Roger Odisio wrote:
> The fact that Armey, and Reagan, have had some success in getting people to
> repeat their slogan that "the guvmint is the problem" doesn't make what they
> say or do "populist". Nor does the fact that some government actions *are*
> stupid or reprehensible--and should be opposed--serve to make Armey's
> antigovernment rhetoric populist.
>
> Armey is the antithesis of a populist; there is no "trace" of populism in
> him. And to approach him in the hopes of appealing to that nonexistent
> strain, as Henry suggests, is a complete waste of time.
You may be correct in you anaylsis of Armey's inner mind. I am merely suggesting that the left can use his populist "arguments" against his official positions. His professed interest in protecting mom and pop small businesses, for example, can be exploited to help progressive causes. It may be possible to capture him with his own rhetorics. In politics, there is no milage in consistency, only efficacy.
Henry C.K. Liu