Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: So I hear that Bernie Sanders isn't really a Democrat [View all]Tom Rinaldo
(22,912 posts)No doubt what you describe has happened in the past, is happening in places now, and can happen virtually anywhere in the future. But populism tends to surge, whether from the left or right, when genuine systematic problems go un or under addressed by those whose hands hold the levers of power. Right wing populism is virtually always fueled by manipulating fears and redirecting them to service the interests of the few.
The anti Vietnam war movement was a populist movement that challenged the then leadership of both the Republican and Democratic parties and it had its roots in a genuine rejection of the direction that our nation was then being steered toward. It flared up in response to Vietnam, but U.S interventionist internationalist policies had a long and decidedly checkered track record. In South America for example, and in Iran where U.S. involvement in the overthrow of a democratically elected government there and the installation of the Shah ultimately led to the Islamist revolution and the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehranand much of the unrest in the Middle East today.
Populism fed the growth of the U.S. Labor movement at the turn of twentieth century, which was not led by the then established political parties. With nimble and responsive political leadership, populism can be harnessed into a force for social good. and it can be channeled constructively. But populism arises naturally in times of stress. It can not simply be condemned for its unruly nature and then wished away. FDR is probably the prime example in American history of a responsible political leader who knew how to channel populism for the good of our nation.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden