More on Smoot-Hawley
I received this smart email from a Club member:
One other note on Smoot-Hawley is that after 1932 neither one of them was in office. Sen. Smoot (R-UT) was defeated in Nov 1932 and Rep. Willis Hawley (R-OR) was defeated in his bid to be renominated by the GOP in 1932. Not sure if he lost in a primary or a caucus and what the issues were that kept [him] from the nomination.
The election of 1932 was awful for the GOP. They lost 12 seats in the Senate and an astounding 101 seats in the House. Of course, this was the year that FDR and the Democrats swept into office promising more government in the wake of the Great Depression. Depending on who you talk to, the Smoot-Hawley tariff bill either started the Depression or exacerbated it. Either way, it was a dumb move.
Schumer and Graham should pay heed to history.
