WE
THE
POPULISTS
A NEW
APPLICATION
FOR
FOR OLDSCHOOL
POPULISM
Populism, defined either as an
ideology, or a political
philosophy, or a type of discourse,
i.e., of sociopolitical thought...
that compares "the people"
against "the elite", and urges
social and political system
changes.
It is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as:
"political ideas and activities
that are intended to represent
ordinary people's needs and
wishes". It can be understood
as any political discourse
that appeals to the general
mass of the population, to the
"people" as such, regardless of
class distinctions and
political partisanship "a
folksy appeal to the 'average
guy' or some allegedly general
will".
This is in opposition to
statism, (the statusquo)
which holds that a small
group of professional
politicians know better than
the people and should make
decisions on behalf of them.
Populism is the only
acceptable course of
Revolution that has become
increasingly necessary in the
politically corrupt and non
representative manner in
which the Government of the
United States of America is
operating in 2011.
POPULISM is the only way to
restore “Power to the People”
in an authoritarian, top
down process of political
decision making corrupted by
Lobbyists
Corporate Greed
and
Selfserving Elected Officials.
WE THE POPULISTS ARE
TIRED OF POLITICAL
CORRUPTION
and
WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE
IT ANYMORE!
READ ON!
Populism has taken
leftwing, rightwing,
and even centrist
forms, as well as
forms of politics that
bring together groups
and individuals of
diverse partisan
views.
Populists will be viewed
by some politicians as a
largely democratic and
positive force in society,
while other politicians
will cry out and contend
that POPULIST movement
is irrational and will
introduce instability into
the political process.
Classical populism
The word populism is derived
from the Latin word populus,
which means people in
English (in the sense of
"nation", as in: "We the
American People".
Therefore, populism espouses
government by the people as a
whole (that is to say, the
masses). This is in contrast to
elitism, aristocracy, synarchy
or plutocracy, each of which
is an ideology that espouse
government by a small,
privileged group above the
masses.
Populism has been a
common political
phenomenon
throughout history.
The populist tradition
and its rebirth
There have been several versions of a
populist party in the United States,
some inspired by the Populist Party of
the 1890s. This was the party of the
early U.S. populist movement in
which millions of farmers and other
working people successfully enacted
their anti-trust agenda.[citation
needed]
Other early populist political parties in
the United States included the
Greenback Party, the Progressive
Party of 1912 led by Theodore
Roosevelt, the Progressive Party of
1924 led by Robert M. La Follette,
Sr., and the Share Our Wealth
movement of Huey Long in 1933–35.
Populism continues to be a force in
modern U.S. politics, especially in the
1992 and 1996 third-party presidential
campaigns of billionaire Ross Perot.
The 1996, 2000, 2004, and the 2008
presidential campaigns of Ralph
Nader had a strong populist cast.
Comparison between earlier surges of
populism and those of today are
complicated by shifts in what are
thought to be the interests of the
common people. Jonah Goldberg and
others argue that in modern society,
fractured as it is into myriad interest
groups and niches, any attempt to
define the interests of the "average
person" will be so general as to be
useless.
Another populist mechanism was
the initiative and referendum driven
term limits movement of the early
1990s. In every state where term
limits were on the ballot, the
measure to limit incumbency in
Congress passed. The average vote
was 67% in favor. However, the
U.S. Supreme Court struck down
term limits in 1995 in the court case
U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton.
[97]
Some thinktanks such as the
Cato Institute in America or
the CEE Council in Europe
have argued that the
increased partisanship of
both Congress and the Senate
could undermine the Obama
Administration's plans to
reform health care and
revamp bank regulations.
THIS IS NOT WHAT THE
MAJORITY OF THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT
FOR THE FUTURE!
THIS IS ONLY IN THE
INTEREST OF THE GREEDY
CORPORATIONS AND THE
LOBBYISTCONTROLLED
ELECTED
REPRESENTATIVES
WHO STAND TO PROFIT
FROM THIS!
REVOLUTION IS IN THE
AIR... LOOK AT WHAT'S
HAPPENING IN EGYPT!
Representative
democracy is a form of
Government founded
on the principle of
elected individuals
representing the people,
as opposed to autocracy
and direct democracy.
HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF
REPRESENTATIVES
Between 1774 and 1789, 13 colonies became a nation – the
United States of America. In 1774, Great Britain's North
American colonies first came together to defend themselves
against wrongs committed by their "mother country." By 1789,
these colonies had become independent states, joined by a new
federal constitution into a single nation.
Assembling representatives from every colony, the Continental
Congress (1774-1789) began as a coordinated effort to resist the
British. With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, the
Congress became the central institution for managing the
struggle for American independence.
In 1783, with the war formally drawing to a close, the Congress
faced a wider range of issues: the disbanding of the Continental
Army, the large debts owed by each state, foreign debts owed by
the Confederation, the governing of territories won from the
British, and the establishment of formal relationships with
foreign countries.
Despite the Congress's continued efforts to improve its
effectiveness, many Americans saw the need for a more powerful
central authority; the Congress as defined by the Articles of
Confederation was too weak to make the states obey
congressional mandates. Anxious for change, in 1786, leading
statesmen called for a special convention to revise the Articles --
the Constitutional Convention.
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 proposed a new
constitution establishing a much stronger national government.
Although this controversial new Constitution provoked a great
deal of resistance, it was eventually ratified by the necessary
number of states, replacing the Articles of Confederation as the
framework of the United States government.
Debate and compromise, controversy and tedious detail, foreign
affairs and domestic problems, are all included in the 267
documents of the Continental Congress and Constitutional
Convention Broadside Collections. Including public
announcements of congressional actions, drafts of legislation,
committee reports, and final versions of legislation or treaties,
these broadsides illustrate the evolution of a government, from a
legislative body called together in the crisis of war, to an
intricate system of checks and balances. These documents show
the birth of the American nation.
Representative democracy is a form of
government founded on the principle of
elected individuals representing the people,
as opposed to autocracy.
SO, …
HOW DO “WE THE POPULISTS”
TAKE BACK THE POWER FROM
ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES
WHO ARE SERVING THE
INTERESTS OF CORPORATIONS
and “SPECIAL INTERESTS” FOR
THEIR OWN PERSONAL GAIN?
THE ANSWER...
RESTORE THE
POWER OF DECISION
MAKING TO THE
CITIZENS OF THE
UNITED STATES!
HOW
CAN WE DO THIS?
THROUGH THE USE
OF MODERN
TECHNOLOGY!
The concept of elected officials was born
at the time that men rode on horses. It
was not possible for “The People” to
leave their farms/shops and vote on
critical public policy and expenditure
decisions!
IN THE YEAR 2011
VIRTUALLY EVERY AMERICAN
HAS THE ABILITY TO CAST A
BALLOT ON EVERY ISSUE THAT IS
CURRENTLY VOTED ON BY OUR
CONGRESSMEN and SENATORS!
THIS CAN EASILY BE
ACCOMPLISHED IN THE
“DIGITAL AGE” VIA:
CELL PHONES,
LAPTOP/DESKTOP
COMPUTERS, and
DIGITAL CABLE
TELEVISION
WE CAN RID OUR SYSTEM OF
GOVERNMENT OF MUCH OF THE
GREED AND CORRUPTION THAT
WORRIES MOST OF US BY
DEMANDING THAT OUR
REPRESENTATIVES TRULY
REPRESENT US!
REPRESENTATIVES SHOULD BE
NOTHING MORE THAN A VEHICLE
TO DELIVER THE VOTE OF THE
PEOPLE ON EACH AND EVERY
ISSUE RATHER THAN VOTING
THEMSELVES.
MOST
IMPORTANTLY...
IF YOU
DON'T VOTE...
DONT BITCH
THE POWER IN A DEMOCRACY
LIES IN THE ABILITY TO VOTE.
THOSE ELECTED OFFICIAL WHO
CRY OUT AGAINST THIS FAIR
SYSTEM WILL PROBABLY BE
THOSE WHO ARE CONTROLLED BY
TOO MUCH MONEY FROM THE
CORPORATE AND “SPECIAL
INTERESTS” WHO ARE BUYING
THEIR VOTES!
DON'T YOU AGREE?
TELL YOUR
FRIENDS!
LET'S GO VIRAL!
