Anti-Longism
Anti-Longism refers to the broad ideology, traits, and characteristics held by a coalition of political forces within the Louisiana Democratic Party[note 1] opposed to Huey Pierce Long, Jr., and his ideology—dubbed "Longism." Anti-Longites included the New Orleans–situated "Old Regular" remnant of the Regular Democratic Organization,[1] and were a powerful influence in the more Catholic Southern Louisiana where fomenting reformist sentiment created organized opposition to the Long Machine.
As governor of Louisiana, Long, a left-wing machine politician, was a shrewd leader though flagrantly corrupt and denounced by some observers as fascistic in his totalitarian rule.[1] Several years following his assassination,[note 2] anti-Longism rose as a potent force in state politics challenging the status quo of Longist rule.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kolbert, Elizabeth (June 4, 2006). The Big Sleazy. The New Yorker. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ↑ Carleton, Mark T. (1989). Four Anti-Longites: A Tentative Assessment. Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association, Vol. 30, No. 3, p. 249. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
Notes
- ↑ Louisiana was in effect a one-party state in the Jim Crow era due to the state constitution of 1898 disenfranchising blacks who comprised most of the Republican Party base.
- ↑ While generally concurred that Carl A. Weiss, Sr., was principally responsible for assassinating Long, anti-Longites argue that "the Kingfish" was actually killed (accidentally) by his own bodyguards.
