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Robinson isn’t talking about Trump voters, when he talks about the supposed “populist right,” and he doesn’t try to “define” those voters. He’s talking about those in power, which includes Trump, and the fraud they consistently perpetrate on those voters. Compare, for instance, Trump’s deeds to his rhetoric and the fraud is beyond obvious. Compare his deeds to virtually any president in the last 100 years (or more), and no one comes close to his deadly and destructive actions, or his lies.
No–Robinson starts by talking about the voters & Ball and Enjeti’s attempt to talk to these voters. Take a look at the beginning of the article:
There is a populist movement, they [Ball & Enjeti] write, as seen in “working class uprisings across the globe, from Donald Trump’s election [to] Bernie Sanders’ campaign.”
Reading the book, I found the idea of “left populism” and “right populism” being a unified “working class politics” to be deeply troubling. After all, once you get past abstractions like “families are the future,” what is “right” populism? Who are the right-wing populists? Well, they tend to be authoritarian nationalists who say the word “workers” a lot but are actually deeply xenophobic and militaristic. Are Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders part of the same movement?
Robinson, then shifts to Tucker, Trump, and Hawley to dismiss the idea of trying to talk to the populist Right voters so that the US moves away from corporate Dem & Rep positions.
Robinson’s assertion seems to be that Tucker & Trump are representatives these voters have specifically chosen and look how terrible those two are. There can never be any significant work done between Bernie voters and the Trump voters because those voters have chosen repulsive leaders to represent them.
Robinson is probably right–It’s hard to see our leaders in DC start working for actually smart and good policies because voters have almost zero ability to choose capable leaders.
But, the failure is also a failure of the press. I find Robinson’s argument more “sound and fury” than anything insightful and helpful. If you want to talk about right wing populism and say anything interesting in 2020, you should at least use Thomas Frank who has written about this stuff, for what, 20 years?
Part of the failure to move toward better policies is the Left’s failure. Bernie has failed to talk effectively to anyone outside his own camp. A year ago, Bernie did a Fox Town Hall and ended up advocating for the right to vote for people in jail.
Think about that, the leader of the Left goes on Fox and advocates a fringe position that regular Fox News Americans will laugh at and just dismiss. Going on Fox to talk sense to those voters is a good idea, but you have to sell your ideas and make appealing arguments.
Another example, remember Bernie’s appearance on 60 Minutes when he ended up defending his interest in Cuban communism by praising Cuban literacy? That was a super easy question to respond to. Bernie flat out failed.
Of course, most of the responsibility for our current situation belongs to the people who watch Fox and continue to vote for republicans. Robinson is right to be annoyed by Ball’s attempt to talk to these voters. But where will be if these people don’t come to their senses?
Am in the middle of a good book on the Inquisition, God’s Jury, by Cullen Murphy.
Follow its story and you’re following “the right.” Same as it ever was.
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If I can be GM of “the left” for a moment, this is what I’d do:
Oppose the entire right, without exception, with the highest sense of urgency, courage and intensity. Do whatever we can, legally, non-violently, to unseat them from all levers of power. Do that first. Then go after “the center.”
To me, it’s a huge mistake to attack “the center” first, and it’s absolutely insane, IMO, to seek some coalition with the right to make those attacks. This only strengthens the right, and they’re never going to share power. Not gonna happen.
Legally, non-violently wipe out the right, and we transform “the center” into the new conservatives. Then we focus our opposition on them. That’s what I’d do if I were the leftist Les Snead.
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