26 Comments
User's avatar
Patty's avatar

Very interesting. Bottom line: politics are messy. Seems like politics is a very personal endeavor. No one seems to escape its formidable tentacles completely. It never turns out well when a party competes against itself and is deeply divided. Excellent history lesson, Tara.

Expand full comment
Jim's avatar

Very messy indeed!

Expand full comment
Joe's avatar

. . . and getting messier every day !

Expand full comment
Wally Firkins's avatar

Tara, you pose an interesting question regarding a compromise between Taft and Roosevelt. However, two presidential candidates compromising? Very unlikely. The country would certainly have been better off than it was with Wilson.

The "progressive" rein of Wilson brought many social programs that continue to clog the bloated level of federal spending and paved the way for even more progressive politics and policy.

It must take a huge ego to convince a person to run for the Presidency and it seems that true qualifications are secondary. Thank you Tara.

Expand full comment
Patty's avatar

There are long range consequences of presidential actions. As some have expressed Wilson accelerated the downward spiral of the “progressive “ dogma. So important who we have in the White House. So few really want to protect and preserve the Constitutional Republic.

Expand full comment
Joe's avatar

Most candidates every four years already seem to have that huge ego and don’t have to be convinced !

Expand full comment
Jason A Clark's avatar

I wish they would have. Many of our current issues can be traced directly to Wilson and the progressive movement.

Expand full comment
Mark E Johnson's avatar

The whole idea of the progressive is to bring our country to socialism (communism) and therefore to ruin as we know it. Their mislead belief is that communism will make us all equal, but there is nothing farther from the truth. We each have different gifts, to be used in bringing us all to God.

Expand full comment
Joe's avatar

Agreed on all points !

Expand full comment
Tv's avatar

🇺🇲 Never been a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt's politics, but it is hard not to be impressed with the man.

Now I'm wondering if there are any true conservatives left in politics. 🇺🇸

Thanks, Tara.

Expand full comment
Joe's avatar

Sadly, true.

Expand full comment
Sandy Schultz's avatar

Thank you Tara. All we hear these days is "it is the Republicans who always benefit from the Electoral College". A student of history laughs at this because we know it isn't just one party that has benefited. Hind sight tells me we would have benefited more without Wilson as President. His "progressive" ideas have done a lot of harm.

Expand full comment
Jack Miller's avatar

A new piece of history and very interesting. Echo's of what is happening now, in-fighting that is. No one is looking out for the best of our nation.

Thank you Tara for the enlightenment.

Expand full comment
Sika57's avatar

Roosevelt did some good things as President and some power grab things, but if elected again he would have been Wilson lite not as progressive as Wilson and not as racist . Thank God we got Calvin Coolidge to restore our constitution republic.

Expand full comment
Bruce Barlond's avatar

Those who don’t know history are bound to repeat it and here we are today!

Divide and conquer works!

Thank you,Tara, for this story of what happened way back when!

Expand full comment
Jim's avatar

Thank you, Tara. we'll never no is correct.

And it seems personal political strife is still embedded in our politics to this very day 🙄

Expand full comment
Jimmy Martin's avatar

Thank You, Tara

Expand full comment
Frank Furno's avatar

Oh, the idiosyncrasies that lead to a progressive foothold. WOW! Great story, Tara!🇺🇸✌️🇺🇸✌️

Expand full comment
Johnny Baker Jr. MLA's avatar

I wonder if Taft might have gotten 🇺🇸 into the Great War Sooner?

Expand full comment
Edward Jones's avatar

❤️🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Expand full comment
Joe's avatar

Great story ! I never knew he was shot. Saved by a long speech with lots of notes !

Expand full comment
Richard Cass's avatar

Quite the turbulent situation, but politics are and always will be this way.

Expand full comment