Who is the biggest 'Hero' of the the Democratic Party? (20th century)

[UpsideDownFlag]

by hero, i mean defining character, the man whose leadership defined the party for at least the length of his lifetime.

(since a few of the people on the poll are still alive, and we cant tell how the party will be for the rest of their lifetime, give an educated guess about them if you wish)

[PartyPooper]

1. Roosevelt, Truman, and Johnson.

Johnson only for his civil rights legislation. He was a disaster in Vietnam.

[VOX]

20. FDR made the federal government an agent of social and economic reform.

His administration encouraged the rise of organized labor and invigorated the Democratic party.

Most of the better aspects of our social landscape today are courtesy of the New Deal. Although that landscape is under a sustained, bitter and corrosive attack by the right wing.

[kixot]

2. I'd say the FDR's have it.

Even though the JFK era wafts a nostalgia abouts it I had to go with FDR.

[Leilani]

3. FDR, no one else comes close

He is one of THE GIANTS of the 20th Century...in the world, not just the Dems.

No insult to the others, but he stands alone.

Name our greatest Presidents of all time, & he is up there with the greats.

[bvar22]

4. no doubt FDR

It's sad that FDR wouldn't recognize his cherished Democratic Party today.

[Stew225]

5. When Democrats were Democrats was

when FDR was the man!

[WLKjr]

6. FDR=The Foundation of True Democratic Values

I idolize this man, I love to read about the things he did during the great depression and during WWII. I also admire the mans strength and character. It is unmatched still.

Howard Dean comes after Truman, JFK, Johnson, and Carter.

[iamjoy]

7. Wilson and Byrd Were Racist

I say for Byrd in the past tense even though he's still alive because he's supposedly reformed.

[UpsideDownFlag]

8. ...and FDR imprisoned japenese americans. nt

[iamjoy]

9. touche (nt)

[UpsideDownFlag]

10. lol, everyone has a tarnish on their records.

[Bridget Burke]

19. I'd judge him by his actions in the last decade.

And say he's changed. But even the worst on this list is far better than most Republicans.

[DerekG]

11. FDR and LBJ--tie

The two great politicos of 20th century America. It ran through their veins.

[The Sushi Bandit]

12. DENNIS KUCINICH!

[theboss]

13. How is this even a debate?

It's FDR by miles and miles and miles.

Let's see...he got us through the Depression, won a World War, created Social Security, created most of the programs that Democrats still fight for today, and won 4 terms. I mean...what else is there?

I guess Johnson would be second for the Civil Rights Act and Medicare, but Vietnam pulls him down.

Kennedy was inspirational and performed beautifully during the Cuban Missle Crisis, but there's not a lot there in terms of actual programs; the Space Program comes close, but that started before him.

Clinton may have saved us from going the way of the Whigs in 1992. But to me, his legacy is also going to be tainted by the fact that the House and Senate were lost on his watch. And much like Kennedy, there is no signature program to define him.

Byrd? Please. I love the man, but when he dies the first eight paragraphs are going to be about Pork and the next four are going to be about the Klan.

Dean? Double please. Why not Eugene McCarthy?

I would argue that Moynihan should be on this list along with Tip O'Neil.

[Grillydad]

14. FDR defined not only our party

but the 20th century. No one was more influential for longer.

[theboss]

15. Agreed

He is probably the hero of the 20th Century by any measure.

[Bucky]

16. FDR was a great man, but Truman showed an ordinary American would do

It doesn't take greatness to be a hero. It just takes integrity and a strong moral center. FDR led us, but Truman was us.

[Trailrider1951]

17. We have many heroes : ' )

I can't vote for just one. Here are two yet unmentioned: Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King.

[dansolo]

18. FDR, absolutely

There isn't anyone else who even comes close

[dr.strangelove]

21. I'm glad we all (mostly) agree

Its not even close. FDR turned this country into a nation that draws its strength from its people instead of from its businesses. He is the picture of modern liberalism and my best example of a "hero" one can have in politics.

[jerryvov]

22. "Other" ...one vote....

for Hero number I...Saul Alinsky...who wrote "Rules for Radicals" and fought against social injustice all his life. My favorite "rule" of his was: "Make the bastards play by the rules they wrote."

Hero number II? The Fox...remember him from the late 60s, early 70s?...guy used to dress up as a janitor, office cleaner, kitchen help, etc.,(said it made him invisible to the corporate types), then he'd collect a bucket of toxic sludge some chemical company was dumping in a local river or wetlands and he'd march right into the CEOs office and tell the guy "I'm returning some of your own waste..." and pour it out all over the plush carpeting and then run for it...drove the fatcats wild and they never did catch him...boyoboyoboy do we need a few characters like that here in the twentyfirst century because I'm afraid we citizens have mostly turned into sheep ...well, maybe Michael Moore is picking up the gauntlet, just doing it a little differently, but still pissing off the rich, powerful, privileged fatcats....

[ArkDem]

23. Wilbur Mills

[sleipnir]

24. Dean seems to be pulling his faithful 10%

Those who would raise Dean up on a pedestal and worship him if the DNC approved.

I'm a big Dean fan, but really folks, he's a bit out of his league in the poll.

[G_j]

25. RFK, DK, P Wellstone, Cynthia McKinney, Eugene McCarthy

J Conyers, Barbara Lee, there are plenty..

[VaYallaDawg]

26. FDR.

He's the statesman the Repugs have been trying to catch up to ever since his death.