Can We Build a New Populist Movement? - The American Party (Letter 3)

What we need is a full-blown political insurrection—a peaceful, democratic one, fueled by the righteous fury of the working class and aimed straight at the rot at the heart of both parties.

This is the third in a six-letter exchange between Lukium, author of The American Manifesto, and Lady Libertie of The American Pamphleteer.

Links will be added as the letters get published: letter 1, letter 2, letter 3, letter 4, letter 5, letter 6.

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Dear Lukium,

First off—bless you for saying it plain. The heartbreak. The exhaustion. The feeling that we’re trapped in a rigged two-player game where the rules were written by billionaires and the referees are half-asleep on a donor yacht.

You laid it out beautifully: the Democratic Party has spent decades apologizing for its own existence. Always reacting, never leading. Trading in Roosevelt’s populism for Clinton’s triangulation, and hoping we wouldn’t notice the factory towns crumbling behind the facade of “free markets” and “fiscal responsibility.”

And now, here we are. America’s in crisis. The planet’s boiling. Authoritarians are kicking down the front door (and a South African Nazi is holding the battering ram). And what do we get from the DNC? A tepid ad buy and some strongly-worded letters.

So yes, my friend. We need a populist movement. But not just a progressive rebrand or a spicy new slogan. Not just “Democrats, but louder.” What we need is a full-blown political insurrection—a peaceful but exuberant movement fueled by the righteous fury of all working Americans (including our blue-collar family and neighbors) and aimed straight at the rot at the heart of both parties.

And that brings us to your question: do we start from scratch, or do we take the castle?I propose there is a third choice (there is always a third choice): the hybrid approach.

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Where the Fire Starts: Building Power Beyond the Parties

Here’s the truth: if we want a political realignment that actually speaks to working people, we’ve got to stop thinking the revolution starts in D.C.—it starts in Duluth. In rural towns, farm communities, and union halls where Democrats have lost their footing, a new populist movement is taking shape.

Enter the Bull Moose model: a grassroots third party that doesn’t waste energy chasing the White House but builds power from the ground up—school boards, city councils, county commissions.¹ It’s already happening, with pro-labor independents winning in places the Democratic label can’t touch.

Imagine what’s possible if those candidates had a light-touch national network—one that offered support, not control. Fundraising tools, legal help, and digital infrastructure without forcing them into someone else’s brand. That’s the power of a movement that’s local, authentic, and ready to shake the system from the roots up. This isn’t fantasy. The fire’s already burning—we just need to fan it.

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So Here’s My Idea for a new true populist movement

• No third party. First off, it dodges the spoiler landmine that’s blown up so many well-meaning third-party dreams. Instead of wasting firepower on presidential races we’re not gonna win, it zooms in on local contests—where party loyalty is looser, stakes are real, and wins are winnable.

• It meets people exactly where they are. I’m talking about the working folks in red and purple zip codes—folks who’ve been left behind by both parties, who still believe in fair wages, strong unions, and standing up to corporate power, but who wouldn’t be caught dead in a room full of Ivy League consultants preaching identity-based hashtags. These aren’t conservatives. They’re just disenchanted, and rightfully so.

• It embraces decentralization, which is music to my anti-authoritarian ears. Local candidates know their people, their history, their pain points. Give them support, give them tools, but let them speak in their own damn voice. That’s not just smart—it’s respectful. And rare.

• Finally, it meets this moment of political realignment head-on. Across the country, the educated urban class has become the base of the Left, and it’s left (pun intended) a lot of working-class folks politically homeless. This kind of movement says: You don’t have to choose between your culture and your paycheck. You belong here. We’ve got room at the table and room to breathe.

In short: this isn’t about branding—it’s about building. It’s not top-down—it’s roots-up. And it’s exactly the kind of wildfire we need.

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This is How We Win: The Four Stages of a Revolution

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The American Party Isn’t a Dream. It’s a Destination.

Lukium, you said it best: maybe when we’re done with the DNC, it won’t be the Democratic Party anymore. Maybe it’ll just be the American Party—the party of workers. Of farmers, nurses, teachers, truckers, coders, cooks, and caretakers. A party that serves the people—not the donors.

But we don’t get there by starting at the top or storming the gates of a tired old brand. We get there through a rising tide—in book clubs, church basements, Eagles halls, and small-town diners. We become the inclusive party we keep pretending to be—but aren’t yet. We start deprogramming those swept up in the Trump cult, and we hold tight to the central truth behind every real populist win in history:

There are more of us than there are of them.

New populists aren’t just another flavor of liberal. We’re not moderates, not centrists, and not progressives yelling into the void. We’re working people of every background, tired of rigged systems and billionaire capture. We believe in labor rights, fair elections, public goods, and corporate accountability. We don’t worship markets—we fight for people.

The old labels don’t fit.

We’re building power around the things that actually matter to most Americans. We are the majority—and when we organize like it, speak like it, and vote like it, we win.

Lady Libertie
The American Pamphleteer

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1. Special thanks to

Martin Bergstrom

whose comment helped clarify my thinking on this topic.