Interesting passage on FDR...

[Neecy]

From "No Ordinary Time" by Doris Kearns Goodwin, pp 525-526. The story below takes place in 1944.

"In truth, Roosevelt's mind that summer was moving in a different direction; his dream was to join hands with Republican Wendell Wilkie in the creation of a new liberal party that would combine the liberal elements of the Democratic Party, minus the reactionary elements in the South, with the liberal elements of the Republican Party. Since Wilkie had been defeated in the Republican convention by the conservative wing of his party, Roosevelt hoped he would be receptive to the idea. 'We ought to have two real parties,' Roosevelt told his aide Sam Rosenman, 'one liberal and the other conservative. As it is now each party is split by dissenters.'

"To sound Wilkie out, Roosevelt dispatched Rosenman to meet with him in New York in early July. 'The meeting obviously had to be a complete secret,' Rosenman later recalled, 'so I had lunch served in a private suite at the St. Regis Hotel.' Indeed, Wilkie was so anxious lest anyone find out that he stepped into the bedroom of the suite when lunch arrived so the waiter would not recognize him.

"Wilkie was instantly drawn to the idea. 'You tell the President that I'm ready to devote almost full time to this,' he said. 'A sound liberal government in the U.S. is absolutely essential to continued co-operation with the other nations of the world.' Wilkie went on to say he would be glad to meet with Roosevelt to discuss the plan more fully but 'he was convinced that the meeting should not take place until after the election.'

Roosevelt was so pleased with Wilkie's positive response that he couldn't wait. On July 13th, he dictated a letter asking Wilkie to join him as soon as possible for an off-the-record meeting either in the White House or at Hyde Park, 'just as you think best.' Unfortunately, news of the letter leaked out, causing great embarrassment to both Wilkie and Roosevelt. Now there was no choice, Wilkie insisted, but to wait until after the election. (Roosevelt's dream of creating a liberal party would never be realized. In the fall, while Wilkie was in the hospital for a minor ailment, he had a massive heart attack and died)."
----------------

How close we came! Unfortunately, we lost the Southern Democrats anyway and got nothing in return, unless you consider Joementum, Miller, Landrieu, Lincoln et al to be liberal Republicans. Roosevelt would be appalled by the current weak-kneed Bush-lovin' branch of our party.

[Randi_Listener]

1. Roosevelt knew his shit.

Most people hated his ass but he knew how to lead us out of the bullshit.