# What's the deal with LaRouche? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 28, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308 "2004-07-28T19:04:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/21 "2004-07-31T15:26:19Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Does anyone remember back in the 80s when the LaRouchies took advantage of a listless Illinois Democratic primary to actually get a couple of their candidates nominated? (I think they were for Lt. Governor and Sec. of State or something like that.) This forced the “official” Democratic party to campaign on a platform of “For God’s sake, please vote Republican!” It happened in 1986. If I remember correctly, it turned out that most of the LaRouchite votes came from downstate voters who had voted based on how their names sounded (the LaRouchite candidates had WASPish names, while the organization candidates were named Sangmeister (the [Lt.Gov](http://Lt.Gov) candidate) and Pucinski (the Sec of St. candidate). The Democratic candidate for Governor, Adlai Stevenson III, ended up running on his own ballot line, Solidarity. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/22 "2004-08-04T03:33:11Z")
> [@cuauhtemoc](#): > > I"But, in practical terms, what does it mean? What are your goals? What is your candidate’s platform?" > > _“We want to create a Renaissance in Human Learning!”_ he replied again, punctuating every word, as if he was talking to a stubborn child. “For example, did you know that there are words to Beethoven’s _Ode to Joy?_ You pay a lot of money to go to school here, expecting them to give you an education, and they don’t even teach you the words to Beethoven’s _Ode to Joy!_ Just like the only economic theory they teach here is Adam Smith! Most college students have never even heard of…” and he spouted off the names of two or three people I’d never heard of. > > I turned to the other tabler and said “What about you? Do you want to create a Renaissance in Human Learning too?” He started to mumble something, as Tabler #1 started singing, in German, Beethoven’s _Ode to Joy_, his wide open arms gesturing for me to join him in song, when we had already established that I don’t know the words. Hey, **everybody** knows the lyirics to the _Ode to Joy!_ In a cavern, in a canyon Excavating for a mine Lived a miner, forty-niner And his daughter, Clementine Oh, my darling, oh, my darling Oh, my darling Clementine You are lost and gone forever Dreadful sorry, Clementine Light she was and like a fairy And her shoes were number nine Herring boxes without topses Sandals were for Clementine Oh, my darling, oh, my darling Oh, my darling Clementine You are lost and gone forever Dreadful sorry, Clementine Drove she ducklings to the water Every morning just at nine Hit her foot against a splinter Fell into the foaming brine Oh, my darling, oh, my darling Oh, my darling Clementine You are lost and gone forever Dreadful sorry, Clementine Ruby lips above the water Blowing bubbles soft and fine But alas, I was no swimmer So I lost my Clementine Oh, my darling, oh, my darling Oh, my darling Clementine You are lost and gone forever Dreadful sorry, Clementine Then the miner, forty-niner Soon began to peak and pine Thought he oughta join his daughter Now he’s with his Clementine Oh, my darling, oh, my darling Oh, my darling Clementine You are lost and gone forever Dreadful sorry, Clementine There’s a churchyard on the hillside Where the flowers grow and twine There grow roses, 'mongst the posies Fertilized by Clementine Oh, my darling, oh, my darling Oh, my darling Clementine You are lost and gone forever Dreadful sorry, Clementine In my dreams she still doth haunt me Robed in garlands soaked in brine Though in life I used to hug her Now she’s dead, I draw the line Oh, my darling, oh, my darling Oh, my darling Clementine You are lost and gone forever Dreadful sorry, Clementine Now you scouts may learn the moral Of this little tale of mine Artificial respiration Would have saved my Clementine Oh, my darling, oh, my darling Oh, my darling Clementine You are lost and gone forever Dreadful sorry, Clementine How I missed her, how I missed her How I missed my Clementine Till I kissed her little sister And forgot my Clementine Oh, my darling, oh, my darling Oh, my darling Clementine You are lost and gone forever Dreadful sorry, Clementine (I know, I know. But sing it to the tune of the _Ode to Joy!_ It scans!) ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/23 "2004-08-04T14:51:45Z")
Coffee. Monitor. Requisition for replacement. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/24 "2004-08-05T01:12:05Z")
