I... disagree with many of the conclusions Jeansonne has. I’m not saying Long would hold up to modern standards (as shown he had no issues with racial epithets), but he’s a historical figure and you need to put them in their time and place. You could level the “doesn’t hold to our standards” charge to near everyone born before 1940. And yeah Long never had to have address an election directly surrounding race, but the general concept of “race-baiting” is one Long by and large avoided. And the argument of “even if Long helped African-Americans economically he didn’t challenge Jim Crow” can easily be flipped to “when faced with the racism and Jim Crow of Louisiana Long still managed to spread his programs and benefits to African-Americans”. He certainly had the support and appreciation of African Americans for what he did and as far as I can tell he was not disrespectful to any African-Americans he interacted with. His friend in the senate, Burton Wheeler, flat out stated Long was better on race then every other southern senator.
I honestly don’t necessarily disagree with any of this, which is honestly the center of my frustration with Long and the AUS. Kaiserreichs Long is a meme and a weird remnant of legacyKR that somehow was never changed. Despite my constant partaking in them, I’ve always thought discussions surrounding KR Huey are mostly unproductive because he’s so far removed from his actual self you’re essentially dealing with a fictional character that can be molded differently by each viewer.
