Once Upon a Time.. A Fascist Plot to overthrow FDR by BIG Business

[lostnfound]

(A thread appeared here 2 months ago about this subject, but it's so eye-opening I thought it deserved a refresher.)

The movie "The Corporation" mentioned the plot and showed a snip of (Medal-of-Honor-winner) Smedley Butler's testimony before a congressional committee, talking about a plot by many of the nation's biggest businessmen to overthrow FDR in favor of a more fascist leader. His charges received initial ridicule in the press, but were soon substantiated -- and buried.

No one was ever prosecuted.

Anyone interested in this subject may wish to listen to pieces of archived Pacifica tapes on the subject from 1987 & 1991, on the http://kpftx.org/archives/kpftsignal/mp3/041003_180002monitor.MP3">October 3d edition of the Sunday Monitor, temporarily available at the kpftx.org archive. It starts at about 25 minutes into the one-hour show. The excerpts are from 2 interviews with Jules Archer, who wrote the only whole book on the subject, "The Plot to Seize the White House".

(I think that the Sunday Monitor also mentioned that some documents were recently declassified and released under the FOIA...)

If you didn't already read the http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2229071">earlier DU thread, you may want to do so.

The earlier thread mentions a link to http://mirrors.korpios.org/resurgent/Coup.htm">a Steve Kangas web page on the subject. (Steve Kangas being the creator of an interesting left-leaning website who Supposedly committed suicide in billionaire Richard Mellon-Scaife's bathroom.)

The earlier thread also included a suggestion to order the video "The Plot to Overthrow FDR" from the History Channel. (http://www.historychannel.com Item Number: AAE-42344)

The story of this attempted coup should be widely known and its numerous implications considered; but it seems instead to be an incredibly well-kept secret. Just wanted to give DUers another chance to educate themselves (since American history classes seem to overlook this episode.)

[Taverner]

1. Oliver Stone was supposed to make a movie about this

But it never came through...

[JohnKleeb]

5. damn that would have been good

[fearnobush]

2. How dare that dam liberal FDR prevent us all from speaking German!!

Just had to get that off my chest.

[TahitiNut]

3. Don't forget that the Catholic Church went after FDR, too.

Remember Father Coughlin, the "Radio Priest" from the Shrine of the Little Flower just up the road from me. He was absolutely vitriolic about FDR after 1936 and lauded Hitler frequently. here's a sample:

"The great betrayer and liar, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who promised to drive the money changers from the temple, had succeeded (only) in driving the farmers from their homesteads and the citizens from their homes in the cities. . . I ask you to purge the man who claims to be a Democrat, from the Democratic Party, and I mean Franklin Double-Crossing Roosevelt."

[JohnKleeb]

4. Coughlin was a Catholic who just happened not to like Roosevelt

Rank and File Catholics were big Roosevelt supporters.

[TahitiNut]

6. His radio show went nationwide.

More people knew him than Norman Vincent Peale. He was the head Priest of that parish. The Shrine of the Little Flower was the largest Catholic Church in the suburbs of Detroit for decades (40s-now, I think). If he wasn't synergistic with Church attitudes, he'd have been shut offf immediately. He never was.

[JohnKleeb]

7. I know, I just dont blame the catholic church as a whole for Father Coughi

[Karenina]

8. Note to self...

:kick: :kick: :kick:

[lostnfound]

9. shameless kick nt