This morning I was thinking about what Theodore Roosevelt would say if he were alive. His leadership was extraordinary given what we experience today. There was corruption and serious partisanship then as well, but Roosevelt stood out for his honesty and principled behavior as well as his many accomplishments. Both Democrats and Republicans frequently exhalt his virtues.<\/p>\n
It is, of course, difficult and questionable to speculate on how historical figures would react to contemporary events based on their personalities and historical records. At worst, it can be simply bad history. To take someone out of the context of their experience is risky. Still how the Republican Roosevelt would react to current politics begs exploration.<\/p>\n
One thing is clear. TR would\u2019ve been appalled at what is happening to his GOP. He would have been mortified at his party\u2019s leadership. No doubt, he would call them out for their dishonesty, lack of patriotism and self-interest. He would probably accuse Republican leaders of \u201chaving the backbone of a chocolate eclair\u201d as he so famously said of William McKinley.<\/p>\n
Looking at TR\u2019s record, he would probably go after Big Tech if it did not police itself to his satisfaction and he would\u2019ve protected national parks and public lands. In foreign policy he would support a strong military and certainly would never defer to the likes of a Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n
It is also clear that Theodore Roosevelt would never win a Republican primary today. He believed that the federal government has a responsibility to foster the welfare of the American people. It was Roosevelt who passed the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) and proposed the Department of Commerce to give more power to the Bureau of Corporations to regulate business. He also enforced the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, and established the United States Forest Service under Gifford Pinchot. These few examples suggest that Roosevelt and his policies would be persona non grata<\/em> in today\u2019s Republican circles.<\/p>\n There is much more about Roosevelt and his record that could be examined, but it is safe to say that TR would be unhappy with today\u2019s Republicans and their politics. As a master of apt and colorful descriptions, one wonders what label he would have given to the Lord of Mar-a- Lago?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This morning I was thinking about what Theodore Roosevelt would say if he were alive. His leadership was extraordinary given what we experience today. There was corruption and serious partisanship then as well, but Roosevelt stood out for his honesty and principled behavior as well as his many accomplishments. Both Democrats and Republicans frequently exhalt…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-robert-fischer"],"yoast_head":"\n