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Norm Conrad's avatar

I object to the use of "populist" as ANYTHING related to the right-wing authoritarians like Orbán, Bolsonaro, Duterte, LePen, Trump, etc. They are nativists; they are bigots; they are charlatans; they are crooks; they are _______________. But they are NOT populists. You know very well that Populism originated in the US as a reaction to the trusts (AKA monopolies) that were abusing farmers and share croppers across the South, the southern Great Plains, the Midwest, etc. The Populists were inclusive and non-racist. The term comes from that movement. They were a democratic movement that is pretty much the exact opposite of the nativist charlatans and authoritarians you are referring to. In his attempt to clarify but justify his constant use of the term, even Jan-Werner Müller declares that "Populists were not populists".

In my opinion, using the term in this way demeans the Populist democracy movement that joined with the labor movement and led to the Progressive era of the early 20th century.

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Legend's avatar

Trump and his cronies have basically hijacked the Republican Party name. They are not Republican's. Only a handful of Republican's still exist i.e. Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney etc. Despite all of the recent and past books etc. revealing what a mess the White House was, nothing sticks. Trump is still the leader and carries the title of head of the Republican Party. He is not Republican, Fascist is a better term, but few understand that. They are now openly planning the takeover and it is getting very little if any criticism from the Right Wing.

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