Al Jones On

Nee-Populism,

The Youth Vote,
And Grinnell

by Alan Jones,
Proisssor oi History
and American Studies

Politicians and media people groping ior
issues and tor copy in the developing campaign
have recently (ailei- Florida and Wisconsin
and beiore the escalation of the war) seized
on the concepts of “populism” and “near
populism” as clariiying slogans. l-iow helpiul
these concepts will be either in terms of
gaining understanding or in gaining voles
remains to be seen. Historians are hardly
agreed on what ‘populism' has meant in the
past except that in its most precise sense it
was an unsuccessful third party protest move-
ment coopted by an unsuccesstul Democratic
Party in the 1896 presidential election Per-
haps that will be its meaning in 1972 and
Democrats should beware.

In another sense populism is associated with
broader democratic, demagogic, and minority
protest themes in the American political trar
dition. and a hriei review oi these themes
may cast some light on the present revival
and how students might relate to it in the
local situation,

In theory populism connotes an abstract
democratic politics with rqots in the ancesr
tral American myth that the will oI the pace
ple should prevail and that the many should
not be dominated by the few, While the myth
is a valuable one. and while the ‘people' have
been present in American politics, their ‘wlll'
has seldom been Institutionalized, Historis
early, American politics have been less
popiillstic than pluralistic. and only at rare
intervals in presidential elections (in the
twentieth century only in 1920. 1936, and
1964) can one recognize an authentic popular
mandate.

It' there is no real tradition or majorital‘ian
populistic politics. there has been, ironically
a use at populistic themes by powerless and
protesting minority groupsngroups which
have been or ielt they have heendisplaced and
bypassed by other groups with greater power
and privilege. These displaced and usually
disorganized minorities have appealed to the
ancestral democratic myth. to “power to the
people". Generally this tias been an unsucs
cessiul appeal Only in the Roosevelt coalition
oi l936 have protesting minorities (farmers,
labor, blacks, Southern whites. young. old,
and intellectuals) been organized intoapopUr
lar mayority and then in highly exceptional
circumstances. And that Coalition has been
long gone
Because oi their minority plight. their class
and status grievances. their disorganized
condition and lack ot traditional leadership.
protesting groups have oiten proved {allow
ground tor demagogic politicianseepoliticians
who articulate problems in noisy rhetoric
and oversimplity solutions by looking ior
conspiracies or scapegoats. Rhetoric re~
places organization and quasircnal'ismatic
leadership substitutes ior meaningiul coa-
litions, This is otten a politics at anxiety,
alienation. and lean-huey Long and Joe Mc-
Carttly in the past. Agnew and Wallace in the
present--whcre populism becomes a kind at
Middle Altieiican Code \tortl ior racism.
alitiscommunism, and simple disl' e ()1 taxes,
Richard Nixon may be the rhetorical "pop—
ulist ’ Candidate this veai‘.

Perhaps there is another variety oi poptts
lisln relevant to l972~one that calibedellto-
(:l'tilic without being demagogic or simply
rhctoiical. one that can organize disuniied
minorities into ii majority coalition in the
style at 1936 hobby Kennedy was supposedly
forging such ll coalition iIi 1968. There aie
minority groups in thl; nation (itntl most of
them ttt'C piesentdoonlly) with ical gl'ier
vatices-rtilacks. ethnics, students, women,
niiii-guial laimers. rank and tile workers.
oldcr peopln younger proiiossioiiils and
intellectudls. li organized. those minorities
would compose the "kiwi ity to thesegroiips
itre Itioie Ultoll tlivittelt thiln united liv the
central issues 0| 1972" 'iti‘. i’iiLe, tuxoﬁt
prices. wages. and iiaviroiuiicidal iiud t'im-
stillilzi’ is lies The organizing (it those
'liiiinv‘ into it tlliitctl (Coalition is all oltviuus
litjt‘ll. llut. itt tit st glatitzl‘, tlii ilisttpel’ultlctilsk.
ospt'clitllv “lICH lllc powei llIl ”ten" villo itI'U
Stitlsliclt liith the present situation Stt‘dtlllv
employ the tactic ot divide and rule

