In an analogy sure to warm the heart of Russell Arben Fox, Fred Siegel says that Mike Huckabee may be the second coming of William Jennings Bryan:
Three times the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, Bryan, “The Great Commoner,” with his blend of fervent but tolerant Christianity, his distrust of the banks, and his economic egalitarianism, was the hero of Great Plains and Southern Democrats.The migration of liberal, Eastern Establishment Republicans like Ned Lamont and Jay Rockefeller into the Democratic camp has made the modern Dems into the party of a noblesse oblige-accented gentry liberalism that repels upwardly mobile middle- and lower-middle-class whites. But while blue collar religious whites are an uncomfortable fit with the modern Democratic Party, the deeply religious former Southern Democrats who have migrated into the GOP camp make for an uneasy fit with traditional Republican business interests. It’s not surprising then that a new Bryan—of sorts—has arisen to represent an important if relatively recent GOP constituency.
As Merv Griffin would have said, "Ooooh!"
(Hat tip: The Corner)
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Remember that William Jennings Bryan is not remembered for his politics, but rather his religion, which he almost single-handedly turned into a national joke.
It always fascinated me that for all of Karl Rove's fascination with William McKinley and Mark Hanna, the states he actually targeted in the '00 and '04 campaigns were those won by ... W.J. Bryan.
Look at a red-blue map of 2000 or 2004 vs. 1896. Eerie.
Remember that William Jennings Bryan is not remembered for his politics, but rather his religion, which he almost single-handedly turned into a national joke.
No, it was the willful misrepresentation of his position that turned his POV into a caricature of itself:
http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft9702/articles/iannone.html
Derek Copold is right about Bryan. His views were grossly misrepresented, initially by the wonderful but misanthropic H.L. Mencken, and later by the dreadful propaganda film "Inherit the Wind."
In real life, Bryan prevailed in the Scopes trial. His religious beliefs were those of most Americans. The man was marginalized not for his religious convictions, but for his near radical ("populist") political views, which never commanded anything close to a majority outside the rural south and plains states.
Look at a red-blue map of 2000 or 2004 vs. 1896. Eerie.
The strongest contrast is 1896 vs. 1996. Dole carried the Bryan states, while Clinton played the role of McKinley.
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