From his arrival in the winter of 1932 till his death in the early fall of 1935, he was a wonder of wonders. In fact I'm so overawed, I intend to produce a detailed log of this epical one-man progress -- but alas, not here; Father Smiff brings you the Senate here.
Anyway, as as you might anticipate, you'll never really check him out quickly: he's trapped inside his cartoon legend as machine boss of Lousiana (an avatar of which Sean Penn will be bringing to the screen in fictional transmogrification this fall).
There is no Senator Huey Long cult -- no Huey comes to Washington memorial; no Huey lashes the Dixie Bourbons like a string of Ozark mules; no Huey vs. the NRA, Standard Oil, and the Morgan bank; no Huey bills to levy a tax on millionaires or set up a poor folks' college grant; no Huey against empire, etc. etc. etc.
I've no idea what tidbits the Internet, in its collective wisdom, has seen fit yet to snare out of this towering figure's flood tide of words and motions, while a member of this most august of deliberative chambers -- but if anyone wants to know how I'd dream "my senator" to act -- that is, the solitary senator from the sovereign state of lower plebonia -- how I'd fantasize he/she might conduct him/her self right now, down there, if I had such a senator of choice among that gallant phalanx of a hundred hams -- well, Madame, I confess the actual, for-real record of Senator Huey P. Long just about plum exhausts my imagination.
Comments (5)
Hear, Hear, Brother Payne.
"Congress is a restaurant with two sets of waiters both serving the same meal prepared by Wall Street" - Huey Long
In an extremely long list of imperial assassinations, I do believe Huey Long was the second, right behind Augusto César Sandino. He scared the shit out of them. The New Deal is nothing but Huey Long dumbed down as far as they could.
The book to read is, "Huey Long" by T. Harry Williams. Most of the rest is right wing agit-prop, especially the PBS/Ken Burns video.
I think it is time to read this book.
Posted by Jesus Reyes | September 15, 2006 12:30 AM
Posted on September 15, 2006 00:30
right you are jr
about the williams book
btw
harry wrote a nice piece
in the journal of american history
on lbj and huey
two sides of white cotton south
plebian radicalism
most folks don't know about this link
maybe LBJ made it up
but he claims as a young house aide
he'd go over to hear huey give forth
at any opportunity
so maybe huey was
lbj 's other non FDR
more native inspiration
for the Great Society
but here i go lauding yet another monster
this one
a jim crow cunctator
turned ramrod czar
of civil rights reform
and as a side show
father of the medi twins
but then perhaps malgre lui
he was
a war chief of empire wasn't he
like the rest of the long ear prezles
like truman carter clinton
and jack "king arthur" kennedy
Posted by js paine | September 15, 2006 7:13 AM
Posted on September 15, 2006 07:13
Yes, Sean Penn is following in the footsteps of such thespic giants as John Goodman and Ed Asner. This may turn out to be a greater disservice to Lousiana than Penn's post-Katrina boating antics.
Posted by AlanSmithee | September 15, 2006 12:59 PM
Posted on September 15, 2006 12:59
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-et-celebre15sep15,1,4737155.story?coll=la-headlines-politics&ctrack=1&cset=true
red-diaper baby sean penn is supporting ahhhhrrrnnnnooolllldd!
Hollywood Dems Turn Out for Gov.
Posted by michael098762001![[TypeKey Profile Page]](../../nav-commenters.gif)
|
September 16, 2006 12:07 PM
Posted on September 16, 2006 12:07
read closely
sean is not on the support list
for hollywood cal's
" walnut filled condum"
the gubinator it appears
is
not getting seans vote
or so the linked article suggests
Posted by Anonymous | September 16, 2006 2:49 PM
Posted on September 16, 2006 14:49