… Republicans and conservatives have a brand problem. Their presidential campaign will only aggravate it as candidates are forced to double-down on an ideology that is in danger of decline. Moreover, the next year is likely to intensify deep stresses inside their coalition. Mike Huckabee gleefully highlighted these frictions when […] Read more »
Left vs. Right: How Populism Plays in 2016 Race
The 2016 presidential campaign is just getting underway, but so far one message seems clear: populism’s moment has arrived. After years of tough economic times candidates are especially focused on “the little guy” – or at least the littler guy. … But expect very different brands of populism to be […] Read more »
Establishment Populism Rising
Larry Summers, who withdrew his candidacy for the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve under pressure from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party in 2013, has emerged as the party’s dominant economic policy strategist. The former Treasury secretary’s evolving message has won over many of his former critics. Summers’s ascendance […] Read more »
Are Americans ready for Obama’s ‘middle class’ populism?
President Barack Obama enters his coming budget battle with the Republican-led Congress in a climate of American public opinion that is surprisingly positive. … The president’s policies addressing income inequality generally meet with strong conceptual approval: The public heartily endorses efforts to improve the lot of poor people. At the […] Read more »
The Problem With Middle Class Populism
… When the middle-class populist message is turned into actual legislative proposals, the costs, in the form of higher taxes, will be imposed on the affluent. Such a shift in the allocation of government resources threatens the loyalty of a crucial Democratic constituency: well-off socially liberal voters. Over the past […] Read more »
Populism? Where are the pitchforks?
Americans are in a surly mood, confronting rules they feel are rigged against them. President Barack Obama captured this populist temper in his re-election campaign. He then launched his second term declaring that inequality is the “most pressing challenge of our time,” and laying out a popular agenda to raise […] Read more »