First published at 07:35 UTC on July 3rd, 2018.
"In which Audra Snider -- great-granddaughter of the liberal, populist firebrand, Huey Long, and administrator of www.HueyLong.com -- takes to The Soapbox to discuss the legacy of her great-grandfather. Huey Long was the extraordinarily controv…
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"In which Audra Snider -- great-granddaughter of the liberal, populist firebrand, Huey Long, and administrator of www.HueyLong.com -- takes to The Soapbox to discuss the legacy of her great-grandfather. Huey Long was the extraordinarily controversial governor of Louisiana in the '20's, and US senator in the early 30's before he was assassinated in Baton Rouge in 1935. At that time, he had become, in the words of Franklin Roosevelt, one of the most dangerous men in America. Long jubilantly attacked anti-democratic political structures, railed against corporate control, and offered the nation's most significant plan to address his biggest issue by his death, income inequality. Yet contemporary and subsequent critics regularly decried him a the first "American fascist." Ms. Snider discusses all of this and more in this interview.
Following the interview, Ms. Snider provided a timeline of Long's unorthodox political career and further clarification to some of her remarks:
Huey Long served as Governor of Louisiana from May of 1928 to January of 1932. Midway through his term as Governor, in 1930, he ran for a seat in the United States Senate and won the election. It is often misstated that he served simultaneously as Governor and U.S. Senator. In fact, Long remained Governor of Louisiana until a loyal successor was assured, and he left the Senate seat vacant for nine months. The outgoing Senator left office in March 1931, and Long assumed the office in January 1932.
In Louisiana, Long's faithful successor, Governor O.K. Allen, continued Long's reform and modernization programs, including the completion of 9,700 miles of paved roads by 1936. Building virtually the entire Louisiana state highway system is often quoted as one of Long's greatest achievements. As a U.S. Senator, Long continued to exert influence in Louisiana politics, including assuring the repeal of the poll tax in 1935, shortly before his assassination.
In Washington, Long quickly became known as th..
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