1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

Because McAdoo knew very well that it was too late for Smith and others to put forward a new "compromise candidate". In other words, McAdoo still had a great chance to become the only "compromise candidate"!

In this case, since Roosevelt and Smith are still tied, and since I, McAdoo, still have a chance of becoming president, why should I still support you, Roosevelt, for president?

Don't you like being the boss?

After all, I was once the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States!

Therefore, McAdoo instructed his people to cast some votes for Smith so that the gap between Smith and Roosevelt would not be so big;

As a result, in the fourth round of voting, Roosevelt's vote count dropped significantly, and his original advantage was wiped out, leaving him almost at the same level as Smith!

As a result, the Democratic presidential election campaign reached a complete impasse. Roosevelt was well aware of this, and he was furious and anxious, yet helpless. Ultimately, his relationship with McAdoo was quite ordinary, a relationship based on an exchange of interests. Now that the basis for this exchange of interests no longer existed, what was the point of even talking about support?

But, did Smith's side feel happy about this?

of course not.

Their original plan was to try to prevent Roosevelt from getting a two-thirds majority in the first few rounds of voting, and when a deadlock was reached, they would put forward Newton Baker as a compromise candidate to defeat Roosevelt.

But now, Baker is gone, and he himself cannot directly defeat Roosevelt. Isn't this situation awkwardly stuck in limbo?

So, with Baker's sudden death, McAdoo suddenly became the biggest beneficiary of the Democratic Party's election!

Roosevelt believed that although McAdoo did not strongly support him, he was still a "progressive" and that he could be accepted.

Smith's side believed that although McAdoo was also a nuisance, he was not as "extreme" as Roosevelt, and it would be barely acceptable for him to come to power.

However, it is still not as good as taking the position yourself.

How to do it?

Let's exchange interests privately!

Naturally, Smith immediately informed Republican John Raskob, who had been waiting for the results in Chicago, about the dramatic changes within the Democratic Party.

"...Baker...is dead..."

"Yes."

Al Smith was extremely helpless:

"With his death, we can't come up with a new compromise candidate. The others are either useless trash or rebellious bastards. As a last resort, we can only choose McAdoo."

"No, McAdoo can't."

Raskob shook his head.

"That bastard is no better than Roosevelt. Electing him would cause just as much damage to American freedom."

Well, it damages freedom, meaning that big companies like General Motors and DuPont can no longer continue to expand and exploit people with impunity.

(Note: This is the view of some capitalists, but in fact, some capitalists also hope that the government will control the market because the chaos has increased the uncertainty of their ability to make money.)

Although Raskob had significant conflicts with former GM President Alfred Sloan and DuPont Chairman Pierre du Pont over company management, this did not mean he would oppose either company.

On the contrary, he will strongly support them to continue to expand into a larger super company, because he himself also has stocks in these two companies!

It just so happened that before the Great Depression, he sold General Motors stock to build the Empire State Building. Now he can take advantage of the stock market downturn to buy some again. As long as he can continue to expand, the stock price will surely rise sharply.

Then, money will flow into his home like a river.

To achieve this effect, we must first get rid of "reactionaries" like Roosevelt who tried to "exploit the interests of big companies to help poor people who have no value in living."

To this end, Raskob not only won over Smith of the Democratic Party, but also won over dozens of powerful and wealthy people, and began to manipulate the finances and future destiny of the Democratic Party.

So how could Raskob possibly support McAdoo, who was on the same political spectrum as Roosevelt?

Not to mention the similarities, even the slightest tendency to exploit big companies is unacceptable!

(This was the case with Hoover, who lost in his later years. He wanted to change policies to take the people into account and ensure that his election prospects would not collapse, but he was defeated by the capitalists.)

"But if we don't support him, who else can we support?" "You should do it yourself!"

"Me? John, you know, even in the fourth round, there's still a certain gap between me and Roosevelt in terms of votes."

"No, the fifth round should give the results." "What?"

"The people around Roosevelt were a bunch of trendy, swing-following people. After failing to vote for four consecutive rounds, they must have been very shaken."

