Opinion of Huey Long

[Phony Moderate]

Discuss.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long

[Zioneer]

He fought against the entrenched interests in Louisiana, he brought Standard Oil to heel, he transformed Louisiana from a neo-feudal state to at least as modern as the rest of the South, and he gave poor folks a voice.

Nonetheless, yeah, he was incredibly corrupt (though only as much as his rivals) and kind of went off the deep end by the time he was killed. Overall, I would say he's an FF.

[TNF]

Mixed bag, though lean towards HP for disregarding rule of law.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Mixed bag, though lean towards HP for disregarding rule of law.

To be fair, his opponents were not exactly law-abiding types themselves.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Major HP, though he was an interesting figure.

[Vosem]

Share Our Wealth? Just guess what I think of him.

[7,052,770]

Obviously one of the greatest FFs of American history.  Had he not gotten shot and become president in 1941, he would be considered one of the greatest Americans of all time, if for nothing else, leading us through WWII.

He surely would have enacted single-payer health care in the postwar years, as all other civilized countries did.

[Modernity has failed us]

Major HP, though he was an interesting figure.

[Goldwater]

Major HP, though he was an interesting figure.

[DC Al Fine]

No respect for rule of law=HP

[Zioneer]

No respect for rule of law=HP

Neither did his opponents. They formed militias to rig the vote and/or violently oppose him.

[morgieb]

Mixed, he was corrupt as hell and disregarded the rule of law, yet his policies were a good idea IMO.

[Dr. Cynic]

I can't condone his corruption (or his opinion of FDR of which I profoundly disagree), but he fought on the right side most of the time and he was exceptionally intelligent and he had a lot of sympathy for a lot of people... Though if someone crossed his bad side, you had an enemy for life.

[DC Al Fine]

No respect for rule of law=HP

Neither did his opponents. They formed militias to rig the vote and/or violently oppose him.

Yes, and I'm told some of Stalin's opponents could be quite oppressive at times, but that doesn't make him FF.

[Miles]

MAJOR FF.

One of the finest men ever to hold elected office and one of my all-time favorites. A true fighter for the poor man. Yes, there was an element of graft to his reign, but Louisiana has always been one of the most corrupt states. To me, his unprecedented investments in the state's infrastructure and schools was much more important. I wish we had more like him here in Louisiana.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

FF.

[Zioneer]

No respect for rule of law=HP

Neither did his opponents. They formed militias to rig the vote and/or violently oppose him.

Yes, and I'm told some of Stalin's opponents could be quite oppressive at times, but that doesn't make him FF.

Yes, except Long didn't kill anybody. His opponents did.

[Vote UKIP!]

Major HP, though he was an interesting figure.

I agree. He was very fascinating, but he was a true dictator.

Listen, I would rather vote for Franklin Roosevelt than for Long.

Sorry Miles. I hate to dislike your hero.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

MAJOR FF.

One of the finest men ever to hold elected office and one of my all-time favorites. A true fighter for the poor man. Yes, there was an element of graft to his reign, but Louisiana has always been one of the most corrupt states. To me, his unprecedented investments in the state's infrastructure and schools was much more important. I wish we had more like him here in Louisiana.

I can see why people admire Long, and I think he did have good intentions. He had the philosophy of "helping people out, and getting some cash on the side". While his policies were awful in my opinion, he had good intentions, and I am able to excuse most of his corruption.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

MAJOR FF.

One of the finest men ever to hold elected office and one of my all-time favorites. A true fighter for the poor man. Yes, there was an element of graft to his reign, but Louisiana has always been one of the most corrupt states. To me, his unprecedented investments in the state's infrastructure and schools was much more important. I wish we had more like him here in Louisiana.

I can see why people admire Long, and I think he did have good intentions. He had the philosophy of "helping people out, and getting some cash on the side". While his policies were awful in my opinion, he had good intentions, and I am able to excuse most of his corruption.

This is roughly my opinion of James Michael Curley, with the exception of certain roles of his in certain dam projects we could name, which for cultural and family reasons I find hard to forgive.

As for Long, I think Dr. Cynic has the right idea; I think he's a more admirable figure than not, but not entirely so.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

MAJOR FF.

One of the finest men ever to hold elected office and one of my all-time favorites. A true fighter for the poor man. Yes, there was an element of graft to his reign, but Louisiana has always been one of the most corrupt states. To me, his unprecedented investments in the state's infrastructure and schools was much more important. I wish we had more like him here in Louisiana.

I can see why people admire Long, and I think he did have good intentions. He had the philosophy of "helping people out, and getting some cash on the side". While his policies were awful in my opinion, he had good intentions, and I am able to excuse most of his corruption.

Same here.  I don't like the whole "Share our Wealth" stuff, and his corruption and support for racial segregation would make me lean HP, but I would probably stay neutral in the FF vs. HP debate.

[courts]

Share Our Wealth? Just guess what I think of him.

i thought you were all about that

[Cory]

The best President this country never had. He did what he had to do to stand up for the people. Anyone getting uppity about the "rule of law" stuff doesn't understand how real-life politics works.

[Miles]

While we're on this topic, I thought I'd recommend a few books

 First, I'm reading Kingfish: The Reign of Huey P. Long. The author was at the campus bookstore last year and I chatted with him a bit. Its a pretty solid biography; every time you think Long can't do anything crazier than what he just did, just turn the page!

I'm also working my way (slowly) through Huey Long's Louisiana Hayride: The American Rehearsal for Dictatorship. It mainly deals with the lasting ramifications of his legacy and examines why none of his successors were really able to continue the work that he started.

[General White]

FF