Populism has nothing to do with conservatism or liberalism, it’s about how you communicate your message and the issues you focus on. Either side can win if they apply a meat-and-potatoes theme to how the message on their issues.
You’re trying to analyze Iowa from the cheap seats and a great deal of ignorance. My suggestion is to go to theiowarepublican.com and start reading if you really want to understand what’s going on in the GOP and Iowa politics.
Only on a Political Science exam at the University of Iowa.
In the rest of the state Populism means, “Left of center on EVERY economic issue.”
Braley seems to have noticed the same fact.
Even though he's “an insufferable elitist douche,” even though he doesn't serve meat-and-potatoes, he has convinced one half of Iowa that he should be their next Senator.
After reading two of Joni Ernst's campaign speeches, the first thing I thought about was: Texas Senator Phil Gramm.
In 1995, me and a couple other Johnson County home boys went flat out to help Gramm stack the deck in Ames.
In the Straw Poll, Gramm tied Favorite Son neighbor Bob Dole, which was reported nationally as a political coup d’état.
Gramm was the most congenial, most folksy, most self-effacing candidate I have ever seen.
He was the best informed, most articulate, and most principled Conservative I have ever seen (I'm 64, by the way, and met and campaigned for Goldwater).
His Caucus campaign bus was called the “Kitchen Table Express” because he went house to house, sat down at the kitchen table with the residents, and talked about their family budget.
What happened to this “Populist” in the Caucus?
He got crushed, came in fifth, couldn't even get above 10%.
Why?
Because Iowa Republicans did not want spending cuts, they did not want debt reduction, they did not want Social Security and Medicare privatized, and they did not want limited government.
The only way Joni Ernst can be elected in Iowa is to move convincingly to the Left.
The only way she can get reelected is to move further to the Left.