Raskob sneered:

"Don't worry, the results of the fifth round will definitely be much better than we imagined... Then you can talk to some of them about acquiring company shares at a low price."

"...bribery?"

"Don't be so harsh. This is a polite transaction between gentlemen."

""

Sure enough, when the results of the fifth round of voting came out, Smith's vote count was almost the same as Roosevelt's!

What Roosevelt had feared and told McAdoo about happened.

After failing to win in four rounds... no, five rounds in a row, more fence-sitters began to waver, and the "Roosevelt force" began to disintegrate.

Smith and his faction promptly intervened, using various exchanges of interests and promises of official positions... oh no... gentlemanly transactions to successfully convince this group of gentlemen who "have a firm and flexible bottom line on issues of stance."

So, after the sixth round of voting, Smith's vote count surpassed Roosevelt for the first time, reaching a staggering 670 votes.

More and more smart people saw Roosevelt's decline and Smith's relentless pressure, and Roosevelt himself was no exception.

He found McAdoo again and almost begged him to give him his full support.

But as Roosevelt expected, McAdoo changed his previous ambiguous attitude and refused without hesitation.

It was necessary for Smith and Roosevelt to fight each other so that McAdoo would have a chance;

This situation was exactly what McAdoo wanted. How could he possibly give up such a great opportunity and support Roosevelt?

We're all progressives anyway, so it doesn't make any difference whether you go or I go! So I'll go!

However, McAdoo overlooked one thing:

If you want to be a "compromise candidate," it depends on whether others want you as a "compromise candidate"!

The difficult seventh round of voting begins.

After the results of this round came out, Roosevelt was stunned, knowing that he was doomed. His vote count continued to decline, while Smith's vote count had reached 750, not far from the two-thirds majority!

And McAdoo panicked.

Damn, if this continues, Smith might really win!

No, no, no, forget about the "compromise candidate" for now. We must win back Roosevelt's votes!

Otherwise, if Smith won directly, McAdoo would not have even a chance.

So McAdoo finally jumped out and publicly stated that he would cast his 44 votes for Roosevelt.

However, this time, it was too late.

Smith and others had already made their move, winning over those fence-sitters within the Democratic Party early on;

Even if McAdoo jumped out to support Roosevelt, it only slowed down Smith's rise - the eighth round, 766 votes.

Seeing this scene, the even more flustered McAdoo turned into a "Roosevelt fangirl" and began to frantically canvass for votes for Roosevelt!

How can I put it? McAdoo was worthy of being the man who helped Roosevelt win nearly 300 votes in one go. Yet, despite all his swagger and promises, he was actually pulled back in the 9th round of voting:

Smith's votes fell to 670, again nearly tied with Roosevelt...

Only then did McAdoo breathe a sigh of relief.

Now, it's my turn to be the "compromise candidate," right?

However, what McAdoo did not realize was that his thorough "fence-sitting mentality" had offended both Smith and Roosevelt.

Shi: I was about to win, but you, a jerk, came in and ruined the good situation?

Luo: If you had supported me earlier, the situation wouldn't have turned out like this!

Therefore, no one, whether "conservatives" or "progressives", suggested that he be a "compromise candidate".

The Democratic Party is in a complete election deadlock.

After the tenth round of voting still resulted in no candidate being chosen, Roosevelt, frustrated and angry, made the same decision as his uncle, Theodore Roosevelt:

Leave the Democratic Party!!

272 Republican Recruitment

The news that Roosevelt and a group of people were leaving the Democratic Party shocked the entire American political circle, and also made the Republican Party, which was also in a mess, breathe a sigh of relief.

The biggest competitor is probably going to be eliminated this time, so the Republicans should have a chance, right?

Originally, if Roosevelt had competed with them in the Democratic Party, they would have been defeated.

I still say that Hoover did a really fucking terrible job. The Democrats would probably win even if they replaced him.

It's just that the dog that bites the most seems to be Roosevelt. This is also true in history.

In November 1932, Roosevelt defeated Hoover by a landslide with 472 electoral votes. Hoover, as an incumbent president, only won six states. The result was so large that it set a record since Lincoln.

