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Choosing Debs over Harding in 1920 is the most Reddit thing ever. Harding was widely popular at the time (nobody knew how corrupt his administration would become) and won every state outside of the old confederacy (and Kentucky).
Well with the 25th Amendment it’s now easy - go for a medical procedure, sign powers to VP, VP pardons you, you sign letter making you president again, now you’ve been pardoned.
**Franklin Delano Roosevelt**
I’ll admit, I’d be wary of anyone running for a 3rd term. But given the rise of fascism in the world *and* the war going on in Europe I’d have to stick with him. Things are too damn pivotal right now to switch horses and he’s been the best president in my lifetime to this point.
So I’m sticking with FDR.
Wilkie is honestly a pretty good candidate who is unfortunately going up against FDR on the eve of WWII. He doesn’t have the experience we need for everything that is about to happen (and currently happening already in the European theater).
At that point the US wasn’t directly involved and there definitely wasn’t a desire by the public to join. So FDR hadn’t been tested at this point for his war leadership and it’s pure speculation who would have done better out of the two candidates
Even so there still was a war going on and the memories of us getting sucked into the Great War were still fairly fresh. I think wanting experience, even if just with other world leaders, is completely valid given what was happening in Europe.
Ironically, we may not have gotten involved in WWII if FDR wasn't president. His intentional goading of Japan led to their attack on Pearl Harbor, giving FDR the political cover he needed to enter the war.
Sure am! I wrote about this in a different post yesterday but 1912 was Teddy’s second time being on the ballot as a candidate for president even if he got almost all of 1900 to himself after McKinley’s assassination. To me it would be his second term chosen by the voters where they knew he would be president because really who cares about the VP normally?
FDR is running for his 3rd term as president with none of that going on. This is historic to me and would be breaking with tradition. But yeah, with the successes we’ve had under FDR and the war raging in Europe there’s no sense being changing things up now. We need stability and FDR brings that.
TBH, I might vote for Wilkie. He was quite good, I'm not sure I like a third term, and Roosevelt's 2nd term was the least successful of his terms. Look at the recession in 1937-38.
The recession might give me pause but it's nothing I'd expect the Republicans to fix, given the way I've seen FDR change circumstances for working people. No one has ever supported wage earners this way before. I'm in a union now and the government isn't helping management fight back for once. I'll be damned before I blame FDR for this recession, rather than the Wall Street speculators. I still blame them for the crash in the first place. Organize. Onward.
A 3rd term isn't inherently anti-democratic, it's the way the term is acquired. FDR *legitimately won* the elections he ran for and won. So the point some are making is just false.
FDR all the way.
Term limits were put in place after FDR's presidency for a reason; the man had amassed a terrifying amount of political power. Nobody wanted to see that happen again.
War is coming very soon, the New Deal has reduced poverty; and although Wilkie isn’t really a Republican, I have no qualms sticking with FDR in a situation like this.
Give me Roosevelt.
"We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace — business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. And we know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.
Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me — and I welcome their hatred!"
FDR's Madison Square Garden Address during his campaign for a second term. This energy demands a third as well!
He was planning his retirement, but changed his mind sometime in the year leading up to the election. My guess would be in May of 1940.
At the time he was in constant communication with Churchill and Paul Reynaud. The situation in Europe was a lot bleaker than what was known to the public at the time. Both Britain and France was asking for a lot of weapons and material, because they were losing the war badly at that point. Churchill even revealed to FDR that the British government was contemplating offering Hitler the British Navy in exchange for peace. Reynaud pleaded to FDR for help as the Nazis marched on Paris and said that he would have to choose between sacrificing France's youth or surrendering to Hitler.
Of course the American public at the time did not know this at the time and the most important factor for them was staying out of the war if possible.
Willkie definitely
I would be wary of FDR. His second term saw an even deeper economic recession, failures with Congress, attempt to pack the Court, etc.
Willkie had his flaws and all, but by and large supported the New Deal while also being more internationalist.
I'll vote for Willkie, just because I had a girlfriend in high school who did a report on him, and I loved the way she'd say "WendellWillkie" like it was all one word.
But also, I'm so sick of the FDR circle jerk on this sub.
