Opinion of Theodore Roosevelt

[Marokai Backbeat]

His lasting positive impacts far outweigh "he said crazy things those times." But this is the internet, so guess what a loud minority of people prioritize.

He's one of my favorite Presidents and I find him fascinating. His autobiography is great. My vote goes without saying.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

FF (not a hack).  One of our best presidents.

[MATTROSE94]

FF (not a hack).  One of our best presidents.

[7,052,770]

Obviously a FF (normal liberal)

[Rockefeller GOP]

Obviously a FF (normal liberal)

As if you have to be a liberal to like Teddy Roosevelt, LOL.

[Mechaman]

Yes, it has been a little while but since I have been on the subject lately I figured it would be better to resurrect this thread than begin a brand new one.

First off, I think it is pretty safe to say that a lot of you need to read a book on American Nationalism or something because these conclusions that Teddy Roosevelt fell on "the Left" of the spectrum is just, well hilarious.  He despised "the Left" of the day from the beginning of his political career until his very last breath.  He viewed labor radicals, anarchists, communists, and other types of folk as subhuman criminals who needed to be sought out and killed.  Such a man is not suddenly a strident left winger just because in 1912 he ran an opportunistic campaign that had a plank supporting universal healthcare (didn't Otto Von Bismarck also support such a thing?  TNF please correct me if I am wrong).  But hey, what should I expect out of a forum with people who believe that the Federalists and Whigs were liberal freedom fighters?

Paternalistic nationalists like Roosevelt were the Vanguards of society, not the "liberals" of their day.  You cannot separate the man's Imperialism from everything else he did because they are all interconnected.  Roosevelt believed in Order, which is fundamentally different than the idea that the state should be used as an instrument to advance the lower classes.  Cooperation between Labor and Capital is not good because this is the workingman's time and it befouls rich New York aristocrats to see them starving.  No no no, cooperation is good because the last thing the country needs is having strikes all over the place and it is good for production if business gives very piecemeal window dressing concessions to labor (let's face it, the 8 hour workday was a very weak concession).  That is the kind of Gospel Roosevelt preached and he regularly used such pragmatism to contrast with "radical populist" Democrats who wanted to steal the nation's railroads and bankrupt the financial centers of the country.  The only place where Roosevelt was left of center was the early 20th century Republican Party, perhaps the most overrated political institution in the history of the world.  It is only through sheer ignorance and revisionism that over time he has become a great icon among self-described "left wingers" who see fit to pretty much disregard a vast majority of actual left wing philosophy to suit jarringly conservative narratives masquerading as "liberal".

One of Roosevelt's biggest talking points, often in response to "class antagonists", was that there was

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a point that no sane leftist would agree with.  Of course, this was also pretty hilarious, considering that much of his motivation for being in politics was to prevent shady and low class ethnic minorities from having too much power (much like many "reformists" of his day).

Also, necessary article is necessary: https://www.marxists.org/archive/debs/works/1907/1907-roosevelt.htm

SO yeah, you ask what do I think of a guy who was basically a WASP Supremacist warmonger snake who was in bed with the very people he claimed to hate?  Easy HP is easy HP.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I want to have mechaman's babies.

[Sol]

The Philippine-American War is enough to make him a HP alone.

[Mr. Smith]

The Philippine-American War is enough to make him a HP alone.

But his call for Single-payer health care in 1912 and Environmental preservation record is far more than enough to counter that.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Insane proto-fascist who was still somehow preferable to his fellow Republicans

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Insane proto-fascist who was still somehow preferable to his fellow Republicans

Tbh, I would prefer to vote for William Taft over Teddy (and Wilson for that matter).

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

FF overall, despite his opinions on war and racism.

[Sumner 1868]

FF overall, despite his opinions on war and racism.

HP for those exact reasons.

[Marokai Backbeat]

My opinion remains unchanged.

[VPH]

FF. One of our best presidents. Broke up trusts, proposed universal healthcare, fought for enviornmentalism

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

FF overall, despite his opinions on war and racism.

HP for those exact reasons.

So you support monopolies that force workers to put up with horrible things?

[Sumner 1868]

FF overall, despite his opinions on war and racism.

HP for those exact reasons.

So you support monopolies that force workers to put up with horrible things?

No. But his horrid race bigotry and imperialism make him a horrible figure.

[Mr. Smith]

FF overall, despite his opinions on war and racism.

HP for those exact reasons.

So you support monopolies that force workers to put up with horrible things?

No. But his horrid race bigotry and imperialism make him a horrible figure.

Roosevelt was not racist against the blacks. Against the Filipinos, yes.

Still racism.