WI: Smedley Butler doesn't get cancer?

Smedley Butler was the highest decorated US Marine of all time, and twice won the Medal of Honor. He was an outspoken critic of American imperialism and single-handedly brought down a plot to overthrow the US government. On June 21, 1940 he died of cancer. What if he never got cancer? He was only 58. What career would he have given the events of Pearl Harbor? Perhaps a replacement for MacArthur after he loses the Philippines?
 
I've never quite gotten the gist of Smedley Butler. Was he a right-winger who was chosen to head the plot because of his sterling ideological credentials, and then turned against the coup? I know he was supposedly against big business, but then, that wasn't an uncommon posture among quasi-fascist isolationists in the 1930s.

Part of my bias here might be that I've usually seen him quoted by some of the more dubious proponents of anti-imperialism, eg. the "Pearl Harbour was an inside job crowd". So I'd be interested in hearing other views.
 
Plus, if Butler WASN'T a right-winger, why did the conspirators think he'd be a suitable candidate to lead a corporate plot to overthrow the New Deal?
 
Smedley Butler was the highest decorated US Marine of all time, and twice won the Medal of Honor. He was an outspoken critic of American imperialism and single-handedly brought down a plot to overthrow the US government. On June 21, 1940 he died of cancer. What if he never got cancer? He was only 58. What career would he have given the events of Pearl Harbor? Perhaps a replacement for MacArthur after he loses the Philippines?

I've never quite gotten the gist of Smedley Butler. Was he a right-winger who was chosen to head the plot because of his sterling ideological credentials, and then turned against the coup? I know he was supposedly against big business, but then, that wasn't an uncommon posture among quasi-fascist isolationists in the 1930s.

Part of my bias here might be that I've usually seen him quoted by some of the more dubious proponents of anti-imperialism, eg. the "Pearl Harbour was an inside job crowd". So I'd be interested in hearing other views.

Plus, if Butler WASN'T a right-winger, why did the conspirators think he'd be a suitable candidate to lead a corporate plot to overthrow the New Deal?

That entire part is incorrect. The Business Plot is one of the most misrepresented falsehoods in American pop history.

Long story short, it wasn't an actual thing. There was absolutely no chance of getting Smedley Butler to lead it (he was a well-known anti-imperialist and social democrat; it would be like asking Elizabeth Warren to lead a coup on behalf of Wall Street), and nobody would have followed MacArthur after the Bonus March.

The whole thing was never more than a couple of idiots talking at a cocktail party. There was never an actual plan and there was never an actual effort. They had no ability to even try to pull it off. There are tons of militia and racial hate groups around this country currently who ponder pinheaded schemes to overthrow the federal government. Every so often one will even try to do it. That doesn't mean they're a credible threat.

Asking if the Business Plot could have succeeded is as ASB as asking if the Hutarees could have succeeded.
 
This is an interesting POD, though. Butler was a celebrity with real star power; it's possible he could have at least tried to get the USMC a role in the European Theater.
 
Butlers political career died with the Progressives during the 1930s. He missed getting on the New Dealers train, in part because he disliked Roosevelt. Butler was simply a democrat (small d) and old school progressive. He'd have continued on the periphery of politics through the 1940s. Post 1945 he might have gained considerable traction if he had focused on veterans affairs, tho he had earlier in the 1930s damaged himself through his criticism of the American Legion leadership. He had also missed the bus within the USMC in the 1920s by opposing the development of amphibious warfare techniques. While on active service in the 1920s he had criticized the "drones" of Quantico, junior officers who were experimenting with amphibious warfare techniques. He seemed to think they'd be better employed chasing Sandanistas or Hatian bandits around Latin America. That ran counter to USN plans and ended any small chance of a shot at Commadancy of the Marine Corps.

The guy was brilliant & a great leader. Well schooled in tactics and operational planning & execution. But his education in the upper levels of politics, strategy, world affairs, ect... was uneven with some large holes. As police commissioner in Philidelphia and later with the Oregon State law enforcement he proved a asset, until he misread local politics and was maneuvered out the door.

... Long story short, it wasn't an actual thing. There was absolutely no chance of getting Smedley Butler to lead it (he was a well-known anti-imperialist and social democrat; it would be like asking Elizabeth Warren to lead a coup on behalf of Wall Street), and nobody would have followed MacArthur after the Bonus March. ...

The stupidity of the embryonic Business Plot leaders is clearly illustrated by their approaching Butler. They were clueless about his politics and loyalties. Maybe the salesman who bought Butler lunch and a drink and flashed the cash thought Gimlet Eye could be bought like any other working class dupe. In any case they were so wrong its one of those stories lines that could never work in fiction, stupid to the point of silliness.
 
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