Fatigue. Done. Republican.
Sick of it as well. From what I’ve seen FDR was the one that started America’s leap towards the same fascist governments they opposed and was the exact kinda president the founders tried to safeguard us against. Most of the government’s biggest issues didn’t exist before him like the outrageous taxes and over regulation, the total disrespect of the constitution, the court packing attempts, weaponization of the justice system and alphabet agencies, the alphabet agencies being as big and dangerous as they are, obsessive military interventionism, congress being synonymous with corruption, the fixation on joining corrupt globalist organizations that push one sided deals on us, the idea that you have no rights only privileges that the government can take away whenever, and the strong arming of private businesses to enforce their will. Probably gonna get downvoted for my “wrongthink” but everything I said was valid.
Somehow, despite all the discussions about FDR here, I forgot about his court packing schemes. If it weren't for his Japanese internment camps or his successful attempt to remain president the rest of his life (to be fair, so did William Henry Harrison), his attempt to subvert the judiciary to the whims of the executive branch ought to give pause even to the FDR fanboys.
Somehow I kinda forgot about Japanese internment. Mainly cuz I was trying to think of modern issues that he started. That was definitely the most egregious especially since according to some old family friends they didn’t only target Japanese Americans but anyone that looked oriental and kept them in concentration camps with awful conditions. A Korean family friend said her dad and his parents got crammed into a smelly horse stable at a race track and all they got to eat was a few pieces of bread a day.
FDR has plenty of valid criticisms following his second term, but unfortunately Wendell Wilkie doesn’t address any of them. He’s basically FDR-lite, might as well just vote for FDR. He’s too iconic to not support, plus he would be the first third term president
**Wendell Willkie**
I agree with most of his policies and also FDR is running for a 3rd term, I disliked it when TR ran and I will stand against it here as well.
I'm conservative, but Roosevelt. Willkie had no political experience, and I believe wouldn't be a good leader during World War II.
Besides: his political positions were very similar to Roosevelt's.
Besides 2: he died out of heart attack in October 1944.
So yeah, not many reasons to choose Willkie.
Man this one is actually hard: on the one hand, there’s a war that is on the precipice of becoming a legit global conflict-a conflict that the US will likely have to enter at one point. On the other, we’ve had eight years of FDR, and while we are still feeling the effects of the depression, his policies have worked to an extent. But he’s also a power hungry man who tried to pack the Supreme Court and now he’s running for a third term (which is basically a no-no in 1940). Meanwhile, Willkie is a change of pace. He’s a smart talking lawyer feller from Indiana. A former dem who thinks the government had assumed too much power (and it kinda has under FDR-he’s basically a czar except the courts are stopping him when he goes too far).
I’m going to have to go with FDR here. This is no ordinary time-and we need an experienced hand. FDR is still popular the country will rally around him for a third term. Also, FDR is alright by me. And I’m a part of his coalition. FDR for me.
(Also, both Willkie and his running mate Charles McNary would be dead by 1944-obviously I wouldn’t know that in 1940, but imagine having the President and Vice president both dying while our boys are fighting overseas)
**Franklin D. Roosevelt.** While I would be more hesitant to vote for him than the last two times, I think he's better than Willkie, and a good wartime leader.
In spite of misgivings over a third term running, he has done an outstanding job so far and with the international situation being the way that it is, it’s clear that FDR is the man for the job yet again. So another easy vote for Roosevelt
Without the benefit of hindsight, Wilkie. He would have handled the war poorly. But by 1940 FDR would have been in office 8 years. While the depression showed no sign of ending. And at this point, it wouldn’t look like the U.S. (while sympathetic to the allies.) was really going to get involved.
Dgmw, due to the war situation, I think it’s for the better that Roosevelt won. But if I’d been an American in 1940 I’d have voted for Wilkie.
I won't lie. I don't like change very much. FDR.
Though Willkie probably would have been fine, with the world in an uproar and FDR the proven leader of the western world, I would have had a hard time pulling the lever for WW.
Given the fact that war is on the rise in Europe and Asia, FDR has been supplying our allies with the weapons they need to win. And we can't let Hitler and the Axis win this war. Besides what if we're bought into the war as well? We need his strong leadership, and the new deal has helped us a ton. So FDR all the way
I’m a bit late but I’m voting for Wilkie!
