Reagan Admired FDR Too

spectator.org ^ | 12/14/2011 | AARON GOLDSTEIN

[TBBT]

Quin Hillyer's latest salvo against Newt Gingrich concerns his long standing admiration for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. To be precise, he is miffed that Newt called FDR "the greatest President of the 20th Century." Ah yes, let's place Newt under arrest right away for expressing such heretical thoughts. Yet I seem to recall that one Ronald Wilson Reagan voted for FDR not once, not twice, not thrice but four times. That's right. Four times!!! Reagan's admiration for FDR hardly dimmed even as he became America's preeminent conservative voice. At a White House tribute in honor of FDR in 1982, Reagan hailed the 32nd President as "one of history's truly monumental figures," "an American giant, a leader who shaped, inspired, and led our people through perilous times." Somehow I don't think the Gipper would have faulted Newt for his admiration of FDR.

[BfloGuy]

Reagan was an admitted one-time Democrat. He voted for FDR before the conversion. Comparing Newt’s admiration for Roosevelt with Reagan’s youthful voting patterns is pretty dishonest.

[CommieCutter]

I agree. I not a Romney fan either.

However, it’s scary that he would think this about FDR.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks TBBT.

[DoughtyOne]

This was written as part of a larger post a while back.  I think it bears repeating here.  While there are instances of my using the word "you" here, this was not written to the person that I posted this to.

I have seen a number of folks trying to rip Reagan a new one, so their candidate will look better by comparison.

His take on Roosevelt seems to be a very popular topic, when the above tactic becomes necessary.

Here are a few things they leave out, when they talk about Reagan, his take on, and votes for Roosevelt.

1932:

01. Hoover(R) had been a dismal failure, leaving an almost catastropic economy for Roosevelt to take over
02. When Reagan voted for Roosevelt in 1932, he was part of 57% of the populace who did so.  Roosevelt won all but six states.
03. Roosevelt was inaugurated March 4, 1933 (32 days after Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany).  The U.S. was at the zenith of the worst depression in its history. Somewhere between 20.6 to 24.9% of the workforce was unemployed. Farm prices had fallen by 60%. Industrial production had fallen by more than half since 1929. On the evening of his inauguration day, 32 of the 48 states, as well as the District of Columbia had closed their banks. The New York Federal Reserve Bank was unable to open the next morning.  (and here folks are trying to make hay off Reagan not casting a vote for the man who had left this mess / absolutely shameful)
04. Hoover himself had come up with at least one New Deal type program, and Roosevelt kept it, Hoover's major relief program for the unemployed under the new name, Federal Emergency Relief Administration.
05. By 1936 Unemployment had dropped to between 9.9 and 16.9%.  (between 20.6 and 25.9% in 1932)

Some people make the case that Roosevelt prolonged the Great Depression.  While his second term didn't redice unemployment significantly, productivity did go way up, and unemployment all but disappeared by 1940.  Pay attention to the unemplyment and GNP figures as you read this.

1936:

06. When Reagan voted for Roosevelt in 1936, he was part of 60.8% of the populace who did so.  Roosevelt won all but two states, Maine and Vermont.
07. Kansas Governor Alf Landon, who accepted much of the New Deal, ran against Roosevelt in '36.  (You saw that right? LMAO)
08. Reagan's choices for President in 1936 included the New Deal author, and a man who didn't object to most of the New Deal.  (OUCH!)
........What this means is, if Reagan had voted for Landon, you could have come here and revealed that truth too.  Landon was for the most part, a New Dealer.
09. The Gross National Product grew by 34% from 1932 to 1936
10. By 1940 Unemployment had dropped to between 9.5 and 14.9%.  (between 9.9 and 16.9% in 1936)

1940:

11. When Reagan voted for Roosevelt in 1940, he was part of 55% of the populace who did so.  Roosevelt won 38 of 48 states.
12. Roosevelt's opponent Willkie centered his presidential campaign about three major themes: the alleged inefficiency and corruption of Roosevelt's New Deal programs, Roosevelt's attempt to win an unprecedented third term as President, and the government's alleged lack of military preparedness. Willkie claimed that he would keep most of FDR's New Deal welfare and regulatory programs, but that he would make them more efficient and effective.  (Drat!  You just can't catch a breat there partner.)
........What this means is, if Reagan had voted for Willkie, you could have come here and revealed that truth too. Willkie was for the most part, a New Dealer.
13. By 1940, the Gross National Product had grown by 58% since 1932.
14. By 1944 Unemployment had dropped to 1.2%.  (between 9.5 and 14.9% in 1940)

1944:

15. Willkie dies of a heart attack on October 8th, 1944, months before his term would have ended.
16. When Reagan voted for Roosevelt in 1944, he was part of 53% of the populace who did so.  Roosevelt won 36 of 48 states.
17. Thomas E. Dewey ran against Roosevelt in 1944 crusading against the alleged inefficiencies, corruption and Communist influences in incumbent Roosevelt's New Deal programs.  ( FINALLY!... you catch a break here.)
18. Timeline of important dates related to the War with Japan. LINK It's imporant to remember, that we were still at war with Germany and Japan, with decisions being made, and important battles fought.  Voters were naturally going to give this heavy consideration in the 1944 election.
19. By 1945, the Gross National Prodcut had grown another 56% since 1940.

