Thu Jan 31, 2013, 11:43 PM

Brigid (10,518 posts)

The Scheme That Backfired . . .

Last edited Thu Jan 31, 2013, 11:45 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

I got "The Men Who Built America" in DVD, and am watching my favorite part: Teddy Roosevelt is not yet president, but is already gaining a reputation for hostility toward business titans like Rockefeller and Morgan (Carnegie has already sold his steel empire to Morgan). Fearing what Roosevelt would do if he came on to the national stage, Morgan, Rockefeller, and others, who have President McKinley in their pockets, convince McKinley to put Roosevelt on the ticket as Vice President for his second term in the election of 1900. Back then, the Vice Presidency was a pretty powerless position, and the tycoons think they have Roosevelt safely out of the way. Then the one thing nobody could have predicted happened: McKinley was assassinated. TR, of course, promptly set about using the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to break up monopolies like Standard Oil.

We need a modern-day TR.

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9 replies	Author	Time	Post
The Scheme That Backfired . . . (Original post)	Brigid	Jan 2013	OP
I am amazed at the nuts that think he was awesome for their cause	sad-cafe	Jan 2013	#1
So would Lincoln, Eisenhower and even Reagan	BlueStreak	Feb 2013	#2
None of them could get nominated . . .	Brigid	Feb 2013	#3
How many banksters has Obama prosecuted?	BlueStreak	Feb 2013	#6
TR would have the time of his life . . .	Brigid	Feb 2013	#7
"Back then, the Vice Presidency was a pretty powerless position..."	Jenoch	Feb 2013	#4
Not a whole lot, really, now that you mention it.	Brigid	Feb 2013	#5
I don't think a VP candidate has really	Jenoch	Feb 2013	#9
We were taught in high school that these guys were American heroes.	sadbear	Feb 2013	#8

Response to Brigid (Original post)

Thu Jan 31, 2013, 11:56 PM

sad-cafe (639 posts)

1. I am amazed at the nuts that think he was awesome for their cause

he would hate what the republican party stood for today.

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Response to sad-cafe (Reply #1)

Fri Feb 1, 2013, 12:17 AM

BlueStreak (3,742 posts)

2. So would Lincoln, Eisenhower and even Reagan

I think Nixon would probably admire the sheer magnitude of corruption and election tampering, but he would probably be disgusted with where they are on immigration, women's rights, and the environment.

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Response to BlueStreak (Reply #2)

Fri Feb 1, 2013, 12:28 AM

Brigid (10,518 posts)

3. None of them could get nominated . . .

In today's GOP. And TR? He probably couldn't even get nominated by the Democratic Party today.

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Response to Brigid (Reply #3)

Fri Feb 1, 2013, 12:42 AM

BlueStreak (3,742 posts)

6. How many banksters has Obama prosecuted?

"Too big to fail" is still the guiding doctrine. Today's "Democrats" are far, far, far, far to the right of Teddy.

And remember that Reagan prosecuted hundreds of banksters following the S&L debacle -- successfully - sent them to damn jail. Democrats have lost their soul.

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Response to BlueStreak (Reply #6)

Fri Feb 1, 2013, 12:49 AM

Brigid (10,518 posts)

7. TR would have the time of his life . . .

Last edited Fri Feb 1, 2013, 12:49 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

Going after today's banksters. They wouldn't know what hit them.

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Response to Brigid (Original post)

Fri Feb 1, 2013, 12:31 AM

Jenoch (1,619 posts)

4. "Back then, the Vice Presidency was a pretty powerless position..."

What has changed since that time?

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Response to Jenoch (Reply #4)

Fri Feb 1, 2013, 12:39 AM

Brigid (10,518 posts)

5. Not a whole lot, really, now that you mention it.

But then, Sarah Palin and Paul Ryan probably helped Obama win. And we know Biden did.

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Response to Brigid (Reply #5)

Fri Feb 1, 2013, 02:23 AM

Jenoch (1,619 posts)

9. I don't think a VP candidate has really

done much to help a presidential candidate win in a long time. I'd have to really think about it some more to expound any further. Obama would have won both elections without Biden, as long as whomever was on the ticket was not polarizing.

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Response to Brigid (Original post)

Fri Feb 1, 2013, 12:49 AM

sadbear (4,218 posts)

8. We were taught in high school that these guys were American heroes.

When they taught us about the robber barons, they never mentioned those guys. It was always some nameless tycoon, never Morgan, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Mellon, Vanderbilt, etc.

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