Voting Station

Burton K. Wheeler

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U.S. Senator

The Resume

    (February 27, 1882-January 6, 1975)
    Born in Hudson, Massachusetts
    US Senator from Montana (1923-47)
    Democrat
    Ran for Vice-President on the Progressive Party ticket headed by Republican Senator Robert LaFollette (1924)

Why he might be annoying:

    He had planned to start a law practice in Seattle, but during a train stop in Butte, Montana, he lost his belongings in a poker game and settled there.
    Before the entry of the US into World War II, he held hearings to investigate 'interventionists' in the motion picture industry, providing a prequel of sorts to HUAC's anti-Communist witch hunts of the 1950s.
    He opposed the Lend Lease Act and other aid to Great Britain during World War II.
    He said, 'I can't conceive of Japan being crazy enough to want to go to war with us.' (October 17, 1941).
    A month later, he declared, 'If we go to war with Japan, the only reason will be to help England.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    As a US Attorney during World War I, he refused to prosecute sedition cases, arguing that the sedition laws violated free speech.
    He played an important role in exposing the Teapot Dome scandal (1923).
    After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he said, 'The only thing now is to lick the hell out of them.'
    The film 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' was loosely based on his investigation of the Harding administration.
    He said, 'I have been accused of almost everything but timidity.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying