"I do not believe in communism any more than you do, but there is nothing wrong with the communists in this country. Several of the best friends I have are Communists."
very revealing..
FDR is perhaps our worst president in history. -- Brian , Saint Louis
FDR didn't believe in Communism? That's news to me. -- Johnson, Gainesville, FL
Screw communism with everyone that knows how! Of course this might mean understanding our present system of democracy for what it really is. -- Anonymous
I don't know if FDR was the worst President the U.S. ever had but, he is certainly in the running with Bush and a few others. FDR did more to implement unconstitutional communism in America than did anyone else. He was correct in that the actor needs be separated from the act. In a free representative Republic, as was once the U.S., there are no victimless crimes, crimes of emotions (anger, hate, etc.), or crimes of thought. -- Mike, Norwalk
I'm amazed at these responses -- are we stuck in the '60s? Surely everyone with a rudimentary knowledge of history knows FDR never said or wrote this. A right-wing Congressman SAID he heard another Congressman say FDR privately told him something LIKE that -- 20 years after FDR died and couldn't defend himself -- in the context of the communist witch hunts of the '60s. Noted fascist John A. Stormer included it, as if it were an actual quote, in his infamous book of lies from that era -- even J. Edgar Hoover said it was ridiculous. And anyone who thinks FDR was "our worst president" needs to do some basic reading on WWII, the Depression, and some of our other presidents, e.g. Grant, Polk, Buchanan, Fillmore, Hoover, and particularly the string of losers we've had over the last 20 years. -- Joe, North Caldwell, NJ
Joe, I thank you for providing the one sane reply to this quote. If it hadn't been for Roosevelt fending off the rising fascism in this country as evidenced (one of many) by the reports of Marine General Smedley Butler, we perhaps wouldn't have the privilege of making these replies today. You know your history. -- Richard, Fort Worth
Sometimes I think our Canadian friends working this site lose track of what I thought the purpose is/was. -- Dougmcr8, Springfield, VA
I believe he did say it. He and Eleanor had many Communists in their circles -- some on staff. Though I do believe they were duped in many ways too. ("Smearing good people like Lauchlin Currie [former administrative assistant to President Roosevelt], Alger Hiss and others is, I think, unforgiveable... Anyone knowing Mr. Currie or Mr. Hiss, who are the two people whom I happen to know fairly well, would not need any denial on their part to know they are not Communists. Their records prove it." -- Eleanor Roosevelt) FDR was the puppet of the Fed -- he was their champion and elected 3 times through their efforts. More was done during FDR's tenure to bring America under the thumb of the Fed than any other president. His policies were socialistic at best. He bankrupted the nation, lost all the lawful money (gold) to the private central bank, the Fed, declared a permanent national emergency (that still hasn't been lifted giving the Executive dictatorial powers that Bush uses even today), merged common law and commercial law into one admiralty/maritime jurisdiction (since trade was no longer a matter of substance but of corporate fiat), not to mention he suckered us into WW2. During his presidency, American people lost their money supply (and control of it), lost the free market, lost their courts, have been sent to die in foreign wars, the very purpose of which was to bankrupt America completely to the Fed and to keep us under constant state of emergency, make us all enemies under the Trading with the Enemy Act, and instituted a host of tax and welfare programs starting America onto a road of unpayable debt. If he wasn't the worst president, he is damn close. -- E Archer, NYC
It sounds like his thoughts. Whether he would have had the lack of intellect to have said for public consumption is questionable. However he did direct Hollywood to make Communist friendly movies. I saw one of them. It was starring Lawrence Olivier. It was about a Russian engineer that was trying to make a better propeller for icebreaker ships. It really made out that Communism was a wonderful thing and that everyone was fascinated to hear how great it was in the workers paradise. Some of the lines could make you puke. The Demi-Paradise (1943) was the film.
-- warren, olathe
I do not believe in Republican Party but I have many Republican friends. I do not believe in religion but have many religious friends. -- RobertSRQ
Way to go Robert. Maybe you and FDR are the only class acts on this site. Senators always address their opponents as "My dear friend form the state of ..... and he is my dear friend." They do this regardless of the party, or issue under discussion. The folks who make so much out of labels rather than listening to substance are driving public discussion in this country off a cliff. -- Waffler, Smith, Arkansas
FDR picked a Communist for his running mate (Wallace). In fact, however, FDR had more in common with the Fascists than Communists. A kinder, gentler Fascism; but Fascism nonetheless. -- Ken, Allyn, WA
FDR was the worst president we ever had. Fascists and Communists are both Statists and both are directly opposed to the system set up by the Constitution. There are few and inconsequential differences between Communism and Fascism. FDR possibly destroyed more of the Constitution than any other president. -- Ben, Springfield, MO
In 1965 I was assigned to write a paper in a history class on the culpability of the Army and Navy commanders at Pearl Harbor for the attack there. I read (much of) the Congressional report on the subject and was shocked at the evidence showing he did.
About 1998 my daughter told me her University of Florida history book stated that most historians today believe FDR knew the attack was coming and withheld the information.
I don't know the truth, but if God put a gun to my head and made me guess, I would guess that he did. -- Burke, Ormond Beach, Florida, USA
-- Anonymous
Thank you, FDR. You rock! I mean, thank you for the sentiment. I'm not a communist, FYI. Just thought I'd clear that up. -- Anonymous
Bush wasn't the worst president. He was the worst puppet to the worst president: Darth Dick Cheney.
FDR's accurate description of American Naziism is better:
"The liberty of democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group or by any controlling private power."
-President Roosevelt, the greatest president since Lincoln -- Fred Nietzsche, Albuquerque
Mussolini, father of fascism and idol of Nazis everywhere agreed with FDR's accurate definition of his political philosophy:
"Fascism should more properly be called 'corporatism,' since it is the marriage of government and corporate power." --Benito Mussolini, What is Fascism, 1932}
- "Fas-cism (fash'iz'em) n. A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism." The American Heritage Dictionary (1983)
-- Moosilini, Alaska
The quote is questionable, as it lacks a specific citation. FDR's choice of Wallace wasn't due to his sympathies for Wallace's politics (which he shared to some extent) but rather a calculated move to bring the far left wing of the party on board He of course later dismissed Wallace in favor of Truman when that became the more politically astute choice.
But we should keep in mind that the New Deal was greatly influenced by Mussolini's Fascist policies. Before Mussolini allied himself with Hitler and "Fascism" became a synonym for Nazism, it was looked on with great favor by the progressive movement, as it promised an egalitarian state of the sort they favored. The policies of the New Deal were very much based on the same principles as the Fascist movement. The New Deal favored large corporations over small business, price controls and supports, social security, free health care and so forth. -- Anonymous, Huntington Woods, MI
-- Mike, Norwalk
-- Richard, Fort Worth
-- Waffler, Smith, Arkansas
-- Moosilini, Alaska
