Political views of Huey Long

[6][7] A federal investigation into the election of John Overton to the U.S. senate in 1932 grew to encompass other parts of Long's regime in Louisiana including his electoral funding processes and his use of public patronage to cement his power in the state.

[10] Towards the end of the campaign of Huey's own election to the U.S. senate in 1930, a man named Sam Irby who had offered claims of mass graft and fraud in Louisiana's highway commission (which was controlled by Long's machine), mysteriously disappeared.

According to historian T. Harry Williams, Long organized a meeting among his allies to figure out how to keep the two from talking in order to minimize any damage that may be done on his machine and his chances of winning the senatorial primary.

[11] Long would send six policemen that would carry away the drunken Irby and Terrell to an isolated camping location on Grand Isle, giving him time to take advantage of the situation, using it to attack his enemies.

On a radio broadcast, Long brought Irby to address the large audience declaring that he had not been kidnapped by Huey and was safe and sound.

Examples of these laws stretched from allowing the governor to call out the state militia upon his own discretion, without there being any threat of rebellion or insurrection.

[15] Long aggressively pursued laws that would put increased state jobs under his control, as he viewed them as central to the functioning of his machine.

The former Louisiana governor Ruffin G. Pleasant, for instance, decried Long as "the 'ultra Socialist' whose views outreached 'Marx, Lenin, and Trotsky.

In particular, the Share Our Wealth program preserved the concepts of private property and the profit motive, while seeking to avoid any need for violent revolution.

"[24] When pressed by a leftist magazine who pointed out that the magnates Long railed against would be saved under his plan, he conceded, "That would be one of the unfortunate effects of my program".

[21] They argued that Long's populist rhetoric and antics belied a decidedly anti-labor philosophy; Garlin, for instance, noted that while Long constructed thousands of miles of roads and numerous bridges, the state paid its workers only 30 cents an hour—10 cents less than what the National Recovery Administration called for during the Great Depression.

In a film discussing his Share Our Wealth societies, Long argued that he was upholding the promise of the Declaration of Independence to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Along with supporting tariffs, he advocated that the American government disassociate from European efforts to settle war debts and to grant independence to the Philippines.

[30] Long argued that Standard Oil had backed rebellions across Latin America to install puppet governments that would be beholden to the company's interests.

In 1934, Long claimed that Standard Oil was backing the Bolivian government to make war with Paraguay over the oil-rich northern Grand Chaco region after the latter had refused to grant favorable leasing terms to the company.

Harris, Long diverted tax money to fund night schools that would teach illiterate whites and African-Americans, with the classes meeting three times a week.

Communist writer Sender Garlin labelled him the "personification of the fascist menace in the United States," and noted that his swinging arm gestures were similar to those of Hitler.

[36] Alex Bittelman, a member of the Communist Party from New York wrote: "Long says he wants to do away with concentration of wealth without doing away with capitalism.

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. noted that "Long's political fantasies had no tensions, no conflicts, except of the most banal kind, no heroism or sacrifice, no compelling myths of class or race or nation.

"[40] Life Magazine said "The late Huey P. Long, who knew all the tricks of the dissembling demagogue, was once asked: ‘Do you think we will ever have Fascism in America?’ Said the Kingfish: ‘Sure, only we’ll call it anti-Fascism’".

Many historians also argue that Long's building projects and social reforms helped all of the lower classes in Louisiana, regardless of race.

[46] However, conservative historian Glen Jeansonne argued that Long was "more racist, less unbiased, less principled, and less different from other Louisiana politicians of his time than the [historical] literature implies.

On one occasion, Long also declined to support federal anti-lynching legislation: "Can't do the dead nigra no good.