Keeping Democracy Alive with Burt Cohen
From The Bottom Up: Real Change, Right and Left
Populism is defined as “a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.” We never hear of the grassroots Tea Party any more because they won. The took over the Republican Party. And on the side of restoring democracy one group calls itself “The Bad Ass Grandmothers of North Dakota.” It too is effective. On part one, journalist Hedrick Smith talks about his new documentary: “The Democracy Rebellion,” airing on PBS stations nationally. In the face of what he calls the “Niagara of money” from the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, 2018 was the best year yet for grassroots groups successfully restoring democracy. And on part two, Professor Steve Hochstadt looks back to 2010 when the then-outsider Tea Party entered politics with a splash, catching the party establishment off guard. Their economic agenda may have been a cover for their real agenda of while male domination now embraced by the new Trumpist Republican Party. Listen in and see how grassroots effort takes time, but it does produce results.