But this is just like the Americans later supporting Trump or Trump. In fact, it is not because everyone has high hopes for Roosevelt or thinks Roosevelt can save the United States, but because Hoover is too bad.

That's why the Republicans were so nervous when Roosevelt was about to run for election on behalf of the Democratic Party, and so relaxed when they heard that he was leaving the party.

(Many political parties in the United States are so casual in establishing, joining, and leaving the party)

Humph, back then, Theodore Roosevelt broke away from the Republican Party and founded his own party at the end of 1911, but he still lost the election. How can you, a little Roosevelt, break away from the party and run for election independently in July this year and still expect to win?

dream!

As for Smith of the Democratic Party?

Hehehehe...isn't that our Republican dog...man?

So, what was the Republican Party doing now, when it was celebrating Roosevelt's departure from the Democratic Party and his intention to establish an independent party?

The answer is that they can’t choose a presidential candidate either.

Before the "White House stormed and the president hung on the flagpole" incident in May of this year, almost all of the Republican Party's campaign preparations were arranged around "Hoover";

Yes, even though Hoover was so rotten, the Republican Party still planned to nominate him as the next presidential candidate;

In fact, many people within the Republican Party also felt that Hoover had done a terrible job, but no matter how bad he was, he was still a dog representing the interests of conservatives and big capitalists within the Republican Party and had to be protected;

After all, Hoover was a (former) president, possessed considerable power, and had the support of the nation's wealthy and capitalists;

Therefore, even though Hoover was booed by the audience wherever he gave a speech, even though Hoover was not only a rotten person but also had no idea what was happening, even though Hoover had offended the people, the Republican Party still chose Hoover.

Because Hoover was willing to fight to the death to protect their interests (for example, during the Great Depression, he gave money to big companies and banks but refused to provide relief to ordinary people). He was their best dog!

This is enough.

However, all the arrangements came to an abrupt halt in the storm in May this year.

A dog, even if it is a rotten dog, a lazy dog, a sick dog, or a lame dog, as long as it is still alive, the Republican bosses and capitalists across the country are willing to hold their noses and continue to feed it;

But what if the dog is already dead?

Before, no matter how many outrageous remarks Hoover made or how many people he offended, in the eyes of capitalists and Republican leaders, it was not worth mentioning. After all, those poor people had nothing to worry about.

But this time, after the veterans were suppressed and then rebelled, storming the White House, and President Hoover himself and the United States lost incredible face in the eyes of the world, even the capitalists who never had any shame could no longer hold back.

Hoover was directly kicked out of the White House and became a dead dog that stinked and disgusted anyone who came into contact with it. Such a dead dog was no longer worth feeding meat.

However, when everyone decided to abandon Hoover, the dead dog, they were shocked to find that the Republican Party could no longer elect someone who could compete with Roosevelt of the Democratic Party!

It’s not that there are no people in the Republican Party, but that there is no one who has the "prestige" of Hoover, who can gain a lot of support, and who has the ability to break the negative image of the Republican Party.

Unlike later generations, the Republican and Democratic parties in the United States at this time did not clearly represent conservatives and liberals respectively, but maintained a certain degree of "chaos";

There are "progressives" within the Republican Party who are more popular with the people, and there are "conservatives" within the Democratic Party who can collude with big capitalists;

Both parties have genuine "liberal democrats," as well as extreme right-wing forces like the Ku Klux Klan and extremely conservative Christian fundamentalist factions that strongly oppose teachers teaching evolution in schools.

Otherwise, Smith would not have been able to "collude" with Raskob; because in the eyes of people at that time, this was not called "rebellious collusion", but "normal political cooperation".

Therefore, even by the least stringent standards, there is essentially no big difference whether the Democrats or the Republicans come to power.

Herein lies the problem.

From 1912 to 1932, the conservative Republican Party was basically in power. The people who experienced the Great Depression were extremely disgusted with the conservatives' ideas, and this disgust extended to the Republican Party itself.

The worst part is that during several major and minor party splits (such as the one involving Roosevelt), many so-called "progressives" left, which furthered the public's impression.