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Is Toxic Populism on the Wane?
The last decade saw the rise of populist movements in the United States. At the moment, the far right is of most concern, but populism is not limited to the right. It would be a mistake to think this, as this would assure a nasty surprise. Nor is populism unheard of in the United States. The two major flavors are on the left flank of American politics and the right. It was obvious with both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street. Both were a reaction to two moments in time. The former was to the election of Barack Obama. The latter to the financial crisis of 2008. Both were received badly for vastly different reasons. For the tea party, the election of the first black president was the worst thing that could happen to white men. The financial crisis of 2008 led to OWS.
There were differences in the reactions. This matters for they signal a difference between a more emotion-driven populism and a more cerebral populism. The Tea Party was built purely on emotion and grievance. Its origin is the election of a black man to the presidency. It had very little in policy ideas, and its love for financial discipline was skin deep. It came from a conviction that the Affordable Care Act or the financial relief packages could, the operative word here, could, help minorities. The presidency of the first black man was bad enough Which led to open hate and threats.