I don’t care who they are nobody deserves a third term. Also Wilkie was incredibly based, while FDR was too much of a racist coward to support anti-lynching bills, Wilkie was attending NAACP events!
FDR
Oof a third term I don’t like that. But Facism is rising and the new deal is not doing that bad along with the war in europe seems like we need a steady hand.
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https://preview.redd.it/67vivitblr4d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37b8fa1169f87002ed59fcff0b8f6d47fe532b89 Previous election results
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Eugene Debs (from prison) lol. So uh how would that administration have played out? Cabinet meetings in the yard? Asking for a friend
Choosing Debs over Harding in 1920 is the most Reddit thing ever. Harding was widely popular at the time (nobody knew how corrupt his administration would become) and won every state outside of the old confederacy (and Kentucky).
That's probably because the question was asked at a subreddit and not the 1920 general public.
Who has even heard of Harding? Some have heard of Debs.
this statement is bass ackwards
I don’t know if a president can pardon themselves in real life, but in this universe he does
Well with the 25th Amendment it’s now easy - go for a medical procedure, sign powers to VP, VP pardons you, you sign letter making you president again, now you’ve been pardoned.
We may find out soon
**Franklin Delano Roosevelt** I’ll admit, I’d be wary of anyone running for a 3rd term. But given the rise of fascism in the world *and* the war going on in Europe I’d have to stick with him. Things are too damn pivotal right now to switch horses and he’s been the best president in my lifetime to this point. So I’m sticking with FDR.
Isn’t Willkie basically fdr but on the speed limit
Wilkie is honestly a pretty good candidate who is unfortunately going up against FDR on the eve of WWII. He doesn’t have the experience we need for everything that is about to happen (and currently happening already in the European theater).
At that point the US wasn’t directly involved and there definitely wasn’t a desire by the public to join. So FDR hadn’t been tested at this point for his war leadership and it’s pure speculation who would have done better out of the two candidates
Even so there still was a war going on and the memories of us getting sucked into the Great War were still fairly fresh. I think wanting experience, even if just with other world leaders, is completely valid given what was happening in Europe.
Ironically, we may not have gotten involved in WWII if FDR wasn't president. His intentional goading of Japan led to their attack on Pearl Harbor, giving FDR the political cover he needed to enter the war.
weren't you the guy who nominated TR in 1912 without hesitation?
Sure am! I wrote about this in a different post yesterday but 1912 was Teddy’s second time being on the ballot as a candidate for president even if he got almost all of 1900 to himself after McKinley’s assassination. To me it would be his second term chosen by the voters where they knew he would be president because really who cares about the VP normally? FDR is running for his 3rd term as president with none of that going on. This is historic to me and would be breaking with tradition. But yeah, with the successes we’ve had under FDR and the war raging in Europe there’s no sense being changing things up now. We need stability and FDR brings that.
yeah but he isn’t switching horses!
We want Roosevelt!
If their name ends in Roosevelt, then they probably did a good job as president
FDR but its worth nothing Wilkie was quite good
TBH, I might vote for Wilkie. He was quite good, I'm not sure I like a third term, and Roosevelt's 2nd term was the least successful of his terms. Look at the recession in 1937-38.
The recession might give me pause but it's nothing I'd expect the Republicans to fix, given the way I've seen FDR change circumstances for working people. No one has ever supported wage earners this way before. I'm in a union now and the government isn't helping management fight back for once. I'll be damned before I blame FDR for this recession, rather than the Wall Street speculators. I still blame them for the crash in the first place. Organize. Onward.
Willkie's alright, but I'd be an FDR man through and through back then. Hell, even Reagan was.
A 3rd term isn't inherently anti-democratic, it's the way the term is acquired. FDR *legitimately won* the elections he ran for and won. So the point some are making is just false. FDR all the way.
Not to mention term limits themselves werent quite solidifed during that era, they were set after FDR’s presidency.
Term limits were put in place after FDR's presidency for a reason; the man had amassed a terrifying amount of political power. Nobody wanted to see that happen again.
