Editing Huey Long (section)

===Roosevelt and the New Deal===
{{Further|New Deal}}
During the [[First 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency|first 100 days of Roosevelt's presidency]] in spring 1933, Long's attitude toward Roosevelt and the [[New Deal]] was tepid.<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], pp. 59–60.</ref> Aware that Roosevelt had no intention of radically redistributing the country's wealth, Long became one of the few national politicians to oppose Roosevelt's New Deal policies from the left.{{efn|group=note|The other most notable critic was Catholic preacher and radio-host [[Father Coughlin]].<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], p. viiii.</ref>}} He considered them inadequate in the face of the escalating economic crisis but still supported some of Roosevelt's programs in the Senate, explaining: "Whenever this administration has gone to the left I have voted with it, and whenever it has gone to the right I have voted against it."<ref>[[#Chip|Berlet & Lyons (2000)]], p. 126.</ref>

Long opposed the [[National Recovery Act]], claiming it favored industrialists.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Berlet|first1=Chip|date=November 1, 2000|title=Right-wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Md1aRhWNk1QC&q=huey+long+80+percent+of+the+oil&pg=PA125|publisher=[[The Guilford Press]]|location=New York |access-date=June 11, 2020|pages=126–27|isbn=978-1-57230-562-5 |archive-date=December 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224200204/https://books.google.com/books?id=Md1aRhWNk1QC&q=huey+long+80+percent+of+the+oil&pg=PA125|url-status=live}}</ref> In an attempt to prevent its passage, Long held a lone filibuster, speaking for 15 hours and 30 minutes, the [[Filibuster in the United States Senate#Longest solo filibusters|second longest filibuster at the time]].<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], p. 76.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Huey_Long_Filibusters.htm|title=Huey Long Filibusters|website=[[United States Senate]]|access-date=June 16, 2020|quote=Huey Long spoke for 15 hours and 30 minutes, the second-longest Senate filibuster to that time.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224231453/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Huey_Long_Filibusters.htm|archive-date=December 24, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> He also criticized [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]], calling it inadequate and expressing his concerns that states would administer it in a way discriminatory to African Americans.<ref name="The Guilford Press">{{cite book|last1=Berlet|first1=Chip|date=November 1, 2000|title=Right-wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Md1aRhWNk1QC&q=huey+long+80+percent+of+the+oil&pg=PA125|publisher=[[The Guilford Press]]|location=New York|access-date=June 11, 2020|page=127|isbn=978-1-57230-562-5 |archive-date=December 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224200217/https://books.google.com/books?id=Md1aRhWNk1QC&q=huey+long+80+percent+of+the+oil&pg=PA125|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1933, he was a leader of a three-week Senate [[filibuster]] against the Glass banking bill, which he later supported as the [[Glass–Steagall Act]] after provisions extended government deposit insurance to state banks as well as national banks.<ref>[[#Williams|Williams (1981) [1969]]], pp. 623, 633–34.</ref><ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], pp. 55–56.</ref>

Roosevelt considered Long a radical [[demagogue]] and stated that Long, along with General [[Douglas MacArthur]], "was one of the two most dangerous men in America".<ref name="FDR"/><ref>[[#Brands|Brands (2008)]], p. 260.</ref><ref>[[#Snyder|Snyder (1975)]], p. 117.</ref> In June 1933, in an effort to undermine Long's political dominance, Roosevelt cut him out of consultations on the distribution of federal funds and patronage in Louisiana and placed Long's opponents in charge of federal programs in the state. Roosevelt supported a Senate inquiry into the election of Long ally [[John H. Overton]] to the Senate in 1932. The Long machine was accused of election fraud and voter intimidation, but the inquiry came up empty, and Overton was seated.<ref>[[#Hair|Hair (1996)]], p. 257.</ref> To discredit Long and damage his support base, Roosevelt had Long's finances investigated by the [[Internal Revenue Service]] in 1934.<ref>{{cite news |last=Aubin|first=Dena|date=May 16, 2013|title=Factbox: IRS's rich history of scandals, political abuse|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-irs-scandals/factbox-irss-rich-history-of-scandals-political-abuse-idUSBRE94F16V20130516|work=[[Reuters]]|location=London|access-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615000535/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-irs-scandals/factbox-irss-rich-history-of-scandals-political-abuse-idUSBRE94F16V20130516|archive-date=June 15, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|group=note|The investigation into Long's finances was initiated in 1932 by Hoover but had been temporarily halted by the incoming Roosevelt to amend relations with Long.<ref>[[#Brinkley|Brinkley (1983) [1982]]], pp. 64–65.</ref>}} Although they failed to link Long to any illegality, some of his lieutenants were charged with income tax evasion.<ref name="FDR"/><ref>{{cite book|date=1996|title=75 Years of IRS Criminal Investigation History, 1919–1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qwqSAAAAMAAJ&q=huey+long+irs&pg=PA32|publisher=[[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]], [[Internal Revenue Service]]|page=32|access-date=November 12, 2020|archive-date=December 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224200205/https://books.google.com/books?id=qwqSAAAAMAAJ&q=huey+long+irs&pg=PA32|url-status=live}}</ref> Roosevelt's son, [[Elliott Roosevelt (general)|Elliott]], would later note that in this instance, his father "may have been the originator of the concept of employing the [[List of allegations of misuse of the Internal Revenue Service|IRS as a weapon of political retribution]]".<ref>{{cite news |last=Murphy|first=Tim|date=May 14, 2013|title=Shocking IRS Witch Hunt? Actually, It's a Time-Honored Tradition|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/05/irs-witch-hunts-tea-party-history-mother-jones/|work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|access-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615000538/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/05/irs-witch-hunts-tea-party-history-mother-jones/|archive-date=June 15, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>