Populist claptrap

The right, conservative elements are fond of labels. They constantly create easy sell epithets, only to change them quietly when they are debunked.

Even better, and probably more enduring, are their slings and arrows, the pithy put down. They do it well and progressives the world over seem powerless to respond. I assume powerless because most progressives tend to substance over fluff.

I really shouldn’t feed the right terms like that, substance. I can just see the new throw away line – Democrats promote ‘substance abuse’.

But they don’t need my help. A comment piece out of Australia highlights the methodology of the right.

The fight to claw back rights; individual rights, workers rights, the whole gamut of rights we’ve all seen eroded under dubious security measures.

The right labels this effort as - populist denial! Never mind the substance, populist and denial carry obvious negative overtones. It is populist claptrap, the currency of the right. It’s catchy, its nonsense, it’s empty and it will sell.

For some reason, the conservative elements have become the masters of these, apparently attractive, nonsense bites. They are highly effective in those few precious seconds of air time, before the viewers interest drifts.

Perhaps we should be honing our word skills, developing truth missiles, short – sharp and effective.

More than perhaps, it is essential that progressives develop an antidote to populist claptrap.