I don't like populists. First of all, they seem a lot more popular than I am. Second, they derive their popularity from exploiting our base fears Joe McCarthy's fear of communist takeover, George Wallace's fear of black people, Lou Dobbs' fear of other cultures, Joe the Plumber's fear of working. Whereas I derive my popularity from ending paragraphs with middling jokes.
But CNBC reporter Rick Santelli's now famous rant against President Barack Obama's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade only seemed like populism. Sure, he was...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
