Populism
Populism
Josh Hawley And The Republican Obsession with Manliness
He voted against one thing that can actually address what he says is the problem. Where once men felt pride in what they contributed to family and community as sole breadwinners, that is gone. The anxiety is real. In her
How To Win Working People Back from the Republicans
It was “the best and the brightest” who brought us the disaster of Vietnam. And such elitists in Democratic Party still bring avoidable disaster. From northern Iowa, Professor Wallace Hettle sees how the power of big money over the Democratic
Political Earthquake: Honduras Elects Leftist Woman
The original “banana republic,” Honduras is the second poorest country in the Caribbean region. A few wealthy and many poor. You know the story. It’s had a right wing government since a US supported coup in 2009, but on November
Violent Authoritarianism: How Did This Become the GOP?
Pat Buchanan was ahead of his time. He used the KKK’s David Duke to breed a new nativist religious nationalism, based on fear of liberalization. On this show political science professor Joseph Lowndes sheds light on how the Republican Party
Plagues and Extremism: The Perfect Storm
The assault on science and reason:we’ve seen it before. In the plagues of the 1300s and in 1918, as well as Covid-19, fear and uncertainty combine to draw out extremism. On this show professor of history at Messiah University (an
The Global Right’s Bizarre Obsession with Pedophilia
It’s the ideal fear generator; there’s nothing more awful than child abuse. Intentionally whipping up such fear is a tried and true tool for crushing democracy. Cosmopolitan globalism, the prospect of losing white male hetero dominance has been effectively played
The Power of Resentment and The Threat to Democracy
Is it the revenge of the “deplorables?” We’ve seen how a culture of resentment affected Germany in the early 30s, and it has brought us dangerous Trumpism today. On this show, professor of history emeritus Walter Moss looks at the
How the Wealth Defense Industry Poisons Democracy
As our guest Chuck Collins explains, it’s like one person orders expensive wine for a dinner crowd and sneaks out without paying. His new book is titled The Wealth Hoarders; How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions. What he calls
We Can Make the Popular Vote Rule
The Electoral College was born in a hasty compromise in the 18th century. Could it finally be about to change and enable more democracy? Though you probably haven’t heard of it, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is moving steadily
One Nation Indivisible: Really? Forever?
Sure, the south was defeated militarily, but their attitudes remained, as we saw in the January 6th insurrection. What we saw is not a fringe, in fact it has deep roots. Disunity is traditional in American history. People in the
Why Democrats Should Listen to Deep Red Nebraska
Why should population density continue to determine Democrat or Republican wins? How is it that the Democratic Party seems to have given up on what used to be our working class farm/labor base? In his new book Rural Rebellion, our
Strongmen: From Mussolini to Trump’s Republicans
It didn’t start with Trump and it won’t end when he leaves office. There is an historic pattern to strongmen and he fit the playbook perfectly. In her new book, Strongmen From Mussolini to the Present, historian of authoritarian governments
Thomas Frank’s New Book On Elitist Anti-Populism: “The People, NO”
The parties have flipped: It used to be that Republicans were for Wall Street, Democrats were for Main Street. Now the Democrats are seen as the party of the elitists, Republicans are for the common people. On this show Thomas
After A Right Wing Coup, Social Democracy Makes a Comeback
As Americans were dancing in the streets with the ousting of Trump, so the people of Bolivia celebrated the return of Evo Morales, first indigenous president after a coup forced him to flee. The new president is Luis Arce, former
We Beat Trump, Now the Battle for the Soul of the Democratic Party
Former presidential candidate best selling author Marianne Williamson talks about why Trumpism arose, and what opportunities the Democratic Party now has. Will Biden be yet another neoliberal or will he listen to the very real causes of chronic despair which
What A Defiant and Bold Democratic Party Looks Like
Even in a minority, fighting back carries a number of positives. On issues that matter to average Americans, Democrats have been pushed off course. Some thought the way to attract independents was timidity. As our guest Eleanor Eagan of the
Trump: Mobster in Chief
The often successful tactics and techniques of America’s crime syndicate have not gone unnoticed by Trump and his gangs. In his new article: “The Mobster in Chief: Will the November Election be Decided in the Streets?” returning guest John Feffer
Can Democrats Address What Fuels Angry Populism?
Populism is a legitimate form of anger at perceived elites dismissing everyday people. There are indeed real reasons for today’s populist anger. On this show Rutgers Law School professor Dennis M.Patterson explains why we need to take populism seriously. It
The Pandemic is Boosting Unions in the South
The standard picture we northerners have of The South may no longer be accurate. Average working people are starting to see that the anti-union governments there are really just serving the rich. The long-thought-dormant left populist tradition of people like
The Attack on Democracy: What’s Behind Trumpism
As Trump kicks off his fall campaign, and we wonder who is behind it, who benefits from destroying our republic, here is the story. The religious nationalists see him as a fierce leader. They believe God sends such kings to
What If Trump Loses? A Future for the Republican Party?
Donald Trump IS the Republican Party of 2020. So what of the future of the party; is there one? According to David Smith, Washington Bureau chief for The Guardian, some party members quietly hope for a Democratic landslide so they
Joe McCarthy: Prelude to Trumpism
As John Kerry said: “To understand Donald Trump, you have to understand Joe McCarthy first.” Though his name is only mentioned at the start and end of his new book, Larry Tye says Trump is there on every page of
When Political Parties Lose the Consent of the Governed: The Civil War and Donald Trump
Why did so many Obama voters go for Trump in 2016? What happens when party elites don’t know how to react to changes of popular opinion at the ground level? While they may try to do both: keep the elite
“Conservatives” Not At All Conservative
Pure individualism is not conservatism, much as though people who call themselves conservatives like to think it is. They’ll tell you the American Dream is individuals becoming super rich. But the more traditional definition is one of equal opportunity and
Out of Disaster A Liberal Renaissance in the 1920s: House of Truth
From the Covid stay-at-home greatest hits: Patriotic Americans were shocked by the outcome of the 2016 election. As they were in 1920 when Republicans put up Warren Harding, a big business Republican who campaigned and won on an America First
Is Smaller Better? Devolution Considered.
Creeping centralization. Tax dollars are being used to prop up bigness. Well there may be an answer. While I’m on vacation, enjoy this 2009 show with author Paul Starobin whose article “Divided We Stand” appeared in the Wall Street Journal.
After NH, Now What for the Democratic Candidates?
Iowa and New Hampshire’s results are in. What’s the best way for Democrats to beat Trump? On this show former Oklahoma Senator DNC chair and presidential candidate Fred Harris, who embraced populism in the 1970s, talks about different approaches: going
From The Bottom Up: Real Change, Right and Left
Populism is defined as “a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.” We never hear of the grassroots Tea Party any more because they won. The took
Brit Election Was Actually a Win for Anti-Globalist Left–Really!
Hard to imagine but the mainstream media has it wrong. What has been pictured as a crushing blow was actually a victory for progressive politics in the UK. Across Europe and Britain, working people are standing up against what our
The Crucial December 12th British Election Explained
Consumed with Brexit, the old upper and lower class divisions are themselves divided. According to professor Kenneth Surin, a Brit teaching at Duke, the decision made by voters in the upcoming general election will be of major importance. On one