Don Pelton
September 1, 2017

Kansas native, lover of populism (the good kind, the FDR kind), historian Thomas Frank gives the most brilliant analysis I’ve heard yet of the failure of the Democratic Party and the resurgence of right-wing populism (the bad kind!) all around the world.

He says that the answer to the right-wing populism that has plagued us for decades is to “give them the real thing.” He talks about why calling Trump voters “stupid” is a disastrous mistake for Democrats.

He calls Trump “a man whose main appeal is as a human middle finger raised to the complacent, responsible, status quo world.”

This talk, called “Why Democrats Lose,”  was given in Seattle in April of 2017 as an introduction to his most recent book, “Listen Liberal.” His book and his talk focus, as the title implies, on what’s wrong with the Democratic Party, and how it could return to its traditional role of representing the middle class.

Interestingly, Frank mentions that his message is not welcomed today by the current leadership of the Democratic Party, which is still obsessed with Russian dirty tricks as an excuse for losing the election. (Frank used to appear regularly on MSNBC, for instance, but is no longer invited).

His is precisely the message that Democrats should be hearing and heeding today.

Upbeat and entertaining and well worth an hour of your time.