Recent Politico article by the editor of National Review underestimates the contributions of the controversial and flamboyant Louisiana depression-era governor while trying to normalize Trump.
The article is mostly wrong.
1. Huey was a builder. He constructed on a colossal scale. His road program, to take but one example, was trend-setting. Trump never built any infrastructure, much less his vaunted wall.
2. Huey believed deeply in the value of education. Trump revels in ignorance.
3. Huey had a keen mind, especially for the law. Trump relies on impulse.
4. Huey taxed the rich. Trump did the opposite.
5. Huey was impeached (by the Louisiana legislature) largely over Long’s principles — because he took on Big Oil. The trump impeachments were provoked by Trump’s vanity.
6. Huey bent and manipulated the law; Trump directly broke it.
7. Huey, while imbued in the culture of the segregationist south of his period, was actually ahead of his times on race relations. Trump is retrograde by contemporary standards.
8. Huey was an economic populist. Trump is a cultural populist.
9. Huey did not generally indulge in conspiracy theories. Trump thrives on conspiracy theories.
10. Huey never lied about election vote counts; he didn’t have to.
Yes, they both excelled in invective. Both are notorious for swagger. But Huey actually did things for the people; Trump feeds them slogans.