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"I'm starting to understand that there is a serious bug up some people's hindquarters to paint Teddy Roosevelt with the same "Progressive" brush as Woodrow Wilson"

Theodore Roosevelt founded the Progressive Party, the first major document in U.S. history that calls for a government takeover of healthcare. That is, universal healthcare to use modern lingo. Don't blame me for that though.

Since I'm such a nice guy, here is my recording of the 1912 platform of the Progressive Party, so you don't have to take time out of your busy day to go and read it. I did the hard part. You can do the easy part. See how nice that is?

https://librivox.org/short-nonfiction-collection-vol-091-by-various/

https://www.archive.org/download/snf091_2204_librivox/snf091_trooseveltplatform_progressiveparty_pa_128kb.mp3 (Direct mp3 download)

https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Birth_of_the_New_Party/pwaIAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA303 (Text)

Oh, and Debs wasn't a progressive. He was a socialist. Next.

"So far as I can tell, it's just more work of Democrat devils saying: "oh, do you like trashing our hero Wilson? Well, then we'll just trash the h*ll out of your hero Teddy Roosevelt!!"."

I can see you didn't listen to the New Nationalism speech, which is something I had said everybody should do so they have more well rounded opinions. I don't understand why people like you put a guy up as your hero when you don't know a thing about his political beliefs and domestic record.

Here, go listen to it. Tell us how great it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzj9-cHMLwY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCtFyrisfvM

https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/the-new-nationalism/

If you don't know his positions, you might do well to do more research before picking a hero.

Now, you've read(heard) the platform. Now, you've heard what he believed in The New Nationalism. You were saying?

ProgressingAmerica: "Theodore Roosevelt founded the Progressive Party, the first major document in U.S. history that calls for a government takeover of healthcare.
That is, universal healthcare to use modern lingo.
Don't blame me for that though."

Sorry, but no, what the Progressive "Bull Moose" Party platform proposed in 1912 was nothing remotely resembling what we today consider "universal healthcare".
What they did suggest was nothing more than a Federal agency, equivalent to today's Department of Health and Human Services which would enforce then existing Federal laws and regulations.

In 1912, TR's Progressive Bull Moosers did not call for socialized medicine, or Obamacare or even Social Security.
All of those came much later and can well be blamed on FDR, but not Teddy.

ProgressingAmerica: "Oh, and Debs wasn't a progressive.
He was a socialist. Next."

In 1912 Debs' socialist party platform included some of the same planks as all the other parties.
For examples, in 1912, all four parties supported ratifications of both the 16th and 17th Amendments.

ProgressingAmerica: "I can see you didn't listen to the New Nationalism speech...

"...If you don't know his positions, you might do well to do more research before picking a hero.
Now, you've read(heard) the platform.
Now, you've heard what he believed in The New Nationalism.
You were saying?"

I'm still saying the same thing -- you're reading backwards from FDR's 1930s and LBJ's 1960s to accuse Teddy Roosevelt of all of their excesses and abuses.

Well, FRiend, anybody can play that "read it backwards" game, so I chose to read backwards from Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan and say "MAGA" and "Morning in America" are really what TR meant by "New Nationalism" and "Square Deal".

These are my guys!

DL, I think we're on the same side of this one and thought you might be interested... 😉