http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1924
LaFollette’s the only decent choice here.
Agreed.
Coolidge was easily the best president of the 20th century, and among the best all time. “The business of America is business.” Nuff said.
Thank God I had put my drink down before reading that one. I’d have spent the day cleaning Diet Coke off the screen. Jolly funny one, old chap!
Of course I’d have voted Progressive. It’s quite remarkable to look at these maps and see the solid Democratic south, before the parties swapped positions on race.
I didn’t realize the parties had positions on race.
What exactly do you have against Calvin Coolidge? Was it the booming economy, rising standard of living, or was it the peace?
Not formal positions per se, but many pre-CRA Democrats were generally unfriendly to race issues and the Republicans of those days were much more progressive. Since Nixon’s Southern Strategy, all of the old racist Democrats became Republicans.
Calvin Coolidge was just another one of the gilded age laissez-faire Republicans. Shrinking the size of government and narrowing the tax base in my opinion contributed to the depth of the Depression. On some matters he was quite enlightened but on the whole his presidency was forgettable.
“Another one of the gilded age laissez-faire Republicans”? He was the only “laissez-faire gilded age” Republican besides Harding. Taft and Roosevelt were big time trust busters, Herbert Hoover was a big time economic interventionist. That leaves McKinley. I don’t think he fits the mold of laissez faire.
Don’t you think you might be setting the bar too high?
I’m actually lowering the bar considerably. It would be a bizarre twist of history to claim Hoover, Taft, and McKinley were laissez faire for their time.
“Gilded Age” refers more to the late 19th century; it applies directly to Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, and B. Harrison most of all; Taft is really pushing it, and Hoover is right out. Far as I’m concerned, the phase called Gilded Age was ended by T. Roosevelt’s trust busting.
I picked LaFollette even though he didn’t stand a chance that year.
Just out of curiosity, was LaFollette for or against Prohibition in 1924? I knew Coolidge was for it as was (I think) Davis.
Hey, he did pick up 13 electoral votes and got the third best finish for a 3rd party in history.
I have a La Follette/Wheeler button around here somewhere. It’s a repro. Why anybody would reproduce a political button for a third-party ticket is anybody’s guess. Why I would have bought it ($.35 for it and another oddball in 1972–nearly a pack of smokes) is completely inexplicable. Maybe I was planning for this moment, when I can finally cast my vote for Fighting Bob La Follette.