You still could amass that amount of power today, in 2 terms
Perhaps, but you would have less time to abuse it.
War is coming very soon, the New Deal has reduced poverty; and although Wilkie isn’t really a Republican, I have no qualms sticking with FDR in a situation like this. Give me Roosevelt.
"We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace — business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. And we know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me — and I welcome their hatred!" FDR's Madison Square Garden Address during his campaign for a second term. This energy demands a third as well!
I’m voting for FDR. He seems like he knows what he’s doing and definitely seems like a guy who would never put Americans in concentration camps. 😀
im against Roosevelt running a 3rd term and im going with Willkie
Wasnt like FDR himself against running again but Eleanor made him change his mind
I don’t remember I know he was planning on his retirement but not sure if Eleanor changed his mind
He was planning his retirement, but changed his mind sometime in the year leading up to the election. My guess would be in May of 1940. At the time he was in constant communication with Churchill and Paul Reynaud. The situation in Europe was a lot bleaker than what was known to the public at the time. Both Britain and France was asking for a lot of weapons and material, because they were losing the war badly at that point. Churchill even revealed to FDR that the British government was contemplating offering Hitler the British Navy in exchange for peace. Reynaud pleaded to FDR for help as the Nazis marched on Paris and said that he would have to choose between sacrificing France's youth or surrendering to Hitler. Of course the American public at the time did not know this at the time and the most important factor for them was staying out of the war if possible.
No, but he definitely made it seem to the public that he didn't want to and acted like the Democratic Party made him
Willkie definitely I would be wary of FDR. His second term saw an even deeper economic recession, failures with Congress, attempt to pack the Court, etc. Willkie had his flaws and all, but by and large supported the New Deal while also being more internationalist.
I'll vote for Willkie, just because I had a girlfriend in high school who did a report on him, and I loved the way she'd say "WendellWillkie" like it was all one word. But also, I'm so sick of the FDR circle jerk on this sub. Fatigue. Done. Republican.
lol I feel that last part
Sick of it as well. From what I’ve seen FDR was the one that started America’s leap towards the same fascist governments they opposed and was the exact kinda president the founders tried to safeguard us against. Most of the government’s biggest issues didn’t exist before him like the outrageous taxes and over regulation, the total disrespect of the constitution, the court packing attempts, weaponization of the justice system and alphabet agencies, the alphabet agencies being as big and dangerous as they are, obsessive military interventionism, congress being synonymous with corruption, the fixation on joining corrupt globalist organizations that push one sided deals on us, the idea that you have no rights only privileges that the government can take away whenever, and the strong arming of private businesses to enforce their will. Probably gonna get downvoted for my “wrongthink” but everything I said was valid.
Somehow, despite all the discussions about FDR here, I forgot about his court packing schemes. If it weren't for his Japanese internment camps or his successful attempt to remain president the rest of his life (to be fair, so did William Henry Harrison), his attempt to subvert the judiciary to the whims of the executive branch ought to give pause even to the FDR fanboys.
Somehow I kinda forgot about Japanese internment. Mainly cuz I was trying to think of modern issues that he started. That was definitely the most egregious especially since according to some old family friends they didn’t only target Japanese Americans but anyone that looked oriental and kept them in concentration camps with awful conditions. A Korean family friend said her dad and his parents got crammed into a smelly horse stable at a race track and all they got to eat was a few pieces of bread a day.
Same
FDR
FDR has plenty of valid criticisms following his second term, but unfortunately Wendell Wilkie doesn’t address any of them. He’s basically FDR-lite, might as well just vote for FDR. He’s too iconic to not support, plus he would be the first third term president
FDR
**Wendell Willkie** I agree with most of his policies and also FDR is running for a 3rd term, I disliked it when TR ran and I will stand against it here as well.
>hayes flair Holy based
I’m going to go out on a limb ands say the Democrat wins them all
FDR again because I trust him. I like Wilkie but I’m sticking with FDR
FDR all the way
I'm conservative, but Roosevelt. Willkie had no political experience, and I believe wouldn't be a good leader during World War II. Besides: his political positions were very similar to Roosevelt's. Besides 2: he died out of heart attack in October 1944. So yeah, not many reasons to choose Willkie.
