Fail to the Chief

When Socialist presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs was sentenced for speaking out against World War 1, on September 18, 2018, he gave a stirring speech in support of his beliefs and principles, and in execration of the Espionage Act and the government that had spawned it. I read it here, poorly and quickly, in the streets of NYC!

Did you know that America had socialist candidates before Bernie Sanders? We sure did. In fact, union organizer Eugene Debs ran as the Socialist candidate in five elections - including one from a prison cell.

Thom Woodley explores the candidacy of Judge Alton B. Parker, the most forgotten of all losers - so forgotten that this democratic nominee has never even had a biography written about him.

Learn how the last Democratic-Republican nominee, Georgia's William Crawford, split the party apart and led to the rise of the two party system which ultimately bred hatred in the days leading to the Civil War.

Thom goes through the Top 5 and Bottom 5 Losers so far, and also discuss FAIL TO THE CHIEF... the book???

Thom reads the 1896 Democratic National Convention 'Cross of Gold' speech of William Jennings Bryan.

Thom Woodley discusses three-time democratic party loser William Jennings Bryan, and what the world would be like had this preacher-in-chief been elected.

Thom summarizes his rankings for the losers of the period of American history from 1860-1892: Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge, John Bell, George McClellan, Horatio Seymour, Horace Greeley, Samuel Tilden, Winfield Scott Hancock, James Blaine and James Weaver.

He also discusses some interesting 'nearly also-rans': William Seward, Salmon Chase, Cassius Clay, Roscoe Conkling, Thomas Hendricks, Thomas Bayard, Benjamin 'Beast' Butler, and the various third parties of the era, from the Women's Equality Party to the Prohibition Party.

In this rerelease, Thom dives into the election of 1816, the last mewling death cry of the Federalist Party and its standardbearer, Rufus King.

You've probably never heard of James B. Weaver, but he's the first successful populist (leftist) candidate in American history. His 1896 third party run won five states and helped to change the landscape of politics from then on. In this episode, Thom Woodley tells you about his life, his politics, and maybe, just maybe, you'll come out a 'b.weaver'.