Would Flit Have Been Better?

Those pesky flies! In an attempt to recharge the New Deal, FDR made an attempt to “purge” democratic members of the Senate who were opposed to his economic policies. In this process FDR backed liberal challengers for senate seats versus the incumbent in the 1938. The purge turned out to be one of the worst political missteps in FDR’s presidency, as it weakened the Democratic party, represented by the Donkey being caught it the flypaper meant for Georgia and Maryland. The flies who avoided the trap are Millard Tydings and Walter George of Maryland and Georgia respectively.[1]Tydings and George were two of many senators who sought to halt FDR’s legislation.

[1]Susan Dunn. Roosevelt's Purge: How FDR Fought to Change the Democratic Party. (Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2010). 5-6.