What the GOP Can Learn from Alf Landon

It was 74 years ago when we heard the similar rhetoric that we are hearing from Republican members of Congress. "This reform will not work and will financially doom us" A Republican leader went so far as to point to less expensive and more practical ideas by members of the Republican Party. Sound kind of familiar? Then the call for repeal was brought forward similarly to the way that Republicans in Congress are hinting at doing the same. The Republican leader saying all this: Republican presidential nominee Alf Landon. Landon would run part of his campaign in 1936 based on repealing Social Security.

Now that the Democratic health care legislation has passed and is now law, the Republicans are looking to take a similar approach as Landon and campaign in 2010 and presumably in 2012 on repealing the legislation. Republicans today should take a stronger look at the failed approach by Landon.

Republican Senate candidates like Mark Kirk of Illinois are basing their campaign this fall around the urgency to repeal the legislation. While one of the GOP leaders in the Senate, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, sees a campaign for repeal being very likely. Others like Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin vow to make repeal of both H.R.1 and S.1 the top goal for Republicans in their effort to regain Congress. Conservative interest groups and think tanks have already begun their campaign efforts. And not to mention potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney voicing his opinion in favor of repeal. Romney as governor of Massachusetts passed a similar health care reform bill for his state and only 10% of Massachusetts favors a possible repeal of the state's version.

Supporters of the repeal are also petitioning Chief Justice John Roberts and the U.S. Supreme Court to review the legislation on its constitutionality. Despite the conservative leaning philosophy of the highest court, they have already ruled in a controversial case involving campaign finances and will need to beware of using their jurisdiction for political purposes.

What Republicans in Congress and anyone else associated with trying to repeal the legislation need to remember is that this legislation influences 30 million Americans. It is often a lot harder to take something away from the American people than to give them something. Can these officials look themselves in the mirror knowing that if they are successful they will have taken health care away from individuals who greatly depend on it.

Another point to note is the way polling might start to work against the Republicans. In all likelihood the opposition to the bill will start to decrease and those who favor it will start to increase. As items in the bill start to take affect this year and those who affects start to see results, their approval will coincide with those results. Polling regarding those who favor repeal and those who are opposed to it or fixing the current legislation are virtually even.

As the year moves forward towards November, there will certainly be at times focus by one Republican candidate or another and their stance on the issue and their "no" vote versus their Democratic opponent. But what that candidate is not going to say is they voted against a bill that allows someone without insurance to stay on their parents' plan until they are 26. Or that they were in favor of denying that young child who is sick in the hospital better care.

Additionally, most of what is in the bill will not be seen for good or bad until after this November. So, the economy will most likely still dominate the issues amongst voters or another issue or two that becomes front page news during the spring or summer.

The Republicans will continue to harp on repeal of the bill, but if they are smart they will soon realize there are several other ways they can use their energy and money. If they think they will win back Congress in November by running a campaign on repealing the health care legislation they will have a rude awakening. Alf Landon thought he could defeat FDR in 1936 using the same approach and failed. If you fail to learn from history, you are bound to repeat it.