Sheri Berman Quotes

The problem is never the populist’s imperfect capacity to represent the people’s will; rather, it’s always the institutions that somehow produced the wrong outcomes. So even if they look properly democratic, there must be something going on behind the scenes that allows corrupt elites to continue to betray the people. Conspiracy theories are thus not a curious addition to populist rhetoric; they are rooted in and emerge from the very logic of populism itself.

One should be very careful indeed about using such loaded terms as ‘frustration,’ ‘anger,’ and especially ‘resentment’ to explain populism. One should at least face up to the political consequences of such psychologizing diagnoses — namely, that they end up confirming those people’s view of ‘liberal elites’ as being not just deeply condescending but also constitutively unable to live up to their own democratic ideals by failing to take ordinary people at their word.

Populism is strong in places with weak party systems because political parties exist precisely to form governments as well as legitimate oppositions. When identity politics predominates, populists will prosper.

Trump was able to convey - oddly enough a message from a billionaire who lives in Manhattan - a genuine concern for people who felt kind of left off, who felt offended by all the political correctness they see around them.

Donald Trump got elected because, in his twisted way, he pointed out the huge troubles in our economy and our democracy.

The two candidates have very different visions of America. Donald Trump's is very dark: Things are not going well. There are dark days ahead unless you make a change, and he's the one to fix it.

The real reason President Trump was elected, I think, to the extent I know anything about politics at all - and I know very, very little - is that a lot of people really were relieved to see someone stand up to the thought police of the progressive left wing.

With Donald J. Trump's arrival to power, many feel astonished by the growth of populism. Others analyze with extreme care the decline of companies that measure public opinion. I am saddened to watch the lack of temperament and political stability of those who 'represent' a trend or ideology.

Politics isn't about left versus right; it's about top versus bottom.

America has entered one of its periods of historic madness, but this is the worst I can remember.

At root, the Tea Party is nothing more than a them-versus-us thing.

Democracy and elections can be a double-edged sword … democratic competition and elections increase the politicians’ appetite for gaining public support by pleasing the public, which is sometimes led by emotional motives and short-sighted considerations. Populist politics can sometimes be driven by a lack of knowledge and is not always conducive to the real interest …

There is constantly a war going on between the two parties for the populist vote. The populist vote is always the swing vote.

I no longer wish to take part in this circus of populism ...

When, in a democratic society, policies don’t go their way, people tend to blame it on a small group of other people who they believe have more influence.

Truth is not the first casualty of war alone: it is the first casualty of populism.

Our country is too big for union, too sordid for patriotism, too democratic for liberty.

History shows that populism polarizes society, weakens economies, and undermined representative democracy.

There are no modern successful societies that do not deal with the issues raised by Populists and Fabianists but also avoid going to one of these extremes. The modern battle for power in democartic socities is between Populism and Fabianism.

Every day is morning in Trump's America!

In truth, the 'populist anger' fueling Trump's coalition is fundamentally different from Sanders' 'progressive populism.' The superficial similarities between the two end when they talk about solutions.

Trump has raised the very issues I raised in the early '90s.

People are starting to notice the great divide. The Tea party sees the aloofness in a political elite that thinks it knows best and orders the rest of America to fall in line. The Occupy movement sees it in an economic elite that lives in mansions and flies on private jets.

America and the world are paying a high price for devotion to the extreme anti-government ideology embraced by Donald Trump and his Republican party.

I happen to think Donald Trump is crazy, but that's not an economic message.