20. April 12th, 1945 Roosevelt Dies

Summation:

Reagan voted for Roosevelt in 1932, because Hoover had cratered the nation.
Reagan voted for Roosevelt in 1936, because he approved of him, and Landon was essentially a New Dealer too.
Reagan voted for Roosevelt in 1940, because he approved of him, and Willkie was essentially a New Dealer too.
Reagan voted for Roosevelt in 1944, because he apporved of him, and we were still wrapping up Europe, and in the midst of fierce fighting in the Pacific.

That 1944 vote is probably the best bet to wedge people on. I still think folks will look like a bozo if they try to trash Reagon for not wanting to change CICs with our European and Pacific Theaters still active.

As for Roosevelt's policies, I agree that they have had lasting long term negative consequences.  I must interject the following comments here on behalf of people who can no longer comment.

As for Reagan being a New Deal Democrat, so were the Republicans who ran against Roosevelt in 1936 and 1940.  People who lived through the late 1920s and through the 1930s, saw and experienced things that wounded them for life.  Folks might not like it, and I'm not that thrilled with it, but the public saw Roosevelt as the man who turned the nation around after the Great Depression.  A majority of polls rank Roosevelt as the second or third greatest president.  Roosevelt is the sixth most admired person from the 20th century by U.S. citizens, according to Gallup.

Was Roosevelt responsible for seriously screwing this nation up?  I believe so.  He was also responsible for seeing us through some of the darkest days in our nation's history.

We can get as worked up over Roosevelt as we want, but the bottom line is this.  Roosevelt has been out of office for sixty-six years.  How much of his agenda was rolled back from 2000 to 2006?  Please, make a long list for me.  While you're at it, perhaps you might like to address the fact that the Medical Part D provision, was nothing if not a New Deal type program.  Perhaps you'd rather think of it as anther Great Society Program.  Do you begin to see why I don't want a RINO in the White House staring January 2013.

If we actually get a Conserative in there and we have a Tea Party dominated Republican Party in the House, and a simple Republican majority Senate, we can for the first time make major inroads into elimination and replacing the programs Roosevelt created, that are plaging our nation today.  At the same time, we can address some of Lyndon B. Johnson's crap.

So what I want to know is, are folks willing to fall in behind a real Conservative, or are they going to continue to try to place another guy in the White House who can't process his dirty laundry fast enough? 

While I do not see Roosevelt to be as bad as others do because of what he faced and saw us through, there are other presidents since that I think look very favorable when compared to him.  Reagan faced down the U. S. S. R., and peacefully set the planet on a course that wound up ending the Cold War.  Why would someone favor Roosevelt over him, if they were truly a Conservative?

I'd love to see folks actually sign on for once to vote for a person that actually will rid us of those New Deal and Great Society programs.  And please God, don't give us another fool that is willing to implement more Great Society type programs, or implement the Left's agenda for them.

[JerseyanExile]

Well, arguably he was far more fascist in his policy’s then communist.

[plain talk]

Every once in a while Newt throws a jig and says or does some really goofy things. Reagan did the same thing once that I can recall such as when he said he would give star wars technology to the Soviets or naively agreed to the immigration deal. But Newt screws up far more often. He’s like a goofy uncle that you usually agree with it but not always.

Nonetheless that’s where we are. He is an imperfect beast but I am supporting him now since I feel I have no where else to go. The dems and independents will vote for Romney in the primaries. Newt is all that is left of a Maginot line to stop Romney.

[katiedidit1]

Newt is more than man enough to hold Reagan’s coat...the rest aren’e worthy of shining Reagans shoes

[GOPyouth]

Newt is more than man enough to hold Reagan’s coat...the rest aren’e worthy of shining Reagans shoes

Well, Gingrich did say that he cheated on his multiple wives b/c he loved his country so much. Reagan loved his country, yet I'm not aware of him cheating on Nancy. I'm also pretty sure that Reagan never melted in the presence of Bill Clinton, either.

[SoCal Pubbie]

“We have tried spending money. We are spending more money than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just none interest, and if I am wrong . . . somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job, I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. . . . I say after eight years of this administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started . . . . And an enormous debt to boot!”

FDR’s Treasury Secretary Morgenthau

[marty60]

Yes at a tribute,

FDR was a historical monumental figure ( look at social security etc.)

And yes he was President during the WAR against the fascist and Imperial Japan.

Nothing Reagan said was praise. It was just facts.
I guess you didn’t watch the vid of Ronald Reagans 1980 acceptance speech.

LISTEN TO HIS WORDS.

[katiedidit1]

Reagan paid tribute to FDR in 1982!!!! 2 yrs after the speech in 1980.

