand that all government action is inherently coercive. If nothing else, government action requires taxes. If taxes were freely paid, they wouldn’t be called taxes, they’d be called donations. If we intend to use the word freedom in an honest way, we should have the simple integrity to give it real meaning: Freedom is living without government coercion.”
- Congressman Ron Paul, 2006
"When more of the people's substance is exacted through the form of taxation than is necessary to meet the just obligations of the Government and the expense of its economical administration, such exaction becomes ruthless extortion and a violation of the fundamental principles of a free government."
- President Grover Cleveland, 1886
So who was Grover Cleveland?
He was born in 1837 in New Jersey, the fifth of nine children. His father was a Presbyterian minister. Cleveland grew up in New York and was admitted to the bar in 1859. He managed to avoid service in the Civil War by opting to pay another man to take his place – as was permitted by the Conscription Act of 1863. He maintained an austere lifestyle, living in a boarding house when his income as a lawyer would have permitted him to live lavishly. Instead, he used his resources to support his mother and younger sisters.
In 1865 he ran for District Attorney, but lost to his roommate. Eventually he was elected as the sheriff of Erie County in 1871. In this position, it was his duty to personally carry out the execution of certain criminals sentenced to hanging. During this decade, political corruption was rife among both Democrats and Republicans in Buffalo. When the Republicans lined up an especially disreputable slate of candidates, the Democrats approached Cleveland to run at the head of their ticket. Cleveland had a clean reputation and was well-respected. He agreed to run on the condition that the Democrats not choose any other candidates whose integrity was questionable. Cleveland took office as Mayor in 1882.
Mayor Cleveland spent most of his term fighting against the graft of establishment politicians and party machines. Even in these earliest days, Cleveland displayed disgust for the misuse of taxpayer money. He said, “I regard it as the culmination of a most bare-faced, impudent, and shameless scheme to betray the interests of the people, and to worse than squander the public money.” As his reputation grew, so did his popularity. He was elected Governor of New York and sent politicians reeling through his frequent use of the veto. His opposition to unnecessary spending and his blunt, honest candor won him acclaim – but also made enemies, including the Tammany Hall organization.
Cleveland won his party’s nomination for President and his reputation as an opponent of corruption served him well in an election that seemed to revolve around dishonesty in government. After winning the general election of 1884, Cleveland shook up the establishment by breaking with tradition. It was his task to fill all the government jobs for which the president had responsibility to appoint. Historically, those positions were filled through the “spoils system” in which the incoming party boots out the losing party from office. Cleveland, however, refused to fire any Republican who was doing his job well. He also slashed the overall number of federal positions rather than fill them with party loyalists.
In his first term, Cleveland vetoed hundreds of bills. In fact, he vetoed more bills than any president in history up until that point. Following the veto of a bill to appropriate $10,000 to purchase seed grain for farmers, Cleveland said:
“I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and duty of the general government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadfastly resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the government, the government should not support the people. The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow-citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood."
On matters of foreign policy, Cleveland was a strict non-interventionist. He had campaigned on a platform in opposition to American expansion abroad and imperialism. On matters of immigration, President Cleveland condemned acts of violence against Chinese immigrants, but also pointed out the inappropriateness of these immigrants who refused to assimilate into American society.
An interesting fact about Grover Cleveland is that he was a bachelor when he won the presidency. His sister, Rose, moved into the White House and acted as hostess for the first two years of his administration until he married Frances Folsom in 1886. Frances, at 21 years old, became the youngest First Lady to ever live in the White House. Together they had five children.
Cleveland lost reelection in 1888 to Benjamin Harrison of Indiana, although he won the popular vote nationally. Due to opposition from his old nemesis, Tammany Hall, Cleveland lost his home state of New York – depriving him of sufficient electoral votes to retain office. As they were leaving the White House, Frances told a staff member to take good care of the ornaments and furniture because the Clevelands would be returning in four years.
The ex-president won the Democrat nomination in 1892. His hard-money, gold-standard monetary policies were very popular at the time. Cleveland’s campaign against Harrison, a rematch of the 1888 election, was “the cleanest, quietest, and most creditable in memory”, according to Cleveland biographer, Allan Nevins. A reason for this is because Cleveland refused to campaign out of respect for his opponent. Harrison’s wife was dying of tuberculosis and was not able to campaign personally.
The Panic of 1893 hit the nation, sending America into a deep economic depression – a difficult way to begin his second term. Due to Cleveland’s tenacity and ability to work with members of both parties, the gold reserves of the nation’s treasury were restored to safe levels. This crisis marked the beginning of the end of the use of silver as currency. When railroad union workers went on strike and began to cripple interstate commerce, Cleveland ordered federal troops to restore order.
Cleveland was asked to run as the top of the ticket again, but declined. Instead, he gave his support to the party. Though it may be hard to believe based on today’s Democratic Party platform, the Democrats of Cleveland’s time defended the gold standard, believed in limited government and opposed high tariffs. Cleveland fell seriously ill in 1907 and died the next year at age 66 from a heart attack. His last words were, “I have tried so hard to do what is right.”
Now, having reviewed the career of Grover Cleveland, is it any wonder why he is Ron Paul’s favorite President? Years ago, when I first studied the life and policies of President Cleveland, I felt as if I could have been reading a biography of Congressman Paul himself. Both men have stood against corruption in government, have placed principle over party loyalty, have advocated sound monetary policy and adherence to the Constitution, and have withstood the temptation to use political power for personal gain.
May God raise up more statesman-patriots like Grover Cleveland and Ron Paul. Our nation is in desperate need.
Jake Morphonios has worked as a political consultant and campaign strategist for over two decades and is the author of "Organizing a Grassroots Political Machine", used in the Steve Forbes 2000 Presidential campaign.
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