Understanding & Challenging Right-Wing Populism

Note: Please be patient, these pages are under construction!

Tea Parties, Town Halll Protests, what's going on here? Robert Reich explained the roots of the political upset in Massachusetts many months ago:

Make no mistake: Angry right-wing populism lurks just below the surface of the terrible American economy, ready to be launched not only at Obama but also at liberals, intellectuals, gays, blacks, Jews, the mainstream media, coastal elites, crypto-socialists, and any other potential target of paranoid opportunity.

Watch for PRA Senior Analyst Chip Berlet's Cover Story on the Tea Partiers in the Progressive Magazine; his column on producerist populism in Z Magazine, and his article on what people of faith can do, appearing online at Religion Dispatches.

Watch Out for GOP Populism by Thomas Frank

How Should Progressives Challenge Right-Wing Populism?

• Read an interview with progressive activists Suzanne Pharr, Loretta Ross, and Chip Berlet.
• To Combat the Tea Bag Populists, Reject the ‘Producerist’ Frame!
• Responding to Right-Wing Populism by Bill Fletcher, Jr.
• Right-Wing Populism and Fascism
• Understanding Coded Racist & Antisemitic Rhetoric

Video & Audio

• Democracy Now! - Militias, Right-Wing Populism, & White Nationalism
• Listen to Terry Gross of Fresh Air interview about Toxic to Democracy
• Democracy Now! - Tea Parties, Town Halls, & Healthcare

Basic Introduction

• What is Populism?
• What is Right-Wing Populism?
• What is Producerism? (includes slide shows)
• Basic Chart on Producerist Populism

Current Manifestations

• The Christian Right
• Political Realignment
• From Reds to Bed
• Why Right-Wing Demagogues Are Tying to Peddle Ludicrous Conspiracy Theories
• Where is there a Potential for Violence?

Activists Resource Guide

• Who is Paying a Price During this Right-Wing Populist Backlash?
  • Immigrants & Immigrant Rights Activists
  • People of Color & Racial Justice Activists
  • Muslims & Arabs
  • Jews & Jewish Institutions
  • The LGBTQ Communities & Gay Rights Activists
  • Reproductive Justice Activists
  • Civil Rights Activists
  • Peace & Antiwar Activists
  • Environmental Justice Activists
  • Economic Justice and Labor Rights Activists
• Who is Targeted for Recruitment by Right-Wing Populist Organizers?
  • Youth/Students
  • Activists Opposing Globalization on behalf of Corporate Interests
  • Ecology & Global Warming Activists
  • Activists for Peace in the Middle East

How Should We Respond to Right-Wing Populism?

• Overview: Responding to Right-Wing Populism
• Ground Rules and Tips for Challenging the Right
• Why Trivializing Right-Wing Populism Backfires
• Why Demonization and Dismissive Labels Don't Work
• Why "Extremism" is a Counterproductive Term
• What's Wrong with Centrist/Extremist Theory?

Background Research

How does Right-Wing Populism Work?

• Basic Chart on Producerist Populism {as pdf handout} {view as jpg}
• Where Does Right-Wing Populism Fit in the Political Scene?{slide show}
• How Does Right-Wing Populist Producerism Facilitate Scapegoating? {slide show}
• What are the Main Sectors of the Political Right in the US?

Right-Wing Populist Movements in the U.S.

Tea Bag & Town Hall Protestors

• Elite Framing, Corporate Astroturfing & Grassroots Movements

Economic Libertarians

• Public Healthcare = Socialism = Fascism
  • Hayek
  • von Mises
• Ron Paul, Racism, and Conspiracy Theories
• Astroturfing
• Corporate Propaganda

Patriot and Armed Militia Movements

• What is the Patriot Movement?
• What is the Armed Citizens Militia Movement?
• Who are the Consitutionalists, Freeman, Sovereign Citizens, etc.?

Christian Dominionism

• What is Christian Theocracy and Dominionism?
• What is Apocalyptic Aggression?
• What is Christian Reconstruction?
• What is the Army of God?
• What is Christian Identity?

Nebulous Conspiracy Theorists

• Timeline of Conspiracy Theories
• How Conspiracy Theory Stories Overlap
• Scholary Article on North American Union Conspiracy Theories
• Hucksterism and Conspiracism
• Power Structure Research v. Conspiracism
• Conspiracism & Antisemitism
• Conspiracism & Islamophobia

Related Pages

• Report: Toxic to Democacy: Conspiracy Theories, Demonization, & Scapegoating
• Patriots & Militias
• The Murder of Dr. George Tiller
• The Tools of Fear
  • Dualism
  • Demonization
  • Scapegoating
  • Apocalyptic Aggression
• Conspiracism
• What's Wrong with Centrist/Extremist Theory?