Hillary Haters and the Roosevelts
Even some Democrats who agree with Hillary Clinton on every issue and consider her an effective, inspiring leader, fret that the blind, irrational hatred, that burdened her husband during his presidency and that continues to dog his wife, might impair her electability. "She is too polarizing" they say, parroting the verdict of television's Sunday morning gas bags.
It's worth recalling the historical parallels with an earlier presidential couple. "No other word than hatred will do," observed a May 1936, Harper's Magazine feature "They Hate Roosevelt" by Marquis W. Childs. "The phenomenon to which I refer goes beyond objection to policies or programs. It is a consuming personal hatred of President Roosevelt and, to an almost equal degree, of Mrs. Roosevelt."
Childs deemed this "fanatical hatred" so intense and irrational that it could only be explained as the product of "abnormal psychology." Historian William Manchester described how Roosevelt haters "abandoned themselves in orgies of presidential vilification." William Bird, curator of political history at the Smithsonian Institution said that "by 1936, the 'Roosevelt haters' had developed into a well-defined cult among the nation's business elite," their lackeys in the press and on the editorial boards and among right wing Christian theocrats led by fascist radio host Father Charles Coughlin.
"In history, this hatred may well go down as the major irony of our time," wrote Childs. "The majority of those who rail against the [Roosevelts] have to a large extent had their incomes restored and their bank balances replenished since the low point of 1933," before FDR came to power. "That is what makes the phenomenon so incredible. It is difficult to find a rational cause for this hatred."
Describing the same baffling dynamics, a bewildered contemporary magazine editor created an inventory of the most vitriolic Roosevelt haters, including the CEOs of Phillips Petroleum, National Steel, DuPont, General Foods, Monsanto Chemical and General Motors, and then recorded the tremendous growth in their stocks which had all flourished since the implementation of Roosevelt's New Deal policies.
The intense hatred of the Roosevelts was a dominant feature in the American political landscape during the decade of the 1930s and prompted efforts to impeach him and even a plot to depose him by a military coup planned by high ranking officers of Wall Street's richest corporations, including Goodyear, Bethlehem Steel, JP Morgan, and DuPont. The "vast right wing conspiracy" had its own Richard Mellon Scaife. Robert Clark, one of Wall Street's richest bankers and stock brokers pledged half of his $60 million fortune to help finance the coup. His deputy, former Commander Gerald Macguire of the American Legion, a Wall Street bond broker, equated Roosevelt's reforms to Communism and explained the purpose of the coup to a co-conspirator, "We need a fascist government in this country to save the nation from the Communists who want to tear it down and wreck everything we have built in America." The 1933 coup attempt was only averted by the courage of General Smedley Butler, the popular World War I warrior who had been tapped by Wall Street to lead the plot and who instead exposed and denounced it.
"People in power with privilege don't want to be challenged at all," Hillary told me recently as we discussed the repetitive rhythms of history. "FDR's policies rescued capitalism, thereby saving the fortunes and restoring the incomes of so many of the same people who would curse his name over the dinner table. They somehow still felt threatened because they don't like to be questioned."
"And there is something of the same going on today. If you challenge the pharmaceutical companies, the health insurance companies, if you think investment fund managers should be taxed at the same rate as nurses and firefighters, you run into this vitriolic response."
Irrational hatred was the powerful drug that intoxicated the Gingrich Congress to impeach President Bill Clinton at the time when he enjoyed 65% popularity with the American people and had steered the nation through eight years of peace and unprecedented prosperity.
Hillary's supporters should be heartened by the fact that intense hatred is often accompanied by equally strong support. Roosevelt won four landslide victories against his opponents and crafted the architecture for the most humane, successful, generous features of modern American government.
They can also take comfort in Hillary's proven ability to transform intense hatred into loyal support. I recently toured upstate New York's traditionally Republican counties which she has transformed through leadership and political acumen, into rock solid Hillary Clinton strongholds.
With a playful wink she told me, "One of my favorite pins in my political pin collection is "I Don't Like Eleanor Either." It reminds her that it's not just the president who is targeted by the haters. But "about anybody who cares about and stands up and fights for the changes that our country needs to have."
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As a Hillary volunteer in NH (full disclosure) I get the I hate Hillary statement often enough to wonder about it. So, I've done my own un-scientific poll since June and not one, zilch, nada has had an answer when I ask, Why?
My Republican boss and friends don't know why they hate her and neither so the Dems and Un-Declared.
My gut is that it is a subconscious acceptance of the Rovian/Limbaugh plot line that has been said so often that it has become part of our language. Like Ain't.