 

Thesc icw. however, are incapaltlc til denlr
ing with the mood oi protest and powci-lesse
ness which is the common and outlying l'eule
ity tor the many. The task oia viable neo-
populisni is to organize that mood, to do so
without obvious national leadership and with.
out demagogy or rhetoric. This can he done
nationally and locally At its base organlzm
tionai politics is always local politics. and
my experience or the local situation leads
me to believe that the organization o1 minor-
ities in Grinnell and Poweshieh County is a
plausible strategy. Students particiilarlv can
play a creative role in the organization ol a
local majority coalition. their votes can be
decisive locally and their participation as
equals and as partners witli other local
minorities, particularly lariners and work-
ingmen, can he an exercise in liberal educa-
tion and in the politics or populism. There
are many powerless people locally Most oi
them are not students

Platform

Controversies
Probable

Tomorrow

by Mark Sablemaii

”People in the party are much moio willing
to take a staiwl on controversial questions
and to insist that we address ourselves to
important questions than are the people who
have to run on the plttlttiii . Since llieDemoe
cratic Party has been building its pliitlorm up
irom the grass roots. the result this been a
much more liberal pldltortil than we ti'itrli-
tionallv have had “

Norman Jesse. r Des htoines criminal lil\\*
yer and n iiiCIiilWl’ ot the 1972 phitloiin Coin»
niittoe oi the town itcnioci-atic Party. cone
sidei-s thc platloiin whit-h will he introduced
to the statutory convcntioii at Amos tomorrow
to be ii triumph in tht‘ itdlt l’ullksiilittslile
over the "timid" and l‘onsert'iitivl‘"ottir‘t‘r
holders That [llittloi‘ni culls ioi repeal oi
liiws iigiiinstdlioititili. vit mic S’L tinessei
hetwecii cohsontin’g dttult . to .rssion ol iill
drugs, and the iiscaiid sale (it inuriiininh in
addition, the pliitiorni (‘iills ior ii rcwoiking
oi state income. corporation. propci-ty. and
sales taxes. and it iltlvttcdtrs ri systcm tit
heroin and iiicthadono maintenance hy the
stale ’

All oi tho-c tbsltos—rcxccpl perhaps the tax
proposals- itt'C exported to ho tilt: renter ol
mayor controversy at tomorrow '5 Convention
They all list“), howcvei. lIllClIltV boon rip»
proved in sonic roim .it Vtil‘lUttS lcvcls iii
pui-tv ciiiivuses illilt pliilltli'lntoulltliltct‘ liit‘Ctr
hips. and iill have widespread L'litiilLttl suppoit
in the party dologidrs [hilt llidwl' ruinous
scent iinlitrlv
Jesse. who was (’hiililiiilli oi llll‘ st di- phil-
loi in committee t\\ti vciiis ago oxitldtllt-ll tho
|iltltttil‘llis in an intciviiwi with tho sub and
giviv the thirty s lihcridized ]iiut'elltltt:s is .i
inapn iiiisnn ior thc iltr‘litsltili iii so many
t‘tilitllivt‘l sinl plants "Vtt: mm shirt thrpio
cuss oi tlt‘vttllittliiﬂ .i phillui-ni .it lltl'1ilt'('ili(‘l
counters. and MW! ii [lit'tlnt‘t icpirscntalivr
ltt tlit‘ (titliltv [iliilllilllt t-ltttllliillt‘l' WI‘ Stilit

The Scarlet and Black

Out at the precinct level with someone the
people at the caucus leel is knowledgable
about the tSSuL‘S and shares the beliefs olllie
caucus "

The County platform committees each tor»
miilate a plattorm oi their own, and these in
till it i’li‘c consolidated lit the disli'iLtplatloi‘m
committee Pllitlmliis pnssctl hy the district
convention go on to the state committee and
state convention Jesse knows the process
Well: il'ilioth 19701ind19’72,helliis worked his
way up to the state Pliitiorm Committee irom
the precinct