> [@](#): > > He’s basically L. Ron Hubbard, but without the writing ability or business savvy. Or you might say: He’s David Icke with 90% fewer lizards. And that was amazingly clever, **BrainGlutton.** I shall have to share that little gem in my circle forthwith. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/25 "2004-08-05T03:16:02Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Or you might say: He’s David Icke with 90% fewer lizards. Who need lizards when ya got British Freemasons? ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/26 "2004-08-05T12:42:27Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > (I know, I know. But sing it to the tune of the _Ode to Joy!_ It scans!) Yeah, but can you sing it in _German?_ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/27 "2004-08-05T13:45:24Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > But sing it to the tune of the _Ode to Joy!_ It scans! The melody of _La Cucaracha_ works, too. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/28 "2004-08-05T22:53:06Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > The melody of _La Cucaracha_ works, too. So it does! Based on this observation, I just started a Cafe Society thread: “Songs that scan to other songs” – [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=269946](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=269946) Do you know any more? Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/29 "2004-08-06T20:12:18Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I first encountered Lovable Lyndon in the early 80s (possibly '84? being an election year), when he gathered up all his funds and bought a 30-min infomercial, that I stumbled on by accident. And what an absolutely slack-jawed wondrously loony experience it was…all I recall now were his casual references to the Queen’s involvement in the drug trade, repeated uses of the phrase “agent of influence” (possibly in reference to Henry Kissinger), and something about digging a canal through Africa. Thanks for bringing back **that** memory. That was back in my dope-smoking days, and I knew a tiny bit about Lyndon and his ideas. So I figured perhaps a doobie would help me make sense of it all. Big mistake. I almost lost bladder control. It was beyond funny; it was surreal. I kept checking to see if I was really in the room, and that he was really on TV, and that he was really saying what I thought he was saying. When all politicians are actually sane, a little light will go out of the universe. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/30 "2004-08-06T21:06:25Z")
What puzzles me is, where does he get his followers? I can at least understand the appeal of a cult like Scientology – if you’re credulous enough to swallow the basic premises (which are no more incredible than those of any other religion), then the benefits of following the Hubbardite path would indeed seem valuable. But why would anybody who does not have to live inside Lyndon LaRouche’s head take his ideas seriously, or hope to gain or achieve by following him? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/31 "2004-08-07T13:48:14Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Thanks for bringing back **that** memory. > > That was back in my dope-smoking days, and I knew a tiny bit about Lyndon and his ideas. So I figured perhaps a doobie would help me make sense of it all. Big mistake. I almost lost bladder control. It was beyond funny; it was surreal. I kept checking to see if I was really in the room, and that he was really on TV, and that he was really saying what I thought he was saying. > > When all politicians are actually sane, a little light will go out of the universe. > > Regards, > Shodan Yeah, but did he turn into a lizard while you were watching? Vote for Lyndon! A troubled man for troubled times! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/32 "2004-08-07T15:19:57Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Yeah, but did he turn into a lizard while you were watching? > > Vote for Lyndon! A troubled man for troubled times! Leage of Lectroids for LaRouche! “A richer, stranger nation!” You know, when I read David Icke’s account of William F. Buckley turning into a lizard, I was tempted to believe him. I mean, I’ve heard Buckley speak, live. The guy is just so reptilian. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/33 "2004-08-07T15:23:24Z")
- At an SF convention I once saw a message-button: “League of Lectroids for Lizardo.” No doubt you get the _Buckaroo Banzai_ reference. (Hey, when are the going to give us _Buckaroo Banzai vs. the World Crime League?_) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Sparky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Saint\_Sparky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Sparky)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308/34 "2004-08-09T03:12:12Z")
I use to work for a state Democratic Party ages ago, and during a presidental year, the local LaRouchites tired to get him ballot status (which the party controlled). The party said no, mainly because as a convicted felon, we would violate several state laws. The local larouchies held protests and called the chair a nazi (even though he was jewish!!!). They are really quiet crazy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-larouche/257308.md?page=1)