American history is the history of populist uprisings. From the Revolutionary War to the coalfield wars, from labor organizers to anti-tax crusaders, from the New Deal to the current conservative era, backlashes to the status quo have defined every major political era. These uprisings have given us candidates from Goldwater to Dean, and presidents from Roosevelt to Reagan — and the populist uprising that delivered Barack Obama the Democratic presidential nomination means history could be forged once again.
What are populist uprisings? Loosely defined, they are a welling up of anger toward the established order — revolts that are often the precursor to a full-fledged social movement. The uprising against inequality during the Great Depression fueled the labor movement and the New Deal, which raised wages and created the middle class. The uprising against Jim Crow laws in the 1960s became the civil rights movement, which made America more equal. The uprising against liberalism during the late 1970s became the conservative movement of the 1980s, which deregulated the economy and fed the military-industrial complex.
It is that rebellion three decades ago that tells us we are indeed experiencing another uprising… (from “The Populist Uprising,” Common Dreams)
Brilliant young best-selling progressive author and activist David Sirota is coming to Orange County this Sunday afternoon to discuss and sign his latest book, “The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington.” It seems too bad that this is partly a fundraiser for the Democratic Party of Orange County, because I think Sirota’s messages should be inspiring to progressives and populists of any party or none. So all of you come anyway and ask David some tough questions, he’s great dealing with hostile right-wingers. A lot of us became Sirota fans after seeing his smackdown of faux-libertarian corporatist scoundrel John Stossel on CNBC last year. Click here to see that, and say hi Sunday! Here is the meeting information:
Date: Sunday, June 8th
Time: 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm
Location: Carpenters Union Hall
1916 W. Chapman Ave., Orange CA 92856
$30 Sustaining Members* (includes book)
$35 General Admission (includes book)
$20 General Admission (does not include book)
Light refreshments will be served.
I’m so bummed about missing this but we have a very important birthday party to attend. Charlotte is having her fifth birthday party at the Santa Ana zoo!
Someone touch Sirota for me and thank him for fighting for progressive populism.
I’m going.
Should be good.