Why I can’t support FDR

[HughMoran]

Why I can’t support FDR

I know President Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed many progressive policies during his term as President, but he has also supported many policies to which I am vehemently opposed. I made a list of these offending policies below:

1. His refusal to push for anti-lynching legislation - simply because it might have threatened his ability to pass his highest priority programs. What?? What kind of pandering President would allow these killings to continue simply based on political calculation? Oh, he ‘condemned’ them – and how did that work out? Nah, FDR didn’t want to ‘upset’ his Southern Democratic cronies so he ‘looked the other way’ while the killing continued. What’s the word that’s commonly thrown around to describe this sort of political calculation? - ah yes, ‘shameful’.
2. He ignored evidence that the Holocaust was happening. Why didn’t he act decisively to prevent or stop the Holocaust? Why, in 1939, were 936 Jewish refugees on board the SS St. Louis denied asylum and not allowed into the United States? These are not the actions of a true progressive.
3. He was unwilling to desegregate the armed forces. 'Nuff said.
4. In 1942, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 that applied to everyone, including U.S. citizens, residing in the United States classified as an "enemy alien". Under the order, thousands of Japanese, Italians, and Germans residing in the United States were arrested. Internment camps were created all over the United States. For 3 years 120,000 Japanese Americans lived in internment prison camps. Progressive? Hardly.
5. Why did he appoint right-wing justice Felix Frankfurter & moderates like Reed & Jackson? Unacceptable - I expect nothing less than full-fledged liberals from a liberal President. Stacking the court my arse.
6. Why did it take FDR 10 years to lower the unemployment rate to 5%? New Deal? Hah! It was old by the time it had the desired effect.


I’ve heard it said that it doesn’t matter how good the ingredients are for the punch, if there is one turd floating in it, the rest is meaningless. Well, this punchbowl is full of floating turds. Heck, even George W. Bush didn’t round up and intern “Muslins” during his “War on Terra”. Oh, I’ve heard all the “political climate of the day” arguments. They didn’t work for Clinton or Bush or Obama, so let’s not make excuses for FDR either. Imprisonment is imprisonment and racism is racism – please don’t ask me to “set aside” my ideals for political ‘expediency’. I’ve heard those arguments repeatedly and I’m not buying them. It’s all or nothing with me – compromise is for ‘DLCers’ & corpratists – it’s not happening here.

So in conclusion, I cannot support the policies of FDR since he was not a true progressive. He pandered and compromised with the enemy, and for this he cannot be forgiven.