“Politics makes strange bedfellows.”
That old cliche, dating back to the 1800s when politicians commonly shared beds in boardinghouses in Washington, now has an even stranger new life.
It’s simple. I’m really surprised no one has hit on this yet.
FDR’s recipe for ending the Great Depression was a combination of jobs (the Works Progress Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps, etc.), spending on infrastructure (e.g., the TVA and electrification of the rural South) and eventually spending on armament production in anticipation of WWII.
Trump’s idea for Making America Great again is trillion dollar spending on infrastructure (just without the program names that FDR used) and spending on a weapons build up. Sound familiar? He’s said repeatedly that “it’s all about jobs.” FDR’s point exactly.
Both FDR’s and Trump’s programs were/are based on deficit spending. Under the assumption that the economy would eventually recover to a level allowing repayment of the national debt. (And remember, under Bill Clinton, despite his faults, we actually got within range of making that happen — before Bush junior decided to invade Iraq.)
So,
- Conservatives have embraced Trump (sort of)
- Trump has embraced FDR
- Does that make FDR the new hero of American Conservatism?
Hell has frozen over, hasn’t it?