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

[Eris23Skidoo]

Those who fail to remember history are doomed to make up their facts as they go along, and then look foolish to those who actually DO remember history.

[tjfxh]

Late stage capitalism finance begins to replace production as the driving force, and debt begins to overtake income. Inflation in asset values due to excessive leverage produces a wealth effect that is not related to production and income. Excessive spending based on the wealth effect results in an increase of the debt service to income ratio, with debt service crowding out other spending other than maintenance. At this point inflated asset values can no longer keep growing and the credit bubble bursts. Happened in 1929 and it happened again in 2007.

When this happens, aggregate demand decreases, resulting in economic contraction. Aggregate demand is the sum of consumer spending, business expenditures, income from exports and government spending. With global economic contraction, the first three contract and government must take up the slack of the contraction is so severe as to produce social unrest. Doh.

[KansasWrangler]

I guess the Bush administration did not have enough time to erase and re-write all of history.

[zendem1]

Oh but their little doo-bodies are around and going about the task of history revision as we speak. Give them two years and they'll have the entire country convinced that Saddam took down the World trade Center, and Clinton caused the recession that Bush inherited.

[pjburke]

Right. Even though DipstickGeorge and DeadEye Dick spent all of the 2000 election cycle bad-mouthing the economy and talking in into the tank.

[cayuse]

It is early but it is being done, the historian appears on Morning Joe constantly. Just like the guy who currates the Texas Repository writing a book saying Lee Harvey Owald was a lone assassin. Anyone remember Jack Ruby that make two assins at least

[AlP]

Hitler was some guy from Canada. That's what the Repugs will be preaching next.

They have still tried to convince people that HItler was Left wing, when history and facts deemed his philosophy beyond Right wing.

These guys are extremely dangerous.

[jazzycafe]

Beck is all about that. He loves to tell his audience that they will hear things on his show that nobody else is talking about. He alone has the "truth."

[unity08]

Beck is delusional and belongs in an Asylum. Oh wait ...hes on Fixed news.

[pjburke]

He said the other night something along the lines that Obama is nationalizing the banks and the automakers­... so that's 'nationali­sm.' And since Obama's stimulus bill is 'socialism,' we now have 'national socialism.­.. just like Germany had in the early 30's'

I kid you not.

[emily00011]

Apparently getting elected into office gives you the right to rewrite history. Either that or some a little blissful ign or ance. Either way, what a m or on.

[cayuse]

Once it is said 5 time of 3 news stations the real m or ons think it is fact. Just go to a bar and say FDR saved the country and you will hear it one more time as truth.

[LawrenceNC]

It's amazing how many republicans haven't picked up a high school history book in the last 60 years. Gee, if FDR caused the depression why where the homeless camps called "Hoovervilles" instead of "Rooseveltvilles?"

[cayuse]

Great Post

[jazzycafe]

So they are saying that democrats caused the crash of 1929?

[pjburke]

"...if FDR caused the depression why where the homeless camps called "Hoovervilles" instead of "Rooseveltvilles?"

The 'thugs will likely answer -- with a straight face -- "because they sucked."

[philko]

1) The Reupblicans' standard answer to ANY question is "Tax cuts." Been that way since Reagan (if not before) and it looks like it'll continue to be that way. Occasionally, that answer works (a stopped watch has the correct time twice a day, right?) and those occasions are used as "evidence" that tax cuts are always the right answer.


2) In the Republicans' (and many Democrats') minds, the definition of "fact" is "the thing that people believe". Once you accept this definition, the obvious conclusion is that if you can get the people to believe it, you've created a fact. Unfortunately, this way of determining "facts" is being bought into by the rest of our society (especially by our media) and is really undermining fields such as science and education.

[dcree77]

Case in point regarding your second paragraph is that push to get intelligent design into the public school curriculum. Heck if you can rewrite science books, why not history books too?

[cayuse]

That is a mouth full of truth. The other is the Word Twisters

1) Foreign Independence a Israeli Foreign Policy and cheap shipping to China and back
2) Death Tax so Rockefellar can liver forever buying and influencing our lives
3) Freedom Fighters who want to over throw the kingdoms as terrorist

[Clarabell]

They know what they are saying. They are just banking on the possibility that their audience is dumber than they are. (I posted this twice to see if makes it past the Hu ff police.)

[cayuse]

Remember when representatives and senator lead and taught the people instead of spin the truth.

[JoeBlough]

This guy is the best Ohio can vote for? They aren't too bright, themselves.

[RenoSage]

I AM PREJUDICED against people who rewrite history. What is the difference between an honest mistake and a DAMNED LIE?

[cayuse]

Like Ronnie bringing down the Berlin Wall which fell in 11/1989. 11 months after he left office

[pfrogger]

Is this not either complete incompetence or outright fraud for him to say what he did?
Oh well he is American politician.
Can't expect more.

[Cinnamonape]

Sounds like Austria is a member of the "Austrian School of Economics"­...you know, the ones that have problems with historical revisionis­m...Waldhe­imer's Syndrome.

[alukes]

Unemployment went from 3.1% in 1929 to 24.75% in 1933 and stayed in the double digits until 1941. I hope we don't need decade and another war to correct the problems the new Porkulus deal causes.

[jazzycafe]

Unemployment steadily decreased from the start of the New Deal. It's in that chart there. It's in the history books that most of us have read.

[alukes]

It was still 15%!!!!!! 5 times the rate it was in 1929. Is that the goal we should be aiming for?

[alukes]

The most prolonged recovery in US History. I wonder, without WW2, it would have probably taken 20 years to recover.

[haval2]

Do they go to school to become liars or does it just come naturally.­..what a party that GOP.

[zendem1]

It comes naturally. Part of it is the sociopathic tendencies, the other is the need to dominate others. They're like five year olds: they believe what they choose to believe regardless of mountains of data proving the opposite.

[Christian]

This graph has been around for a while and why it has not been out front and center at every opportunity is beyond me. Remember how Ross used them so effectively against both parties? There are a lot of simple people busy with their lives that can't get their heads around all the talking points and need a picture, an image that shows the data, the real history of the economy and they will come around. This graph is the single most important flash card this country could have right now.

[gfulmore]

Another would be a graph of the federal debt, showing how it started to climb under Reagan, was helped by Clinton and Bush I, but was really jacked up by George W., from about $5.5 trillion to $10.5 trillion. And what did we get for that massive deficit? Folks who could have paid for the expenditures, including those for the war, got to put the money in their pockets, instead of paying taxes that they could/should have. The winners were the Bush cronyies!