I came across an interesting article today posted on HuckPAC’s site. It addressed something that’s been bugging me for months. Early in the primary season, the Republican elite tried to derail the Huckabee campaign by labeling him a “populist”. Being a bear of more than a little brain, I had a fairly good idea of what that word meant. It’s roots are the same as the word “people”. Still, I decided I’d better do some research because it obviously couldn’t mean what I thought it did. It was spoken with such venom that it must have belonged in the ranks of those words my mother used to wash my mouth out for saying. Imagine my surprise when I found the definition to be pretty much what I thought it was. Here are a few:
From the American Heritage Dictionary:
1. A supporter of the rights and power of the people.

And from the Online Etymology Dictionary:

1892, Amer.Eng., from L. populus “people.” Originally in reference to the Populist Party, organized Feb. 1892 to promote certain issues important to farmers and workers. The term outlasted the party, and by 1920s came to mean “representing the views of the masses” in a general way.

Yes, the word originated with the Populist Party, which, by the way, was formed to support the issues of the middle class and rural communities. Horrors! To think that people would actually expect to have their government interested in the needs of those that feed us and do our labor.

Being a good Political Science student, I decided that this wasn’t enough research. Obviously, I was still missing something. Certainly, there must be some connection with populism and some foul dark arts. As the primary rolled on, the word took on more and more negative connotation. I witnessed the likes of Hannity and Limbaugh spit the word out as if it were spoiled milk. So, I decided to call my favorite Poli Sci prof and pick his brains. I asked him what he could tell me about conservative populism. His response? He’d never really heard of it. Said it was a bit of an oxymoron. Seriously? You mean you weren’t aware of the fact that Ronald Reagan, the idol to which all good conservatives bow, was often referred to as a conservative populist? Nope. The only example he could come up with was the Puritans! I was amazed at how thoroughly the propaganda had done its job. Not even someone with a doctorate in Political Science could comprehend of a person being able to combine the values of conservatism with the compassion of populism. When did we conservatives get such a hard reputation? When did we decide that we must sacrifice caring for others to attain fiscal responsibility? And how, on earth, did they convince those of us that are Christians that this was ok? I said, as often as anyone would listen, during the campaign: When did we allow populism to become a dirty word? Isn’t the purpose of a representative government to protect the rights of the people? To “represent” us? Or is that just some of us?

It is becoming painfully apparent that those running the Republican Party aren’t interested in the “little people”. They are interested in those that can raise millions of dollars for them without breaking a sweat. And the DNC is anathema to our social values, and frankly, take the whole government helping the little guy way too far.

So where does that leave us? It looks like we’re the Cinderella of the party. Hopefully, our prince will come soon. Hopefully, he didn’t already come and we missed him.