The ‘Green New Deal’ Is Popular. Now Backers Need to Decide What It Is, Exactly

Americans remember the New Deal as a set of programs designed to end the Great Depression. But in the months before he became president, Franklin Roosevelt used the phrase more to describe how he would approach the problem: by engaging in "bold persistent experimentation."

"It is common sense to take a method and try it," he said. "If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.

Americans remember the New Deal as a set of programs designed to end the Great Depression. But in the months before he became president, Franklin Roosevelt used the phrase more to describe how he would approach the problem: by engaging in "bold persistent experimentation." "It is common sense to take a method and try it," he said. "If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.