US Representative
Strongly opposed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's foreign and domestic policies, Bender articulated his criticism in the polemical The Challenge of 1940 (1940). The only aspects of Roosevelt's agenda that escaped Bender's censure were certain humanitarian New Deal programs, notably the Works Progress Administration, which he accepted only as a temporary measure. With the onset of the Cold War after 1945, Bender opposed the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine.
He did not question the necessity of helping European countries devastated by the war, but he disagreed with the idea that the US government should take a direct role in channeling the relief aid. He argued that assistance for European recovery should come either through the United Nations or private relief organizations. He also fervently opposed aid to Greece and Turkey, where British influence had been strong, on the premise that US involvement in the region only accommodated the "needs of a collapsing British empire" without benefiting the United States.
His reputation for strong party loyalty brought Bender the job of organizer for Ohio Senator Robert Taft's candidancy for the presidential nomination at the 1948 and 1952 Republican National Conventions. His public role included arranging musical entertainment, conducting singing, leading demonstrations, and ringing cowbells. His often comic antics led to many unfairly dismissive jokes, as his opponents quickly dubbed him the "Clown Prince." This mockery did not diminish the fact that he remained a serious and influential political figure.
Bender is seen in a famous 1952 newsreel addressing a gathering of over 15,000 people in the Cleveland Public Auditorium immediately after Richard Nixon had given his wildly successful Checkers speech on television. Bender asks the crowd to show if they are for Nixon and he is greated with a thunderous ovation of support.
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