Participation irom tile Hint dnildlleislieCr
essni-y ioi- :i platlorm that - eully speaks
to the issues" iii his vieu Most elected 0t-
liLii’ils. he thinks. ate concerned niostlv about
i-eclcclioii and iiol alienating any tiltheii cone
stitueiits--lltcy "are lollo\\'ers and not
leaders The c izcns by and large arc tai-
ahead oi them in revolutionary thought "

The abortion planknedsily one oi the most
controversial in the pldtlorln as now tormlis
laled~is a good example at this according to
Jesse The repeal of abortion lltvis is a ditti~
ciilt position tor the Democratic Party to sup-
part. he says, because oi the large numbers
at Roman Catholics in the party and the large
number of Catholics \tho i’un ior Oiiit‘e inthe
party But he Cites Sta ics to show that
‘again. its the Cotliolii officeholders who are
greatly concerncd, and the hierarchy oi the
church that s ronrci-ned. and not the people
themselves

Jesse exports some efforts to amend the
victinllcss crimes plank iron) the sides
Some people. he thinks, vtill insist on having
the crimes spellcd out by name in hopes that
this will insure thcll'tleleat, othels Wilntthein
spelled out pist so that people will know what.
in particular. is meant by -virtimless
crimes.’ .A proposal separate iioiii the vip-
timless crimes plank urges the repeal at all
laws on Sex bolus-Ell consenting adults. tliree
menthels oi lhl! slate tilitttorm committee
have iormulalcd a minority iepo t. saying
this “would op i the dual to rtil ttlilot'dl iititl
prurient societ ’

The niaiipiana plant udoptcd by tho suite
committee was the one ttlmittetl by the
First Congressional Dist . “hit"h includes
Grinneil, It advocates tlL-Li‘iminulizint: "the
use. possession cultivation, and sale' at

tptil 21, 1972 13

the drug. A separate plank would decrimlr
lialize the mere possession of all drugs. but
put strict penalties on the illegal sale or
drugs.

A plank advocating a stitte run methodone
and heroin maintenance program was seen

~ especially important by Jesse. “People
are on drugs ior some reason, he emphasizes.

.A lot or 'do goodeis’ make the mistake or
assuming that everyone on heroin wantstoget
0H, and that‘s not the Case. Many of the adv
diets in the ghetto are on it hecausethey don’t
want to face the real world--tney’ve takentoo
many knocks already. 7
"While it may seem crass to have the state
provide them with heroin, look at the alter,
iialivee—thc alternative is throwing them in
mil or having all the crimes. all these bur-
glaries rind robberies and killings and mug-
gings and purse snatchings just to get money
ior heroin." But Mr Jesse admits that this
position is unpopular and thinks that "even
Senator Hughes. who is iairly iorward looking
in the drug area. isn't ready to go that tar,”
oi the traditional state issues dealt With in
the plutioi-ni, including taxation and govern-
mental r-eiorm, the proposed tax changes are
the most important, The platiorm now the
cludes provisions in lover of a much more
highly progressive income tax, where 75%
oi all lieu revenue would come irom incomes
oi $15,000 and greater, a new corporation
tax iormiilii designed to avoid loopholes ihthe
preseiil law. and u repeal oi the sales tax on
iood

In addition, the Plilttol‘lrt Committee called
tor eliminating the property tax as the basis
tor school tinaiicing. called ior easing its
burden on the elderly (without speciiyihg how),
and proposed that the property tax exemption
ior religious. li'ﬂtei‘n‘ . and charitable in-
stitutions he elilnindted The piatiorm also
urges that the automatic ear-marking oi
l'oddruse taxes to the highway construction
tiind be eliminated

The Pldtlol‘nl Committee expects to hear
addiiional responses and proposals ti-om con-
vention delegates at li spcrial meeting tonight
in times. and tho linilpliittoriii willbe worked
out by the Slidiiutoi (:Uil‘vi'lilltilt toniorrow.A
separate convention to lw: held next month.
will approved platioi ui doiiing with national
issues

photos by Mark Sableman

 

