Before the Tea Party, what was the last big populist movement?

[LBJ Revivalist]

Before the advent of the Tea Party, what was the last big, loud populist movement which made it's presence known in our political stream, or in our culture?

[memphis]

Depends how you define "Tea Party." The right has been continually rebranding itself (in ever more absurd manifestations) from Reagan to Gingrich to Bush to Palin.

[tpfkaw]

Ross Perot

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

The Populist party from the late 1800's. They managed to get James B. Weaver plenty of votes. Eventually, they merged with the Democrats.

Also, the Teabaggers aren't populists, their libertarians.

[Keystone Phil]

Also, the Teabaggers aren't populists, their libertarians.

He isn't using populist in the way you're thinking.

[Sewer]

Also, the Teabaggers aren't populists, their libertarians.

LOL

[LBJ Revivalist]

Also, the Teabaggers aren't populists, their libertarians.

They WERE libertarians when it started, with Ron Paul leading it. Now they're a populist, reactionary wing of the GOP with Palin leading them.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Populism is left-wing, so the Teabaggers can't be populist.

[LBJ Revivalist]

Populism is left-wing, so the Teabaggers can't be populist.

Well, (laugh if you want), wikipedia defines populism as:

"Populism, defined either as an ideology,[1][2][3][4] (more rarely and uncommonly) a political philosophy,[5][6][7] or a type of discourse,[3][6] i.e., of sociopolitical thought that compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes.  It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social movements. It is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as "political ideas and activities that are intended to represent ordinary people's needs and wishes".[8]. It can be understood as any political discourse that appeals to the general mass of the population, to the "people" as such, regardless of class distinctions and political partisanship - "a folksy appeal to the 'average guy' or some allegedly general will"[9].This is in opposition to statism, which holds that a small group of professional politicians know better than the people and should make decisions on behalf of them."

"Against the elite"
"Rhetorically for 'ordinary people'
'A folksy appeal to the average guy''

Sounds like the stuff Palin and the rest of the Tea Party folks have been peddling, albeit theirs comes with a more angry and reactionary twist, "We want our country back!"

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Ross Perot

Not really, that wasn't a genuine 'movement' it was about one person and really evaporated when he did.  

[k-onmmunist]

Ugh, this thread turned to crap pretty fast.