A conservative crusader?

“Theodore the Great: Conservative Crusader” is a curious book by Daniel Ruddy, arguing that Progressive American president Theodore Roosevelt (served 1901-1909) was actually an conservative. What makes the book doubly curious is that it seems to describe the politics of TR relatively correctly – I say “seems” since I frankly only skimmed some chapters (the book isn´t very well written) – and yet reaches the conclusion that his Progressive administration was conservative.

I suppose this means that Ruddy has a somewhat unusual definition of “conservative”. It includes people as diverse as Alexander Hamilton, William Howard Taft, John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. If there is any least common denominator at all, it´s the idea that a conservative must be an interventionist and imperialist, making Murica great again (or great for the first time, if you´re Hamilton). Conservationism, huge and federally-funded irrigation projects, a national bank, a fair shake for labor, direct election of senators and finding a third way between laissez faire and socialism are all “conservative” in the mind of the author. I admit that I could probably live with a conservatism of this kind! Ruddy likes the gold standard, too, at least in so far as it brought a certain stability to the economic system – his preferred solution is neither a cross of gold nor free silver, but national banking (which didn´t exist in the US at the time).

Yet, the author isn´t completely uncritical of TR. I don´t think he *really* likes the Bull Moose Party interlude in TR´s career, and he is also uneasy about the US involvement in World War I, interestingly enough given his strong imperialist stances in general. In several chapters, Ruddy actually expresses strong support for Theodore Roosevelt´s diplomatic peace initiatives (which earned TR the Nobel Peace Prize). He also sharply criticizes TR´s record on race. Despite the famous dinner with Booker T Washington, Ruddy believes that TR´s overall politics eroded Black support for the Republican Party, making Northern Blacks gradually embracing the ditto Democrats instead.

Personally, I think bully pulpit aficionado Theodore Roosevelt was pretty much what he claimed to be: a progressive (or Progressive). That is, a really existing progressive. Progressivism with a human face be damned!