FDR was a great president, I agree, but he had some advantages due to his unique situation.
The market crashed in 1929, and the economy got steadily worse for the next four years; the Depression didn’t occur overnight, but conditions deteriorated over time due to misguided policies and a hands-off philosophy of Hoover. Unemployment reached 25 percent or so with no end in sight, there was very little of a safety net, labor unions were increasingly restive, and people had had enough – they demanded immediate action, and they’d had enough of laissez faire capitalism.
And communism was gaining sympathy, and fascism was on the march in Europe. The public was ready for bold action.
FDR took office with overwhelming majorities: more than 300 Democrats in the House and 75 percent of the Senate. Also, as a member of a rich and prominent family – his cousin was the beloved President Teddy Roosevelt – he was able to declare a mandate and avoid the nonsense that plagued President Obama throughout his term.
FDR is considered a lion of liberalism, and deservedly so, but it’s forgotten that many of his earlier policies did not bear fruit, and that, despite his party’s control of a supr-majority, he repeatedly was forced to make compromises with Congress. He had to compromise on enforcing anti-trust regulations, he refused to call for anti-lynching legislation for fear of alienating southern Democrats, etc.
No, I think we need greater agreement and unity. We need not be in lockstep on every issue or strategy. But we must also recognize that it is the majority that sets agenda in Congress. If we could have held together in 2010 instead of hand-wringing recriminations over Democrats dropping the public option or Medicare for All or passing a too-small stimulus, we’d be much better off today.