The American Spectator

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IN AMERICA'S political history, there is no shortage of compelling populist movements. It's important to remember two things about these movements, however. First, they haven't been successful on a national level. Sure we remember Pat Buchanan and William Jennings Bryan, but they didn't win.

Second, "populist" uprisings have been very different from one another in character. There is no Platonic "populist." Some populists gain their traction on the immigration issue, others by promising handouts, others by battling cultural elites. This year, Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, and John Edwards could all be said to be running populist campaigns, and their policy disagreements are stark.

Edwards's brand of populism is grounded in resentment of the rich and antipathy towards profit. While it's true that few people will stand up for "corporate greed" -- and I am the last person to apologize for big business --, to sign on with Edwards's class war, we don't just need to be vaguely "populist." We need to hate our bosses and the other successful people we know. Class warfare doesn't work in America, because most of us believe we someday will join the other class.

If somehow Edwards's small class-warfare army manages to nominate him, they'll be trampled in November by the combined forces of corporate America and optimistic America.

Timothy P. Carney, senior reporter for the Evans-Novak Political Report, is a columnist for the Washington Examiner and author of The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money.

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