Jesse Lemisch <utopia1 at attglobal.net> wrote: I don't know any historians today who are, as Doug says "surprised that a lot of populism today is pretty right wing." Generally, we are not religious mystics in our hopes for better popular movements. We know there are popular movements of the left, right and in between. What those of us arguing against Hofstadter are saying -- and I just don't think Doug is listening -- is that there was and is no truth to the idea of H and of so many others that popular movements are necessarily fascist, and that's what's there in his argument for the continuity between a supposed right-wing Populism and a supposed grassroots McCarthyism. I hope that Doug might reconsider his romanticization of bad guys like Hofstadter and envision the possibility of a left-wing populism. It had long been my impression that Doug was in favor of that as a prerequisite for democratic change, but now I'm not sure what he's for.
Jesse Lemisch
Well, I used to believe in the "possibility of a left wing populism," then I went out and did some actual political organizing. Holy sh*t, that pig isn't going to fly. The "prerequisite for democratic change" is agitation by despised minorities, like gays and illegal immigrants. The masses are the last to come along.
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