The Promise and Perils of Populism by de la Torre Carlos;

Author:de la Torre, Carlos;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
Published: 2014-03-20T16:00:00+00:00

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A NEW AMERICAN POPULIST COALITION?

The Relationship between the Tea Party and the Far Right

George Michael

Populism has a long tradition in American politics. Its most recent incarnation—the Tea Party movement—arose in early 2009 not long after President Barack Obama assumed office. A severe financial crisis, run-away federal spending, and a seemingly in effective federal government response to these intractable problems provoked a widespread right-wing populist backlash. Impressionistically, attendees at Tea Party gatherings appear to be predominately white, which suggests to some critics that there is a racialist motivation behind their activism. In the main, Tea Party stalwarts reject the racist characterization and maintain that their movement is open to all Americans irrespective of race or ethnicity.

Largely dormant during the 2000s, the racialist-oriented extreme Right was also galvanized by the election of the nation’s first black president. In fact, some representatives of the extreme Right saw a silver lining in his electoral victory insofar as it was hoped that this event would shake the white masses out of their complacency.1 But whereas the Tea Party movement has supporters in Congress and the mainstream media, as well as a significant nationwide following, the extreme Right is still marginalized and locked out of the marketplace of ideas, with the exception of cyberspace. With the emergence of a mass protest movement on the political Right in the form of the Tea Party, some extreme right activists saw an opportunity to ride the new populist wave and promote their ideas to a receptive audience. But how compatible are these two movements? Are they fellow travelers?

This essay examines the relationship between the Tea Party movement and the extreme Right. First, the American populist tradition is discussed, followed by an overview of the contemporary far Right. Next, the rise of the Tea Party movement is chronicled. After that, the overlap of the two movements is examined. Finally, the conclusion looks at trends in American politics and what impact they could have on the future of populism, the Tea Party, and the far Right.

The Populist Tradition in American Politics

Episodes of populism have long punctuated American history. Several historians cite the Anti-Masonic Party of the early nineteenth century as the first right-wing reactionary movement in America.2 The case of the Anti-Masonic Party is important because several commonalties between it and subsequent populist right-wing movements can be discerned.

First, the Anti-Masonic Party grew out of angst amidst economic disruption and transition, in this case from a largely yeoman-based agrarian economy to a more commercially based economy. Second, a penchant for conspiracy theories to explain events was evident in the Anti-Masonic movement as well. The Anti-Masons were suspicious of the Freemasons who figured so prominently in the American establishment during that era. Viewing the secret society as a formidable enemy, the Anti-Masons felt themselves to be an embattled minority whose mission it was to spread the “truth” that they had uncovered.3 Related to this was the anti-statist tradition; Anti-Masons believed that the U.S. government was virtually under the control of Freemasons, an observation not without some merit at the time.

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