BUT WHAT KIND OF POPULISM? My friend Cliff Schecter has a new article lauding the populist approach of Midwestern and border state Democrats. I'm always happy to see such pieces, mainly because it would be good if part of the post-election narrative for Democrats, assuming they win, is that a resurgent populist appeal pushed them over the finish line. I would, however, be grateful if writers began defining their terms a bit. The fact that these politicians are populist is simply asserted -- what the label means beyond thinking economic hardship is bad is never explained. There are many different types of populist appeals and many different ways to frame them. Among those which Democrats are assumedly not engaging in are tirades against the Jews and rants deriding intellectuals. Hopefully, they are recognizing the value of some healthy anticorporate sentiment. But it would be good to know who's doing what, and how it's working. Looking at poll numbers, overwhelming majorities of Republicans feel power is too concentrated among corporations and believe government regulation is necessary to protect the public interest. That bespeaks a potential for an anticorporate, pro-government populism we've not seen in awhile. But these articles rarely explain if Democrats are taking that step, or if they're puttering to a close with boilerplate about health care costs and profits.
----Ezra Klein
