Good article by Matthew Yglesias on Trumpian populism.

[DanTex]

The basic idea is that the "white working class" will probably like his selection for Labor Secretary, even though he wants to slash wages and break up unions, because the guy is CEO of a fast food chain. And so, culturally, it plays as a thumb on the nose to "coastal liberal elites" like me who eat kale salads (with pancetta and poached quail eggs).

Donald Trump’s pick to run the US Department of Labor, Andy Puzder, is the CEO of the company that operates Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. He’s a rich guy who opposes increasing the minimum wage, and otherwise broadly takes exactly the views on labor issues that you would expect the CEO of a fast-food company to take — he sides with the bosses. It’s yet another powerful reminder that whatever Trump’s populism amounts to, it’s very, very different from what Bernie Sanders and other left-wing Democrats mean when they talk about “populism.”

But unlike some other Trump picks like Steve Mnuchin or Tom Price, there is a very real and true sense in which Puzder is a populist choice.

On matters big and small, Trump aligns himself not with the pocketbook interests of low-wage workers but with the cultural values and preferences of working-class Americans. Values like thinking Hardee’s burgers are delicious.

...

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/9/13884838/puzder-populism

[exboyfil]

1. Nothing says populism like Goldman Sachs

His supporters are freakin' idiots. A big part of the reason they are "suffering" now is the financial crap GS and the other banks did to collapse the economy. The AIG bailout was just a lifeline to GS.

[FarCenter]

2. "White working class" likes cheap burgers and fries. Baked fish, couscous, kale salad - not so much.

[Cosmocat]

3. This is what a lot of demo aren't getting

His campaign was 100 percent cultural, and this country has been voting cultural for a LONG time niw.