On Prohibition, Wheeler, Controlling the Margin and No One But Paul.

[phill4paul]

I was watching Ken Burns "Prohibition" last night and became quite interested in a particular facet of this documentary.

The story of Wayne Bidwell Wheeler and the way that his Anti-Saloon League was able to influence politics. Wheeler believed that if you control the margins, you could create a majority. So if you had 10 percent of the people in a given district, if you could deliver those 10 percent to one candidate or another based on their position on Prohibition, you could win elections, and in fact take over Congress, which he did in the 1916 election.

Of course his was a solid wedge issue of which the Revolution has many.

Your thoughts as I delve into this particularly interesting point in U.S. history?

[Romulus]

Interesting thought... but not sure if we are deliverable, hence 'no one' but Paul.

[asurfaholic]

Major difference between 1916 and 2012. Big media has alot of control over minds.

[Aratus]

did you notice how the anti-saloon league backed progressives like woodrow wilson, and in 1913 when personal income was taxed,
this could be substituted for the "sin tax" on alcohol? when the gov't began to fund things differently, this by 1919 led to prohibition.

[phill4paul]

did you notice how the anti-saloon league backed progressives like woodrow wilson, and in 1913 when personal income was taxed,
this could be substituted for the "sin tax" on alcohol? when the gov't began to fund things differently, this by 1919 led to prohibition.

Yep, this was another piece of the documentary that caught my attention.