A genie thatwas let out of the bottle

At the height of his political career, he enjoyed near-total control of the government and all key agencies. Knowing the power of public relations, he owned a newspaper and went on the electronic airwaves frequently and effectively to propagate his vision and his programmes. He was larger than life, knew it, basked in it, lived up to it, and exploited it to push the envelope and his agenda to the farthest degree.

While in public office, he invested public money in roads, bridges, railways and a vast array of infrastructure mega projects. In so doing, he may have kept more of the spoils for himself than what he gave away to the masses as freebies in the name of public services. But it did not matter. He was the first politician who gave poor constituents a sense of entitlement and empowerment. He would resort to any and all means, be it bribery, cronyism or patronage, to get what he wanted. To his supporters and admirers, he could do no wrong.

If this sounds all too familiar, the man in question is not who you think he is.

This man lived between 1893 and 1935. His name was Huey Pierce Long Jr, an American and a Democrat who served as governor of Louisiana and went on to become a US senator from that state. He lived a short 42 years but his legacy and political machinery lived on as long, if not longer.

His wife was appointed to replace him in the Senate after he was assassinated. His son, Russell B Long, was elected to the same chamber from 1948 to 1987 and had a Senate building named after him. Huey Long's brother was elected governor of Louisiana for two non-consecutive terms. Another of his brothers, George S Long, was elected to the US House of Representatives.

There have been so many other Longs who were elected to public office that the family was dubbed "The Long Democratic Dynasty". His political legacy has been the subject of study in social and political sciences since his death.

Huey Long inspired not only political players of his and later generations, but also artists, writers and musicians. Songs, books and movies have been written about him. The title of his first autobiography, "Every Man A King", published in 1933 and derived from his political motto, became the title of a song which is often referred to as the State of Louisiana's anthem.

Indeed, Huey Long has attained the status of a folk hero. The myths and facts about him have become so intertwined and indistinguishable and their effects quite polarising.

Born to a poor rural family, Long became a politician whose radical populist policies made him the champion of the poor and the abandoned. He won his first Louisiana gubernatorial race in 1928 by the largest margin in the state's history - by tapping into the class resentment of rural Louisianans and by giving them hope for a better future.

He replaced the traditional geographic and religious divide of Louisiana with a class-based schism between poor farmers and wealthy planters, and powerful political machines that were his opposition. The rural poor gave him, in return, enormous political clout and power. He thrived in the state's dysfunctional system of government, which was plagued by fraud, irregularities, and influence peddling. He himself was the mirror image of the system that created him, but he managed to turn it into his most deadly weapon.

Once elected to public office, Long started consolidating his power and expanding his network by harshly punishing his opponents and handsomely rewarding his allies. After an impeachment effort against him, Long became even more blatantly ruthless.

"I used to get things done by saying please," he said. "Now I dynamite them out of my path."

He took control of all State commissions of any significance, except, in his own words, the Red Cross. But he also embarked on the promulgation of several massive social policies and development programmes that made President Roosevelt's New Deal seem tame.

His programmes included free school books for every child, free school buses, free night courses to improve literacy, an expanded public education system, construction of universities with lower tuition fees, scholarships for low-income students, and the building of a Charity Hospital that lasted until Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city of New Orleans. He put in place a free dental care programme and cheap energy supplies for poor city dwellers. And the list goes on.

Long also launched ambitious, expansive efforts to build and improve Louisiana's infrastructure such as new roads, a new airport, new highways, new railways and bridges, a capital building, and pipelines.

In the Senate, Long built his campaign as a referendum on his social programmes when he was governor of Louisiana. In 1934 he put forward an economic plan called "Share Our Wealth", under which he proposed a new, progressive "Rob Peter To Pay Paul" tax code that would effectively reduce personal fortunes and guarantee every poor family a basic household grant and minimum annual income.

His proposals called for free education, free healthcare, retirement pensions, veterans' benefits and greater economic opportunities for a majority trapped in poverty.

Huey Long's is a story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde that should give us some perspective on our own political stage and the players that appear on it. One may choose to praise Huey Long; others condemn him. But there is no denying that he unleashed a powerful social and political force that attracted a fierce and loyal following that lasted for several decades after his passing.

Long let the genie out of the bottle, and the genie was not going to go back in without putting up a good fight. Any attempt to put him away instantly proved to be an impossible task - one that led those who tried into a perfect political storm.