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.
| Score | Cycle | Candidate | Issue | Position |
|---|
| 0.79 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Tariff levels | A "competitive" tariff set through a scientific Tariff Commission, with anti-log-rolling rules and a public counsel |
| 0.72 | 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 |
| 0.67 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Tariff levels | Maintain — and if necessary widen — the protective tariff; reject the Democratic 'competitive tariff for revenue' |
| 0.56 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Farm prices and agricultural surplus | Raise staple farm prices by a tariff-equivalent benefit plus voluntary production control, at no cost to the Treasury |
| 0.56 | 1932 | Alfred E. Smith | Tariff levels | Endorsement of the Smoot-Hawley tariff |
| 0.53 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Balancing the federal budget | Balance the federal budget annually within revenues |
| 0.52 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Railroad regulation and consolidation | Six-point railroad program — conditional federal support, receivership reform, ICC regulation of trucks and holding companies, consolidation |
| 0.52 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Farm prices and agricultural surplus | Farm prices can be restored only by general recovery and markets — no production control, no subsidies; repeal Farm Board stabilization |
| 0.52 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Level of federal spending | Cut federal spending $1.5 billion below fiscal 1932 and reorganize the executive branch |
| 0.51 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Level of federal spending | Cut the cost of the federal government by at least 25 percent |
| 0.50 | 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 |
| 0.50 | 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 |
| 0.49 | 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 |
| 0.49 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Tariff levels | Revise the tariff downward through reciprocal trade agreements |
| 0.49 | 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 |
| 0.48 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | National Prohibition | Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment by state conventions; legalize beer now; states control liquor and bar the saloon |
| 0.48 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | European war debts and reparations | No cancellation of war debts; apply any annual payment to opening foreign markets for American farm products |
| 0.47 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Regulation of utility rates and holding companies | Eight-point federal utility program: publicity, Federal Power Commission control of holding companies, prudent-investment rate base |
| 0.47 | 1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Income and inheritance tax progressivity | Taxes levied according to ability to pay; lower taxes for 99 percent, higher at the top |
| 0.47 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Maintenance of wage levels in depression | Uphold wages and spread work by voluntary agreement of employers and labor; shorter hours in government service |
| 0.47 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Tariff levels | Unconditional most-favored-nation treatment; no reciprocal bargains or preferences |
| 0.46 | 1936 | Frank Knox | Overall role and scale of the federal government | Fair, honest, economical and efficient government; preserve free enterprise against 'amateur economic planners' |
| 0.46 | 1936 | Alf Landon | How to finance old-age and unemployment insurance (contributory reserve vs. pay-as-you-go) | Repeal the compulsory old-age insurance plan; pay every needy citizen over 65 a pension from a direct, widely distributed tax |
| 0.46 | 1932 | Herbert Hoover | Balancing the federal budget | A balanced budget as 'the foundation of all public and private financial stability' |
| 0.45 | 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Regulation of securities issuance and exchanges | Federal regulation of securities and commodity exchanges, interstate holding companies and interstate utility rates |