In a recent article for Townhall, columnist Kurt Schlichter wrote that the putative Senate candidacy in Michigan of “Kid Rock” (stage name of rocker/rapper Robert Ritchie) “should make every normal American smile” because “it will drive the liberals insane” and “make George Will [and other conservatives like him] soil themselves.” Schlichter’s paean to the downhome values of Kid Rock is typical of the populist right that has emerged in recent years, a movement that fueled the rise of Donald Trump from longshot candidate to president of the United States.
The basic grievance of the populist right is that politicians no longer represent the values and interests of ordinary people, so a radical change in personnel is necessary. This claim certainly has some merit. Our government seems unresponsive to and even uninterested in the citizenry. However, as its enthusiastic embrace of the likes of Trump and Kid Rock demonstrates, the populist right is a movement that thoughtful advocates of limited government should be wary of.
