Earl K. Long

Earl Kemp Long (1895–1960) was a Louisiana politician, member of the Long dynasty, mentally unstable, and a red baiter.[1] Was committed to an asylum while governor, promptly used his executive powers to free himself.[2] He became governor of the state the first time when the previous governor resigned for "health reasons". The fact that he was soon convicted for mail fraud had nothing to do with his resignation.[3] Outside of the swamp, he is mostly known for being portrayed by Paul Newman in a film about his affair with a stripper.[4] "Uncle Earl" was an extremely effective campaigner, particularly in the field of mud-slinging.[5]

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“”Earl is my brother but he's crooked. If you live long enough he'll double cross you.
—Huey Long

Good Uncle Earl
  • Mandated equal pay for teachers regardless of race
  • Right before he died, decried segregation.[note 1]
  • Advocated a free lunch program for students

Bad Uncle Earl
  • Dissolved the Civil Service System to increase his power.
  • Participated in his brother's corruption framework.[6]

Notes
  1. Though he was pretty loopy at the time, and was likely motivated by his own pull with black voters

References
  1. Boulard, Gary The Big Lie
  2. UPI:1959 Year In Review Governor Earl Long Goes Crazy
  3. Louisiana Secretary of State website's page on Earl K. Long
  4. IMDB:Blaze
  5. Louisiana 101:Earl Kemp Long
  6. Huey Long's Legacy Admittedly, they couldn't implicate him
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