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Bilbo was a leader among other [[racist]] Democrats, including the [[Exalted Cyclops]] [[Robert Byrd]]. He was known during the 1930s as a hardline rubber stamp for President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s [[New Deal]] agenda, gaining attention in 1935 for feuding with Sen. Long.<ref name=fleegler,pp.7-8/> According to Robert L. Fleegler, he "amassed a strong progressive voting record, supporting New Deal legislation such as public housing that gave many southern representatives pause."

Bilbo was a leader among other [[racist]] Democrats, including the [[Exalted Cyclops]] [[Robert Byrd]]. He was known during the 1930s as a hardline rubber stamp for President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s [[New Deal]] agenda, gaining attention in 1935 for feuding with Sen. Long.<ref name=fleegler,pp.7-8/> According to Robert L. Fleegler, he "amassed a strong progressive voting record, supporting New Deal legislation such as public housing that gave many southern representatives pause."

In a 1938 filibuster against anti-[[lynching]] legislation, the Wagner–Van Nuys Act introduced by Northern Democratic senators Robert F. Wagner and Frederick Van Nuys, Bilbo disparaged NAACP leader Walter F. White as a "flat-nosed Ethiopian" and said on the [[Senate]] floor that the bill would “open the floodgates of [[hell]] in [[the South]]” by encouraging [[black]] men to rape white women.<ref>"Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, p. 9.</ref> Although most Southern Democratic senators opposed anti-lynching legislation on veiled arguments without overt race-baiting, Bilbo notably employed demagogic propaganda.

In a 1938 filibuster against anti-[[lynching]] legislation, the Wagner–Van Nuys Act introduced by Northern Democratic senators Robert F. Wagner and Frederick Van Nuys, Bilbo disparaged NAACP leader Walter F. White as a "flat-nosed Ethiopian" and said on the [[Senate]] floor that the bill would "open the floodgates of [[hell]] in [[the South]]" by encouraging [[black]] men to rape white women.<ref>"Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, p. 9.</ref> Although most Southern Democratic senators opposed anti-lynching legislation on veiled arguments without overt race-baiting, Bilbo notably employed demagogic propaganda.

When he won re-election in 1940, a member of the Roosevelt Administration congratulated his victory and regarded him "a real friend of [[liberal]] [[government]]."<ref>Morgan, Chester M. (1985). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Redneck_Liberal/f8_t3_Ss0_MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bilbo+real+friend+of+liberal+government&pg=PA229&printsec=frontcover Redneck Liberal: Theodore G. Bilbo and the New Deal], p. 229. ''Google Books''. Retrieved December 18, 2022.</ref> In return, Bilbo boasted of being "100 percent for Roosevelt...and the [[New Deal]]."<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/04/a-history-of-liberal-white-racism-cont/275129/ A History of Liberal White Racism, Cont.] ''The Atlantic''. Retrieved September 14th, 2020.</ref>

When he won re-election in 1940, a member of the Roosevelt Administration congratulated his victory and regarded him "a real friend of [[liberal]] [[government]]."<ref>Morgan, Chester M. (1985). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Redneck_Liberal/f8_t3_Ss0_MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bilbo+real+friend+of+liberal+government&pg=PA229&printsec=frontcover Redneck Liberal: Theodore G. Bilbo and the New Deal], p. 229. ''Google Books''. Retrieved December 18, 2022.</ref> In return, Bilbo boasted of being "100 percent for Roosevelt...and the [[New Deal]]."<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/04/a-history-of-liberal-white-racism-cont/275129/ A History of Liberal White Racism, Cont.] ''The Atlantic''. Retrieved September 14th, 2020.</ref>