Ohio Republican Admits FDR Did Not Cause The Depression

One of the talking points that the GOP has attempted to deploy in the battle over the stimulus package is, "Hey! Remember that New Deal dealie? Boy, howdy, wasn't that a massive failure!" Oooh, oooh! And what if the Nazis had gotten the bomb? Then we'd be in some serious doo-doo, tra-la-la!"

Anyway, freshman Representative Steve Austria heard that talking point and decided that it could be made way awesomer. And in an environment where his colleagues are playing fast and loose with the facts, who can blame him? Still, I think this revision took things a step too far with the editors of the Columbus Dispatch:

The day before, as Austria was explaining his opposition to the huge federal stimulus package backed by President Barack Obama, he told The Dispatch editorial board: "When Roosevelt did this, he put our country into a Great Depression. ... He tried to borrow and spend, he tried to use the Keynesian approach, and our country ended up in a Great Depression. That's just history."

Austria said he gave that message via telephone to constituents at a recent town-hall meeting.

Uhm, yeah. That led the Dispatch to point out that "Roosevelt took office in March 1933. Many historians date the Depression from the stock-market crash later dubbed Black Tuesday, which happened in 1929."

And so, Austria had to get back on point:

"I did not mean to imply in any way that President Roosevelt was responsible for putting us into the Depression, but rather was trying to make the point that Roosevelt's attempt to use significant spending to get us out of the Depression did not have the desired effect. Roosevelt did not put us into the Depression, but rather his policies could not pull the nation out of the recession."

I guess now is as good a time as any to offer Austria the chance to familiarize himself with what the New Deal accomplished, via the handy graph Rachel Maddow deployed Monday night:

That's just history!

Comments

[FormerReaganite]

What the hell do Republicans know about the economy, anyway?

[Skyhawk]

They know how to wreck it.

[BlackWidowPilot]

Nothing like a little history lesson fired across the bows of the "Greedy Old Perverts" every now and again...

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[guntotinganglion]

Speaking of "borrow and spend"...isn't that the operating "principle" behind EVERYTHING the Republicans have done since St. Ronald The Evil Empire Slayer came on the scene? Ronnie had record deficits based on borrowing and spending, HW Bush had even greater deficits (highest up to that time)....then there was a brief respite when an actual adult took the helm and delivered a surplus (that would be Clinton) followed by the psychopathic frat boy cheerleader (re: Andover Academy and BOOLAH BOOLAH!) who recently left town, W The Lesser, leaving in his wake at least a 1.2 trillion dollar deficit the likes of which no country has ever seen...all care of borrow and spend politics.

Under Ronnie Raygun, this country's foreign trade went from us being the greatest creditor nation in the world to the greatest debtor nation in the world...in eight years. And the Republican crime syndicate has run with that mantra (RONNIE...RONNIE...RONNIEEEEE!!!!) ever since.

Ya gotta love it when these idiots lean into the punch.

[Bernique]

guntoting-- you nailed it.

[rabiddog6708]

The Repubs have always hated FDR and the New Deal......they have spent the past 60+ years trying to unravel it and stamp out unions.

[spartanmom]

Undoing the New Deal is their raison d'etre. That is why they are so hollow on everything else.

In order to come back from the hinterlands they are going to have to just get over it. Accept the New Deal and the Great Society and go forward from there. Until they do they will continue to fade.

[cayuse]

Well he fed the people soup. It took rep many years to take prosperty away from the workers for contributing contributing all the genius and sweat. And here we are again. So the rep have not changed in 76 years. Interesting how the wealth structure identifies party lines

[BeasleysMom]

I was so proud of Rachel for that segment. I have spent a good deal of time studying Roosevelt's presidency over the course of many years, and I have been appalled at the right's recent campaign to discredit his handling of the Depression. I have written many letters to newspapers protesting articles and columns which contain allegations that Roosevelt caused or made the Depression worse. These articles rarely used any facts or figures to back up the allegations.

These efforts from the right are simply being used to discredit Obama and his desire to spend billions to pull us out of this current dangerous recession. The truth is that Roosevelt would have pulled the country out of the Depression faster if he had only spent MORE, as finally happened with WWII. The gops, then as now, fought his efforts and limited the amount of money he wanted to spend prior to the war.

[cayuse]

Gleeful spending is not the answer itself. Spending on Roads and Bridges is required and a proven New Deal. $1000 in the hands of a Construction worker week one will stimulate real jobs and purchase in a hurry. Building more college rooms and adding floor covers not so fast.

