Trump and Teddy Roosevelt — Phony Populist vs. a Real one
What would a Trump third party look like? Certainly not like the one Roosevelt started in 1912
Imagine a scenario where an ex-president broke away from his political party to form a new and exciting one based on reforming democracy as we know it. Things like standing up to corporations, providing health care to all Americans, guaranteed employment, and protecting senior citizens with a form of social insurance to guard against poverty.
Now imagine another scenario. However, this involves an ex-president who also breaks away from his party, but his platform is nowhere near the same as the first example. No, this particular platform consists of re-establishing white supremacy, strict anti-immigration policies, reduced taxes for the rich, massive deregulation of corporations, and a move to circumvent a free press’s rights.
The first scenario happened in 1912, with the ex-president being none other than Theodore Roosevelt. Disillusioned with fellow Republican and successor William Howard Taft, Roosevelt gave rise to the new Progressive Party, challenging Taft in that year’s election and winning 9 of the 12 primary contests against him. The GOP, however, ended up nominating Taft anyway, angering Roosevelt, which provided the impetus for…