The good news in NH is that once people see Hillary in person the hatred seems to melt away.
For a long time I kept a polite little note I got back from Hillary's office after I wrote her condemning the despicable Republican tactic of publicly and repeatedly condemning Bill's sexual proclivities solely as a means of advancing their own goals.
Yet I do not support Hillary's campaign; I mistrust the way she attempts to sit astride the fence on so many issues and does not hesitate to subtly reassure the corporate and lobbyist culture that she will see to it that Washington remains focused on "Business as usual".
Why do Hillary's supporters refuse to gracefully allow me to differ from them? Their "If you don't love Hillary, you're a Hillary hater." pronouncements are not reassuring. That very attitude is the essence of "Business as usual".
How many times have those of you in the Business world heard somebody condemned because "They aren't a team player."?
I admire the author of this post greatly, but I think he's missing the point that presidential politics is about personality. FDR aced the radio test. Hilary flunks the living room test - like so many recent Democrats who unfortunately actually got the nomination.
Obama aces the television test.
Franklin Roosevelt did much to stabilize our economy and get people back to work. Hillary has failed at the one thing she tried hard with: health care. There is no comparison really. Roosevelt was elected four times, and with majorities, not the pluralities the Clintons mustered. Al Gore is greater than Hillary. Bill Clinton sold the Democratic party lock, stock, and barrel to corporate America. That is why the Dems roll over for Bush anytime. Thanks to the Clintons, there is no longer a party that is able to rein corporations.
P.
I agree with Mr. Kennedy's posting. After reading the subsequent postings pursuant to his article, after seeing the television coverage of Senator Clinton, after having received the vicious campaign literature when Clinton initiated her first senatorial campaign, the venom spewed on Senator Clinton is frightening. I don't agree with every vote she has cast; I don't agree with every word spoken by her. But I do think she has the ability to handle what is the Machiavellian machinations of federal poltics. Don't give me a cotton candy swirl of words like "change." Give me someone whose primary goals are solid ones and who knows how to walk the maze of politics --- because that maze does not go away just because someone dusts it with sugary words. Give me a president who doesn't fall prey to "the bay of pigs" before being able to handle "the cuban missile crises." That's Senator Clinton.
The times are so different than when FDR was running. People receive their news form sound bites on TV now and not the print media and, somewhat by radio, as it was then.
And, whether I like it or not, she is a lightening rod and I can well imagine how bitter and awful 4 years of her presidency might sound!
I would be thrilled to have a woman as president. But not this woman.
We need a change!
Irrational hatred was the powerful drug that intoxicated the Gingrich Congress to impeach President Bill Clinton at the time when he enjoyed 65% popularity with the American people and had steered the nation through eight years of peace and unprecedented prosperity.
Or Despising Reagan despite his winning 49 of 50 states?
Looks like another support ad for Hillary. Mr. Kennedy does not list the things that she has done against this country: Voted to go to war, called the Iranians "terrorists" while supporting "terrorist Bush." Mr. Kennedy is guilty of using a neo-con buzz word, "Hillary Haters",like they use "far left loonies" and "support the troops." I can't stand the hypocrisy of Hillary Clinton who now says we must bring the troops home. How can you praise Hillary who takes money from Murdoch, the hate-monger who trashes our democracy through his Fox machine. Yet she simply says why not take money from him. He is a constituent. This like saying why not take money from Hitler, we live in the same neighborhood. Besides what moron would agree with Hillary on every issue as Kennedy suggests. If they did they would be just as screwed up as she is. The left is not targeting Hillary because they hate her. They are targeting her because of her actions. She just does not ring true and never takes the democractic stand when the chips are down. Sorry, Mr. Kennedy. I don't hate Hillary. I just hate what she has done. Remember this: She was stone silent when we begged her not to go to war. Thousands of us knew that the Iraq war was wrong and a lie because we did our homework. But Hllarry, like Feinstein, refused to listen. These actions do not qualify her to lead us back to a true democracy.
Robert a very insightful article. The rich and powerful somehow get the idea that they are the elite and the only ones who know how to run this country. They forget that what they are running is the people for whom it turns out they have nothing but disdain. Yes these same forces you describe in the past are even more prevalent today. I would add that they are indeed the extension of those past influences.
Perhaps the rich suffer from a similar psychosis as the Hilary haters in that they feel guilty about their wealth due to the fact that their earnings have come about because of their ruthlessness. Some would say they suffer from the bread of shame in that they haven't earned their money in so much as they have taken advantage of others using their money as a club.
