Politics of Resentment (2 of 2)
The cultural turmoil of the 1960s resurrected Nixon’s political career. His strong activation of the politics of resentment keyed his success in 1968 and 1969. Nixon developed two rhetorical tropes which he powerfully used. He combined into one group (1) the angry minorities rioting and taking welfare in the cities and (2) the anti-authority college youth with their antiwar campus activism. Nixon argued that both groups victimized everyday Americans with their disobedience, drugs, and violence. When he spoke of one group, he was simultaneously capturing popular resentment against the other.
During his 1968 campaign Nixon said, “our first commitment as a nation in this time of crisis and questioning must be a commitment to order.” Nixon initially blamed students for the violent deaths at Kent State University (the National Guard fired on student protesters in May 1970, killing four students and wounding nine), a position favored by many in the population.… Read the rest
Plutocratic Populism
“It is impossible to make sense of our current politics without wrestling with this central contradiction of the past twenty-five years of Republican governance.” This quote identifies the central paradox in understanding our current political situation as addressed in a recent paper by Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson. The “contradiction” in the quote refers to (1) the biggest complaint about taxes among ordinary Republicans has consistently been that the rich and corporations do not pay their fair share vs. (2) the intent of governing Republicans to ensure that these groups increasingly pay less taxes.
Our current political scene generates a great many topics that seek to explain our polity of today.… Read the rest
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