Populist Puppeteering

populist - pop•u•list (pŏp'yə-lĭst)
noun - a supporter of the rights and power of the people.
adjective -of or relating to populism or its advocates: a populist aversion to business monopolies.

Populist is the label hastily pasted on the rudderless tea party and the right-wing Republican hijackers of their anger by the shallow talking heads masquerading as the press. But is the stamp correct? For one perspective take the following short quiz:

1 – Destruction of a public option in health care reform available to a broad swath of our middle class working and poor populations in favor of big insurance company interests was undermined and defeated by:
A. Liberal Reformers
B. Conservative Activists

2 – Opposition to creating a Consumer Protection Agency to ensure that abuses of middle class consumers and investors by big financial market, banking, and marketing interests is being lead by:
A. Liberal Reformers
B. Conservative Activists

3 – Anti-government rhetoric being applied to thwart efforts to overhaul student loan programs by ending government subsidies for private lenders and protecting working class family and poor students from predatory lending abuses is being heard from:
A. Liberal Reformers
B. Conservative Activists

4 – Efforts to move forward on clean energy policies and environmental issues to benefit future generations of all Americans are most adamantly opposed by:
A. Liberal Reformers
B. Conservative Activists

5 – Protecting big corporations, special interests, and the wealthy contributing a graduated fair share of taxes that would provide the greatest good for all people is largely associated with:
A. Liberal Reformers
B. Conservative Activists

The problem with populism is that it is easily hijacked by those who adopt the rhetoric to further their own ends but never to lead angry activists toward concrete action that serves the people purported to be represented by a populist movement. The game plan comes straight from the Republican play book on divisive social issues and anti-tax market worship. The right wing is ready to ride on the tea party boat to harvest their votes. As many of these new activists dress up in colonial garb and wave revolutionary flags they should remember that the 1773 Boston Tea Party outcry of "no taxation without representation" was a principled opposition to corporate monopolies in league with a government that did not act in the best interests of the people. Liberals should engage individual tea party activists toward careful analysis of their working and middle class true interests to win them over from anger primed by rhetorical demagogues who will steal their votes to serve the wealthy conservative market-manipulating elites.