LGF has a most interesting post, with links, regarding Pat Buchanan, Tom Tancredo and the lesser known Marcus Epstein. These people are finding common cause with known European Fascists.
This has caused me to think about "Populism", and the perils thereof.
Personally, I've never cared for "Populists", however they're masked. When I hear someone portrayed as a "Populist", I , envision a guy with a noose in his hand, rallying the mob to do his bidding.
In my view, "Populism" is no more than mob rule, appealing more to emotion than to reason.
In recent years, "Populism" has been trotted out wearing a "Conservative" mask; Pat "peasants with pitchforks" Buchanan, Ross Perot, Tom Tancredo and, most recently, Ron Paul are the most notable. They all offer "simple" solutions to complex problems and inspire a nearly blind allegiance among their followers.
This isn't Conservatism; it's fascism. We ask Muslims to disown the radicals in their midst, so must we disown the radicals in ours.
I don't know if Pat Buchanan went to the dark side at some point over the last 20 years, or if he's always been on the dark side and kept it well hidden. At this point, I don't care; he is a dark figure in American politics and delights in playing upon the vilest emotions in the recesses of man.
As for Tom Tancredo, his overheated rhetoric regarding immigration always had a putrid smell of racism.
These perilous times do not call for "Populists" or the tainted message that they sell; these times call for reason and statesmanship. These people are neither Conservative nor are they Republican and their very presence among us marginalizes all of us.
Conservatives must embrace a positive message, offer reasoned solutions to the problems before us and, most importantly, extricate the crypto-fascist parasite that threatens our worthy goals.
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