Liberal Democrat

Source: BJ82: Wendell Willkie 1940 Presidential Campaign

Wendell Willkie in about three minutes and that’s it and all the time he needed. Did what Michael Dukakis in an entire Presidential-campaign in 1988 or John Kerry in an entire. Presidential-campaign in 2004 didn’t which is layout for the most part not. All of his politics why he’s a Liberal. Yes a Classical-Liberal Republican not a Democrat at the time because he saw Franklin Roosevelt and the. New Deal moving the Democratic Party in a Socialist direction. Something that he didn’t want to be part of. This idea that you solve problems in society by government especially the Federal Government.

Spending a lot of money on them when Wendell Willkie’s. Vision of Economic-Liberalism was that you needed a safety-net things. Like Unemployment Insurance but you really needed the government more as a regulator. Anti-monopoly laws and workers-rights the ability to organize. And work under safe working-conditions and a limit on hours per week. So workers could see their families but that individuals should have. Their own freedom and that government should do the most by spending. Money very wisely and you do that but limiting what government. Should be doing to get the most out of it, not by throwing money at problems and hoping for the best.

When it came to foreign policy Franklin Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie. Were very similar both Liberal-Internationalists like Woodrow Wilson. Both believing in strong national-defense and. So forth but they were very different on national-security. Wendell believed in things like civil-liberties, that government shouldn’t. Target certain people because of their ethnicity. Because they might feel loyal to Germany or Italy or Japan. During World War II countries that America was. Obviously fighting during that war, President Roosevelt. Locked German, Italian and Japanese Americans up during the war.

Because he thought these Americans were loyal to the opposition. Because of some ethnic-pride they might have felt for them. Wendell wouldn’t have done that and then there’s another example of how. Wendell was a real Liberal and Franklin wasn’t. Wendell believed in civil-rights for all Americans before it was ever. Passed into law let alone popular and President Roosevelt wasn’t interested in civil-rights. The 1940 United States Presidential-election was very interesting for. Several reasons but the contrast was so very clear.

That the Wendell Willkie that you see back then a classical-Liberal. Running for President in the Republican Party whose more like. Mike Dukakis or Bill Clinton than Barry Goldwater or Richard Nixon ideologically. Running against a true Progressive-Democrat at least on economic and foreign-policy. In Franklin Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie of course wouldn’t come close. To winning the Republican nomination for President today but he would. Do very well in the Democratic Party today even as a Presidential candidate. And I wish we had more Democrats like him ideologically and personally.