What if Trump was a Democrat

Through the issue of wealth and class, Huey Long had solved DuBois’s “Chinese Puzzle.” But although he effectively used the rhetoric of class warfare, the most destitute citizens of the state, white and especially black, were still effectively disenfranchised. Long’s base of support came from small-holding white farmers, rather than the proletarian masses, a fact which would influence who received relief under his regime.

Huey Long’s populism made no provision for union protection, child labor laws (he said picking cotton was “fun” for kids), or unemployment insurance. Part of the Long legend is that he distinguished himself from other southern populist demagogues by avoiding race-baiting, but the reality is much less flattering. He nixed old age pensions on the grounds that too much money would go to blacks. In the United States Senate, he opposed federal anti-lynching legislation. “I can’t do nothing about it no, sir. Can’t do the dead nigra no good.” Louisiana would retain one of the worst records of lynching in the country. During his governorship, black voter registration actually declined while white registration rose after the abolition of the poll tax. It’s true that state’s black citizens did benefit from some of Long’s program, but their status in Longite Louisiana is perhaps best summarized through his brother Earl’s gimmick of tossing coins to children while campaigning: he said he would give out “a quarter to the white kids and a nickel to the ni**ers.”