"Hayseed Socialism" on the Hill: Congressional Populism, 1891-1895

Clanton, Gene

doi:10.2307/968514

Cited by 10 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Ballot access is much less of an obstacle for third parties seeking House and Senate seats than the presidency, because a new party only needs to meet whatever petition or other requirements are imposed in one state (rather than 50). 5 Populists have won congressional seats at various points in history as third-party candidates (Clanton 1984;Tamas and Hindman 2014). But third parties do not have automatic access to state ballots.…”

Section: Party Primariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Populism and the American Party System: Opportunities and Constraints

Lee¹

2019

Perspect. polit.

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Does populism threaten American democracy, and if so, what is the nature of that threat? In dialogue with the comparative literature on populism, this article considers the opportunity structure available to populist parties and candidates in the American political system. I argue that compared to most other democracies, the US system offers much less opportunity for organized populist parties but more opportunity for populist candidacies. Today’s major parties may also be more vulnerable to populist insurgency than at other points in US history because of (1) changes in communications technology, (2) the unpopularity of mainstream parties and party leaders, and (3) representation gaps created by an increasingly racialized party system. Although no democratic system is immune to deterioration, the US constitutional system impedes authoritarian populism, just as it obstructs party power generally. But the vulnerability of the major parties to populist insurgency poses a threat to liberal democratic norms in the United States, just as it does elsewhere.

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Section: Party Primariesmentioning

confidence: 99%