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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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Anti-New Deal Book Is GOP's New Bible

Republicans flock to The Forgotten Man in fight over stimulus

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(Newser) – For the Republican Party, looking for any kind of traction for its opposition to President Obama’s stimulus spending, anti-New Deal book The Forgotten Man is a godsend, Politico reports. Author Amity Shlaes suggests, in what some call revisionist history, that FDR’s plan, pushed by government bureaucrats on a tottering economy, worsened the Great Depression. “Republicans are gobbling it up,” says an aide to Rep. Eric Cantor.

Rep. Steve King, who calls the book “definitive,” says, “Today we have a president who believes that the New Deal was a good deal, and would have been a far better deal if FDR would have spent a lot more money.” Adds Shlaes, a columnist for Bloomberg, “That’s why it’s called The Forgotten Man, not The Misspent Money— it’s about the people. The book is specifically about policy agony—when you do policy and you know that the policy that you’re doing is not optimal.”

In this 1933 file photo, President Franklin D. Roosevelt is shown signing the Wagner Unemployment Bill at the White House.
In this 1933 file photo, President Franklin D. Roosevelt is shown signing the Wagner Unemployment Bill at the White House.   (AP Photo)
This 1936 file photo Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers build a new farm-to-market road along Knob Creek in Tennessee.
This 1936 file photo Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers build a new farm-to-market road along Knob Creek in Tennessee.   (AP Photo)
The Forgotten Man, by Amity Shlaes
The Forgotten Man, by Amity Shlaes   (amityshlaes.com)
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Definitive isn’t the word I would use. I just thought, ‘Maybe there’s more to the story, and if I find more, I’ll try to capture that in the book.' - Amity Shlaes

It’s discussed and it’s decided that we are going to help this individual or corporation out, we propose a law, and guess what, it’s the forgotten man today who always pays for someone else’s mistake.
- Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala.

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11 comments
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Doctor_Zaius
Apr 21, 09 10:54 AM CDT
Horse-hockey. Hoover did nothing for three years and Roosevelt did nothing for the first year and things just got worse. Revisionist clap-trap. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
radnip
Apr 23, 09 4:43 AM CDT
The D and F students will believe it...
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LibertyMan
Apr 21, 09 12:32 PM CDT
Now who is being the revsionist? Hoover did far more than you claim if you go back and look at the programs he enacted. He also tried to work with the incoming FDR on legislation that would provide immediate releif but FDR's ego would not allow him to cooperate so nothing was passed during the transistion even though Hoover repeatedly reached out for bi-partisan efforts. This new book speaks to an old truth....that FDR made a serious recession turn into a major depression with his ill concieved socil engineering policies just the way P-BO is trying to do. Healthcare reform? We can't afford health care reform. Climate Chhange policys? He will send us into thrid world status right around the time he is finished gutting our armed forces. Impeach P-BO now! Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
Vostok
Apr 21, 09 1:33 PM CDT
Boy, there's an unbiased viewpoint if I've ever seen one. /sarcasm The Right in this country has slowly but surely developed its own - and quite fantastical - version of history.
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IN RESPONSE:
Snowleopard
Apr 21, 09 3:22 PM CDT
FDR definitely made some mistakes (excessive protectionism being one of them), but for the most part his policies were successful, lowering the unemployment rate from 20% to 10%. In regards to your statement: "Healthcare reform? We can't afford health care reform." ...is you're recommendation really that we just do nothing, when healthcare costs is the one thing that will truly bankrupt this country? You may disagree with universal healthcare, but don't you think that the government can use market based approaches to help drive down costs (ala newt gingrich & milton friedman)?
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Politics 
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New Deal • economic stimulus package • Great Depression • Steve King • Spencer Bachus • Eric Cantor • Wall Street bailout • President Obama • Amity Shlaes • The Forgotten Man

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