Work in progress — cycles are added one at a time. Every quote is machine-verified against an archived source; follow the links to read it.

Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment by state conventions; legalize beer now; states control liquor and bar the saloon — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932

Similar by solution solution · rationale

Score	Cycle	Candidate	Issue	Position
0.79	1932	Albert C. Ritchie	National Prohibition	Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment as a matter of states' rights
0.69	1932	Herbert Hoover	National Prohibition	Resubmit the Eighteenth Amendment so each state may decide, with constitutional guarantees against the saloon and against interference with dry states; enforce the law meanwhile
0.69	1936	Frank Knox	Amending the Constitution to enlarge (or restrain) federal power	New federal activities only when legalized by constitutional amendment -- 'the horse and buggy method'
0.65	1932	Norman Thomas	Independence of the Supreme Court	A Workers' Rights Amendment; curb the Supreme Court's power over Congress; proportional representation; direct election of the President
0.65	1932	Alfred E. Smith	National Prohibition	Outright repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment — the issue Roosevelt was downplaying
0.65	1936	Alf Landon	Amending the Constitution to enlarge (or restrain) federal power	Wages, hours and child labor by State law and interstate compact -- and a constitutional amendment giving the States power if the courts forbid
0.63	1936	Alf Landon	Executive reciprocal trade agreements (1934 Act)	Repeal the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act; return treaty power to the Senate and tariff-making to Congress
0.60	1936	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Amending the Constitution to enlarge (or restrain) federal power	Meet constitutional obstacles by 'clarifying amendment' -- and say nothing about the Supreme Court
0.59	1932	Norman Thomas	National Prohibition	Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment — the candidate preferring a binding national referendum
0.55	1936	William Lemke	Minimum wages	A 'living annual wage' -- $1,800 for a family of five -- by federal law and a constitutional amendment if necessary
0.54	1932	Norman Thomas	Equal rights and opportunity for Black Americans	Economic, political and legal equality for the Negro; a federal anti-lynching law; enforce the First Amendment
0.52	1936	Alf Landon	Unemployment insurance	Leave unemployment insurance to State experiment; no federal tax to compel it
0.51	1932	Herbert Hoover	Regulation of securities issuance and exchanges	No federal 'blue sky' law — securities regulation belongs to the states, and the President should not police booms
0.50	1932	Albert C. Ritchie	Federal responsibility for relief	States' rights and business-led recovery — no federal intervention in relief
0.50	1932	Herbert Hoover	Regulation of banks and securities	Reform the banking laws; stop credit flowing to speculation; relieve depositors of closed banks
0.49	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Unemployment insurance	Unemployment insurance under state laws
0.48	1932	Herbert Hoover	Tariff levels	Preserve the bipartisan Tariff Commission's flexible power to adjust rates without congressional log-rolling
0.48	1936	Alf Landon	Independence of the Supreme Court	An independent Supreme Court secure from executive or legislative invasion; maintain the balance between States and nation
0.47	1936	Alf Landon	Antitrust and concentration of economic power	Use the full power of the federal government to break up private monopolies and enforce the antitrust laws 'without fear or favor'
0.47	1936	Alf Landon	Gold standard and currency basis	Sound currency 'at all hazards'; no further devaluation; repeal the laws delegating the money power to the Executive
0.45	1936	Alf Landon	Flood control and river-basin development	Federal construction of head-water storage basins to prevent floods, with the consent of the States concerned
0.45	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Tariff levels	A "competitive" tariff set through a scientific Tariff Commission, with anti-log-rolling rules and a public counsel
0.44	1932	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Overall role and scale of the federal government	Government as a check on concentrated economic power — "individualism" redefined as equality of opportunity
0.44	1932	Herbert Hoover	Local government consolidation and the tax burden on land	A national review of federal-state-local taxation to relieve farms and homes of property taxes
0.43	1936	Alf Landon	Regulation of securities issuance and exchanges	Keep federal regulation of securities marketing and interstate utilities, vested in independent tribunals under definite standards subject to court review