America has typically been known as a Conservative country, left wing candidates such as Bernie Sanders and George McGovern typically performing poorly. Who is the most liberal-left president that could plausibly come to be without majorly changed the US political or cultural landscape (so no Communist revolutions), how would you get them in the position and what would their presidency look like?
Most left wing plausible president?
- Thread starter powerab
- Start date
FDR counts but he was elected in OTL I'm trying to see if its possible to get anyone to the left of him elected, or if FDR is as far left as US presidents can go
For the Democrats: Huey Long, Burton Wheeler and Henry Wallace.
For the Republicans: La Follette Sr. in the 10s-20s, La Follette Jr. (especially if one believes the rumours he had Communist ties) and William Borah.
Long shots: Floyd Olsen if he could somehow get a major party to nominate him (possibly also not dying of cancer too), Upton Sinclair if he wins the Governorship of California and uses it as a base for a future Democratic nomination, Glen Taylor if he could avoid destroying his political career in the aftermath of getting nominated as the Progressive Party VP candidate.
For the Republicans: La Follette Sr. in the 10s-20s, La Follette Jr. (especially if one believes the rumours he had Communist ties) and William Borah.
Long shots: Floyd Olsen if he could somehow get a major party to nominate him (possibly also not dying of cancer too), Upton Sinclair if he wins the Governorship of California and uses it as a base for a future Democratic nomination, Glen Taylor if he could avoid destroying his political career in the aftermath of getting nominated as the Progressive Party VP candidate.
Mr. Mass Line
Banned
The New Deal was honestly a pretty poor set of programs even for the white working class, let alone the ethnic minorities.
To answer the OP, I'd say Eugene Debs
I don't really think that Debs is a plausible Presidential candidate barring massive political and cultural changes, which the OP has prohibited. He was the leader of a very fringe party that never polled more than 9% of the vote. Even if the Socialists could remain united, avoid the vicious smack-down that was the First Red Scare and continuously roll 6s during local and state elections, by the time they are in a position to win an election Debs would have probably stood aside for a younger and fresher candidate (maybe Norman Thomas).
This is pre-1900 but: The Democrats nominate a conservative instead of Bryan in 1896. (Unlikely, I know.) In November, Eugene Debs (Populist) wins a three way race against the conservative Democratic and Republican candidates. (In OTL, Debs was seriously considered by the Populists for their nomination, but took his name out of contention and supported Bryan.)
Warren? She would just need to win the D nomination and have a bad economy in 2020.
The key planks of the Share The Wealth platform included:
- No person would be allowed to accumulate a personal net worth of more than 300 times the average family fortune, which would limit personal assets to between $5 million and $8 million. A graduated capital levy tax would be assessed on all persons with a net worth exceeding $1 million.
- Annual incomes would be limited to $1 million and inheritances would be capped at $5.1 million.
- Every family was to be furnished with a homestead allowance of not less than one-third the average family wealth of the country. Every family was to be guaranteed an annual family income of at least $2,000 to $2,500, or not less than one-third of the average annual family income in the United States. Yearly income, however, cannot exceed more than 300 times the size of the average family income.
- An old-age pension would be made available for all persons over 60.
- To balance agricultural production, the government would preserve/store surplus goods, abolishing the practice of destroying surplus food and other necessities due to lack of purchasing power.
- Veterans would be paid what they were owed (a pension and healthcare benefits).
- Free education and training for all students to have equal opportunities in all schools, colleges, universities, and other institutions for training in the professions and vocations of life.
- The raising of revenue and taxes for the support of this program was to come from the reduction of swollen fortunes from the top, as well as for the support of public works to give employment whenever there may be any slackening necessary in private enterprise.[1]
If he never got MS, and interesting thought is a Paul Wellstone candidacy in 2000. I've always thought that would be a fun TL, if he's healthy, you could give him a path past Gore in Iowa (MN proximity, better knowledge of midwestern politics) and then try to have momentum carry him into the general.
RFK was very socially liberbal, but economically, he wasn't extremely liberal. His embrace of public/private rhoetric and finding solutions outside of federal government expansion was kind of a foreshadow to the New Democratic language of the 80s and 90s.
