Beware the Honest Ones: Difference between revisions

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* The Business Plot, a reported conspiracy that intended to overthrow the American government in 1933 and install a fascist dictatorship, supposedly fell victim to this when the conspirators chose Marine Major General Smedley Butler to lead the coup. Butler instead chose to reveal the plot to the government, which fairly quickly brought an end to the conspiracy. You have to wonder how serious a plot it was [[Villain Ball|to choose Butler]] since he had become famous for making radio addresses where he admitted he was ashamed of serving in the military and how it was used as a pro-business tool by the government. "Al Capone operated in three city wards. My Marines operated on three continents." He also was a socialist.
* The Business Plot, a reported conspiracy that intended to overthrow the American government in 1933 and install a fascist dictatorship, supposedly fell victim to this when the conspirators chose Marine Major General Smedley Butler to lead the coup. Butler instead chose to reveal the plot to the government, which fairly quickly brought an end to the conspiracy. You have to wonder how serious a plot it was [[Villain Ball|to choose Butler]] since he had become famous for making radio addresses where he admitted he was ashamed of serving in the military and how it was used as a pro-business tool by the government. "Al Capone operated in three city wards. My Marines operated on three continents." He also was a socialist.
** [[Not So Different|Does that last part matter?]]
** [[Not So Different|Does that last part matter?]]
*** On the face value, he was a vocal representative of the very faction the plot (if it did exist) have opposed. He didn't have any reason to jump their ship, and they didn't have any reason (at the moment) to escalate this far. The international socialists (unless they were extreme "Let The Storm Blow Harder!" Trotskyists) a confrontation in America at the moment would be out of order - too far, no convenient bases for an external intervention, and even [[Spanish Civil War]] didn't happen yet - this would only cut off them from their Wall Street supporters. While those Wall Street backers and many local socialists would obviously be deposed right after Roosevelt. What one could ''expect'' to see was exactly what happened: Butler exposes the plot, investigation sinks in "he said - she said" at step one, then Communist papers publish it all as real anyway. Thus inviting Butler into an actual plot makes much less sense than this plot being made up:
*** On the face value, he was a vocal representative of the very faction the plot (if it did exist) opposed. He didn't have an obvious reason to jump the ship, and his "comrades" had reasons to ''not'' escalate the strife this far at that moment. What one could ''expect'' to see was exactly what happened: Butler exposes the plot, investigation sinks in "he said - she said" at step one, then Communist papers publish the widest and wildest version of it all as real anyway. Thus inviting Butler into an actual plot makes much less sense than this being made up, either by:
**# — by Butler, to put some pressure on the opposition and less-reliable allies with a threat of witch-hunt. Perhaps mainly Morgan, who was a target of ''some'' shadow war earlier (who knows who set that bomb near Morgan's bank in 1920?) and at this point could have been an unwilling "ally". Or
**# Butler: to put pressure on the opposition and less-reliable allies using threat of a [[Witch Hunt|witch hunt]]. Perhaps mainly Morgan, as a target of ''some'' shadow war earlier (who knows who set that bomb near Morgan's bank in 1920?) and at this point could be an unwilling "ally". Or
**# — by MacGuire, to put some pressure on Roosevelt & Co. with the threat of a non-existent hostile faction and hopefully somewhat slow down their triumphant march. While adding some suspicion and schism in the enemy ranks while he's at it (implicating those those veterans and Morgan).
**# MacGuire: to put pressure on Roosevelt & Co. and hopefully slow down their triumphant march using threat of a [[Backup Bluff|non-existent hostile faction]]. While adding some suspicion and schism in the enemy ranks, by implicating some in the veterans' organization (Butler's power base) and Morgan (see above).


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