Populism means breaking up with the moral scolds

Republicans are too tight with the financial elites. Democrats are too tight with the cultural elites.

People don't like being told they are low-class, deplorable--but privileged--racists.

Smug Republican: "Moral Majority."

Donald Trump understands cultural populism. 

He speaks in plain English, with short sentences, a tiny vocabulary, and usually extemporaneously. The style imbeds a message of honesty because it seems frank and unstudied and unguarded even when he is telling an obvious lie or exaggeration. 

In political rallies he says what his base thinks, but know these are forbidden thoughts: 

   **they don't like or trust Muslims

   **they are uncomfortable with immigrants from places other than western Europe.

   **they think people should be Christian and should respect Christians

   **they think men should wear the pants in the family

   **they think black people are athletic, but maybe "low IQ"

   **they think Latinos should speak English

   **they think Asians are too smart and self disciplined, so are displacing whites

   **they think Jews are smart and good with money and become powerful

   **they think that college people live in a sheltered ivory tower

   **they think minorities get huge reverse-discrimination advantages over whites

   **they think people are being judged harshly now for things that aren't that bad

All of those ideas are wrong. Evil stereotypes. Racist. Misogynist. Forbidden. Many people in his base in fact think many of these things. They realize that Democrats generally disapprove of them for this.   

All this creates a backlash, and Donald Trump rode to the White House on the back of resentment over the snubs from the cultural elites.

Who are those cultural elites? The left's political allies.

   **the mainstream news media

   ** experts in government and academia

   **Hollywood

   **the east and west coast urban areas

   **educated professional people 

   ** cultural perfectionists, like HR departments

   

Moral scolding from the left showed up in the quick removal of Al Franken, then re-doubled with Brett Kavanaugh, in which an accusation from teen years was treated as prima facia credible and dispositive. It shows up in Democratic piling on against Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, who wore blackface in a costume 30 years prior. 

Democrats nitpick each other. Bernie Sanders didn't have knowledge and control of third level subordinates in his campaign, so is thought to tolerate misogyny. Amy Klobuchar did have knowledge and control of third level subordinates on her staff, and is therefore thought to be an abusive boss. 

Elizabeth Warren had family story of Native American ancestry, so was she faking it and "appropriating" that heritage by mentioning it, or should she have not mentioned it and therefore communicate--maybe--shame and disapproval of it? Should she have proven it with a DNA test, or should she have not done so, and is the DNA proof relevant, since maybe tribe is determined by association, not blood? 

There are campaign finance scolds. Did someone in the past from an oil state or a timber state get money from an oil company or timber company?

There are LGBTQ scolds. Did someone have a public position in 1990 that is no longer acceptable in 2019?

Hypocrites. 

There is no safe harbor from moral scolds. 

A great many people find it a mixture of frightening and tiresome to observe this close parsing of changing moral codes regarding race, heritage, religion, gender. 

Some Halloween costume from a high school party might be remembered and condemned by the standards of today's workplace HR or a political opponent. Then they call you racist or misogynist, or that you appropriated something. Someone is offended.

Democrats should not be surprised to discover that their own moral scolding creates backlash. Democrats took great pleasure in observing the collapse of Jim and Tammy Bakker's Praise the Lord ministry. Finger-pointing Jimmy Swaggart brought joy to Democrats as he cried on stage about having been caught with prostitutes. 

It isn't partisan. It is human. We dislike people who tell us they are better than we are, and enjoy seeing them brought down.

Democrats should lighten up. 

Note: I was interviewed for an hour in a podcast hosted by Mark Roberts, the former Independent Party candidate for Congress. His podcast series, which he calls Medford's Best Podcast, is available on Soundcloud. We discussed politics, Medford, melons, and his prediction that we will go to war with North Korea, soon.  Here is a direct link to the podcast