[katiedidit1]

I listened to the video and found Reagan to be complimentary of FDR. Reagan thought highly of Roosevelt...that is why he quoted him. After Reagan became president he made flattering comments on FDR AGAIN in 1982. I don’t think this is something to attack Newt over...I find it petty.
So there are two republicans that found some good in FDR? it doesnt sway my support for Gingrich. I found ONE comment Hillary made way back when on credit card companies being the equivalent of loan sharks to be credible...lol. Doubt there are any other ...just saying

[marty60]

Apparently you didn’t listen. He quoted FDR 1932 pledge. (smaller Government, solvency. etc etc)

THEN he said that we (the 1980 Repub party) would keep the promises that FDR NEVER kept (para)

In plain English. FDR LIED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. HE DID NOT MAKE GOVERNMENT SMALLER AND IT CERTAINLY WASN’T SOLVENT.

[katiedidit1]

Now, I have to call you a liar..I did listen and heard the entire video including the long commericial. IN PLAIN ENGLISH...REAGAN LIKED FDR ..FACT.

[DoughtyOne]

I don’t fully understand where Morgenthau was coming from. He may have been frustrated by out of control spending, and if so, I wish he would have focused on that. What he said addressed unemployment also. And unemployment in 1932 pegged at roughly 22.5 to 25.0%, was reduced by the end of Roosevelt’s second term to around 1.5%.

For that reason, I think his unemployment or “hungry” comments were ill-advised.

He may have had a very good point to make about our nation’s building debt. It would be a lot easier to identify with those comments if he had kept to that, and he would have made an important point that the nation needed to hear.

What was the public to think, when all those people had been returned to work, the GNP had gone up roughly 50% since 1932, perhaps more? If you’ve got your job back and are feeding your family, are you going to grasp the validity of Morgenthau’s comments, when they touch on unemployment, and totally miss the fact that all but 1.5% of the workers in the U.S. were back to work?

Perhaps I’m not getting the time frame correct, but the end of Roosevelt’s second term (eight years in), was 1940. At that time the unemployment rate was pegged at 1.5%.

[DoughtyOne]

BTW, SoCal Pubbie, for the record, I do not support the government spending vast sums of money to create jobs. I don’t believe it works. When the money is gone, the jobs are gone, and that money is essentially vaporized.

[cynwoody]

The Doofus on the Dime needed Hitler and Tojo to end the Depression.

[SoCal Pubbie]

There was no recovery from the Depression until after 1945. FDR created a command economy that failed miserably. The unemployment rate in 1940 was 14.6%, not 1.5%. It had been 4.2% in 1928. If not for the alphabet soup of Federal makework programs, like the WPA, PWA, and CWA, FDR's unemployment figures would have been much worse.

The years from 1937 to 1938 were called a “Depression within a Depression.” Companies who had struggled to survive, like the Auburn Automobile Company, gave up the ghost.

In 1936, private domestic investment was 21% below the level of 1929. Government expenditures surged by 46% between 1929 and 1936. The coming war in Europe, and the actual outbreak of hostilities, helped nudge manufacturing up as Allied countries started buying weapons and supplies. My own father worked during the Depression first for government via the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey then later as part of the “Arsenal of Democracy” with Douglas Aircraft.

Between 1936 and 1940, U.S. military spending had increased $173 million, and increase of over $2.5 billion today. WWII took 14 million men off the streets and put them in uniform. That really helped the unemployment rate!

Morgenthau knew exactly what he was talking about. FDR saving the economy was a myth. He made decisions based on personal whims, like raising the price of gold 21 cents since that was “three times seven.” FDR was the American Caesar, the Yankee flip side of European style fascism and Stalinism that swept the whole world in the 1930’s.

[DoughtyOne]

I’m not wedded to my figures, but I did look around and develop the post I posted above. There was information out there that backed what I included. I don’t have the original links now. It was developed months ago, and I have lost them.

What would be helpful, is if you would give me some links that touch on the figures you’re providing. I realize that’s not exactly fair since I no longer have links for my information, but I’d be interested in reading whatever you can provide to refute what I provided.

I note that you went back to 1928 to give some sort of an indication of what the economy was like prior to Roosevelt’s election, but failed to address the dire situation when he was first elected.

It wouldn’t surprise me that the government had gamed the unemployment figures. None the less, you talk of the government gearing up for the war effort prior to 1940, then claim there was still 14% plus unemployment in 1940. Perhaps that was the case, but I’d sure like to see some backing for that claim.

You also stated that there was no actual recovery until after 1945. I guess this is the first time I’m hearing someone lament the government spending gearing up for WWII, because that spending did have a positive impact on unemployment, one of the very few reasoned things the government does spend funds on.

Thanks for the response. I look forward to reading more from you on the topic. I’m not trying to gloss over Roosevelt’s true record, and if you’ve got stuff to provide that brings him back down to earth, I’m all for it.

[DoughtyOne]

I hope you understand that I wasn’t trying to give you a hard time with my comments in #59.

My response was made with the idea I could learn more about the era by seeing what you found that might be different than what I came up with.

If you have time, that would be nice. If not, that’s okay too.

Take care.