What is ironic is that you lay out this scenario with perfect clarity but there are those who still insist upon the many distractions they are being spoon fed like 'hillary hating' or a host of other 'spins' that people take as truth when in fact they are just what they want us to take on so that we will never see them reaching into our pockets all the while they are instigating us.
Thanks Robert for being a beacon of truth. But then again your roots show themselves again.
The much needed change is fewer Republicans! That's the most important thing, and Hillary maybe the one most able to help with that.
Anyway, fortunately, you are NOT the American people!
FDR was a leader who helped raise the Nation out of the Depression and successfully led the efforts to defeat two countries whose activities threatened allof civilization. In contrast Mrs. Clinton shows absolutely no evidence of leadership. The only charactistic these individuals have in common is ruthlesness. Mrs. Clinton is suicide for the Democratic Party and a death wish for the Nation
People either need to GROW UP in this country or get better educated or SOMETHING !!
They voted for a jack@ss last time I guess they liked the way he slurred his words-- didn't know his inner voice speaks to him & thinks its GOD---and is STUBBORN with out having intelligence.
I have NO CONFIDENCE in the majority of the American people. They hold in HIGH ESTEEM Bush & Cheney who avoided battle and yet our real heros like Kerry---Valerie Plame--Richard Clarke--etc who served our country so well get only abuse.
Call me negative---until I see a CHANGE in attitudes. If Amerians don't WAKE UP they'll find themselves in a place of no return.
The same irrational hatred was also directed against our first President named Roosevelt -- Teddy -- from the same, right-wing sources.
In T.R.'s case, an added feature was the fixing of the Presidential selection process in the Republican party by outright bribery of key players in the party by the wealthy elite of the day.
There will probably always be a significant percentage of the electorate susceptible to the politics of hate. Politely asking political operatives to give up that ploy is probably fruitless; but pointing out and thoroughly documenting their efforts and holding candidates accountable might lessen its impact.
We still don't know how Hillary managed to walk away with $100,000 from futures investments. Well, actually, we do. Without a direct answer from Hillary, we can only conclude it was magic.
We still don't know how the Rose law firm records suddenly appeared in her office out of the blue. Nope, sorry, more magic.
We still don't know how so much White House furniture disappeared from the White House at the end of Bill's presidency? More magic.
Now, we don't know how one of her closest advisors, who is part of every decision made by a hyper-controlling candidate, decided to go off the farm and start raising weird questions about Barack's childhood drug mistakes - which didn't have to be revealed since HE WROTE ABOUT THEM in his autobiography. Even more magic I guess.
Some people argue that Barack doesn't have enough experience to be President. I argue that judgment is more important than time spent fighting inside the beltway wars. The nation doesn't vote for insiders for President. Once upon a time they did, but not any longer. Even Jack Kennedy, a long-time legislator, was seen as an outsider because he was Catholic and not part of the power structure.
Besides if people felt that legislative experience were critical to this job, they would be voting for Biden or Dodd, certainly not Hillary.
No. The question for Democrats and Americans is which change agent do we trust more and which one is not beholden to the power structure. The answer is clear. Barack Obama trumps Hillary as a change agent we can trust and his lack of time in Washington allows him to run as the least beholden to the power structure.
While John Edwards is a good man and right on many of the issues, he suffers from the Mitt Romney problem of having remade himself too recently and, given that, his smooth salesman -like looks make him harder to be fully trusted.
There are certainly risks in nominating Barack but, in the end, race is the least risky thing about this election.
I am a liberal Democrat and I think Bill Clinton was largely well-intentioned and did have some worthwhile achievements during his presidency but the biggest achievement was a great economy that should really have been credited to Al Gore, not Bill Clinton.
Why?!
Well, it was Al Gore's leadership in Congress that created the Internet. Yes, he didn't invent it but it was his determined support for funding that created it and it was the rise of the Internet that created the new economy that have now and which launched the economic high times of the mid-to-late 90's.
In any case, my problem with Hillary is her secrecy. She is the equivalent of Nixon and Bush when it comes to secrecy. For instance, she claims she deserves credit for her husband's presidential successes but she won't release the records that would prove that.
Unlike Geraldine Ferraro, who sat down with reporters for hours to let them rake her over the coals for the stupidity of her husband, Hillary prevents reporters from asking uncomfortable questions to her. Moreover, when someone like Tim Russert asks her tough questions, she hides behind the fact that she is a woman being beaten up by the boys. Then, after distracting everyone from the issues she was questioned on, she says that she doesn't really want to be given special treatment. Imagine if Barack tried to pull that!
to be continued...
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