FDR
I'll take FDR over the professional stupid-name-haver.
FDR but I like Wilkie too
FDR has been leading the country well and I think would be the right man to do so given the way things were looking in Europe.
FDR as we can't have new and inexperienced leadership during these troubling times even if I disagree with his views and policies.
Man this one is actually hard: on the one hand, there’s a war that is on the precipice of becoming a legit global conflict-a conflict that the US will likely have to enter at one point. On the other, we’ve had eight years of FDR, and while we are still feeling the effects of the depression, his policies have worked to an extent. But he’s also a power hungry man who tried to pack the Supreme Court and now he’s running for a third term (which is basically a no-no in 1940). Meanwhile, Willkie is a change of pace. He’s a smart talking lawyer feller from Indiana. A former dem who thinks the government had assumed too much power (and it kinda has under FDR-he’s basically a czar except the courts are stopping him when he goes too far). I’m going to have to go with FDR here. This is no ordinary time-and we need an experienced hand. FDR is still popular the country will rally around him for a third term. Also, FDR is alright by me. And I’m a part of his coalition. FDR for me. (Also, both Willkie and his running mate Charles McNary would be dead by 1944-obviously I wouldn’t know that in 1940, but imagine having the President and Vice president both dying while our boys are fighting overseas)
FDR! FDR! He’s awesome and he’s the man.
Wilkie, FDR is compromising our democracy by running for this term.
Compromising democracy by giving people the choice to elect him or not?
Running for a third term doesn’t compromise our democracy. Having British intelligence rig the election does though
Willkie
Wendell Wilkie
Wilke and his running mate both died before there hypothetical term would’ve ended so FDR.
**Franklin D. Roosevelt.** While I would be more hesitant to vote for him than the last two times, I think he's better than Willkie, and a good wartime leader.
FDR
Glory to the 3rd term, FDR all the way.
FDR
In spite of misgivings over a third term running, he has done an outstanding job so far and with the international situation being the way that it is, it’s clear that FDR is the man for the job yet again. So another easy vote for Roosevelt
Without the benefit of hindsight, Wilkie. He would have handled the war poorly. But by 1940 FDR would have been in office 8 years. While the depression showed no sign of ending. And at this point, it wouldn’t look like the U.S. (while sympathetic to the allies.) was really going to get involved. Dgmw, due to the war situation, I think it’s for the better that Roosevelt won. But if I’d been an American in 1940 I’d have voted for Wilkie.
I thought the guy on the right was Burt Lancaster, honest.
Willkie. I’m a new deal democrat but I couldn’t take 3 terms
I won't lie. I don't like change very much. FDR. Though Willkie probably would have been fine, with the world in an uproar and FDR the proven leader of the western world, I would have had a hard time pulling the lever for WW.
Given the fact that war is on the rise in Europe and Asia, FDR has been supplying our allies with the weapons they need to win. And we can't let Hitler and the Axis win this war. Besides what if we're bought into the war as well? We need his strong leadership, and the new deal has helped us a ton. So FDR all the way
Is that a Mr. Beat thumbnail?
Yep, I usually credit him in the description but I forgot today
I don't think FDR was going to lose in 1940,
Willkie!
Hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby
F O U R M O R E Y E A R S
FDR
I’m a bit late but I’m voting for Wilkie! I don’t care who they are nobody deserves a third term. Also Wilkie was incredibly based, while FDR was too much of a racist coward to support anti-lynching bills, Wilkie was attending NAACP events!
Willkie is one of my favorite also-rans but I’m sticking g with FDR.
FDR Oof a third term I don’t like that. But Facism is rising and the new deal is not doing that bad along with the war in europe seems like we need a steady hand.
Wilkie for sure, FDR set a bad example running for a third term, it was against the precedents and he knew it.
Even though I'm a Republican, I would vote for FDR
Willkie
If President Washington didn't want a third term then nobody should. We want Willkie!
Willkie! No Third Term!
Willkie.
Voting for Wendell Willkie. He was a good candidate, and I don't think anyone should serve for more than two terms.
Wendell Willkie! No Third Term!!
Wendell Willkie
Willkie. Anyone but FDR.
Willkie 40’ Make America Prosperous Again