The Battle over Social Security
Roosevelt, after the disaster of the `34 midterm election, was quick to realize that his New Deal legislation was at threat. He attempted to assemble the lame-duck Congress into session, but such efforts were futile. The outgoing Representatives and Senators were either tired, or uninterested. They lost, and that was it.
But he had one thing to count on: that as a result of their appeal toward his own liberal opponents, then they would not be able to stall for long. At some point, they would have to compromise. He understood that there was no alley of maneuvering available, other than attrition.
And so, he proposed the Social Security Act: a payroll tax to finance pensioners' benefits, a lump-sum benefit at death, as well as aid to individual states for welfare programs and disabled or child assistance programs.
Naturally, the Republicans opposed this. Senator Taft from Ohio, the conservatives' leader, attempted to mark himself as the rear of the anti-S.S. front. however, Chairman Murphy made it clear that he would be...
disciplined if he stepped out of the Party's line and did not retain the back-bench for the moment.
Instead, they chose the little known William Lemke, Congressman from North Dakota. While he was generally a pro-New Dealer, Murphy managed to convince him that it was preferable that bill, at least in it's current form, failed to pass.
He arranged for Lemke to make speeches on radio, attend interviews. He was put in the spotlight at every opportunity. The C.W.R. movement had it's newest face. He would lead the charge.
A few days before the Senate was to vote on the bill, Lemke gave a speech in the House chamber. In it, he proposed an alternative bill: the Senior Care Act, in which authority over the pensions would be devolved to the states, with the money being received in federal income taxes and state payroll taxes. This outraged Democrats and Republicans alike. Murphy's office received many profane and unpleasant calls from various Congressmen.
To restore order in the ranks, he instructed his surrogates to spread rumors of a purge: in two years, they'd set up their own candidates to challenge the dissidents for re-nomination. He said, "if they won't go along now, then I think I'll really do it."
Sure enough, they quieted down (save for Taft, who was powerful and experienced enough to ignore their threats). Speaker Byrns, reluctantly, agreed to hold a vote on the Republicans' bill. It passed, 228-207.
Roosevelt and the Democratic leadership, quite alarmed, decided to go to the table with Lemke. The two formed a friendship of sorts, and he decided to use that to his advantage, urging the Dakotan to give up on the S.C.A. before it would get to the Senate. Murphy was whispering in his other ear, assuring him that they had the upper hand by that point. Lemke listened to the latter.
The S.C.A., however, was killed in the Senate, 61-39. However, Roosevelt understood that Social Security would, most likely, most meet a similar fate. He told the Congressional Democrats, "in a few months, or in a year, however long until we can, we'll bring it back."
But Murphy had his victory.