Our economy needs Tractor Trailers to keep running. How many windmills does it take to transport China's good across the the 3000 mile of lines from west and east coast.

[indothinker]

for the love of God, would these rethugs pick up a history book and actually read it??? or do they need a school house rock version of the great depression? oy...

[stuporman]

and if they get away with defunding education, then your kids won't know how to read either.

[cayuse]

I learned how to bounce a basketball, throw a football and hit a baseball in school. I learned how to read and do math after school. Did not you? Paying more has not worked yet. I am for open doors to Universities and if you can pass you stay.

[spartanmom]

Oooh, I'd listen to that!

[Skyhawk]

They're too busy rewriting it to read it.

[willfarnaby]

Nothing that any of The Nazis of the 21st Century says comes as a surprise.

[SCG]

Table 2: Trust Fund Data: Tax Rates for Self Employed Persons

Year
Tax Rates (in percent)

1981
9.3

1982-83
9.35

1984
14

1985
14.1

1986-87
14.3

1988-89
15.023

1990 and later
15.3

Source: Social Security administration: www.socialsecurity.gov

Link: http://www.ravibatra.com/obamamccain.html

[SCG]

Table 1: Poverty Rise under Various Presidents; 1980-2008

President ..............................Jump in Poverty Figures

Reagan...................................+3 million

Bush I......................................+ 6 million

Clinton......................................- 6 million

Bush II....................................+ 5 million

Source: The Economic Report of the President, 2008.

Link: http://www.ravibatra.com/obamamccain.html

[unity08]

So much for the trickle down theory...

[spartanmom]

Fantastic Posts! Thank you so much

[cayuse]

Yup! How many poor d u m p republicans voted for them

[paulphotog]

Mr Austria: Consider the Scarecrow's sad lament in the Wizard of Oz:

[clover2]

I hope the folks who voted for Representative Austria at least have the decency to be embarrassed. Anyone who has no problems with such a gross misrepresentation of American History will have few scruples when it comes to misrepresenting anything else.

Frankly, I think most of the GOP needs to go back to school. Neither Lincoln or Theodore Roosevelt would recognize the modern GOP.

[paulphotog]

Indeed. The "modern" GOP has been hijacked by ____________ (fill in the blank)

[spartanmom]

Brain eating monsters

[ice9catscradle]

Has anyone seen a picture of this guy ? He looks a lot like Alfred E Neuman. Wait, I take that back. It's an insult to Alfred.

[MJinCanada]

An astonishing number of Republicans do.

[cayuse]

Right, Bush! I always see them as Bobbling Heads. They only shake their head and do little else work is for the other guy. Smart not hard workers they call it. I call it sly, clever and unhuman

[leatherneck1971]

GOP is totally breaking down from reality, trying to rewrite history is not surprising but to say FDR/Democrats caused 1st depression is how desperate they are, its like the myth world war II brought us out of depression not FDR, easy proof of this myth is if war ended depression then the two wars we have today would make us have a booming economy with wars in Iraq/Afghanistan, but reality is wars are bankrupting us, and myth perpetrated by GOP is not being believed by anyone but that die hard 18% whom still worshp GW Bush Jr, as a hero and not a modern day version of Herbert Hoover as the majority of americans see him!

[larry278]

Everybody in Ohio know that Jim Cox, a Buckeye Democrat who ran for POTUS in the 1920's, caused the depression. Yes, FDR was Jim Cox's running mate but FDR didn't cause the depression but the depression was all Jim Cox's work. That's true, in Oh-anyway,

[larry278]

Typo: it's knows, not know. I went to school in Ohio; what's your excuse?

[cayuse]

The man that held the weight of the world on his shoulders with a crippled body.

1) Depression
2) Dust Bowl
3) World War II

No wonder his picture was seen in so many houses in my youth.

[SCG]

When Alastair Cooke of the BBC traveled the country in the 30's he commented on how often he's find Roosevelt's picture hanging in many homes and establishments.

FDR was revered.

[saami]

My imigrant family adored Roosevelt and Lincoln. They were heroes.

[FormerReaganite]

As will be Obama.

[BeasleysMom]

That's why I get so mad at this bunch of gop bums who try to discredit him. It is disgusting. My grandma had his picture, too. When I was about seven I asked who it was and she was upset I didn't know!

[cayuse]

I know and I think Ronnie got Altimers 3 years before he was elected President, surely before he was asked about Iran/Contra, but the he had the same disease for the October Surprise which was before his presidency