UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones December 2016 Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and the Populist Tradition in Presidential Rhetoric Sarah Beth Shaw University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Rhetoric Commons Repository Citation Shaw, Sarah Beth, "Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and the Populist Tradition in Presidential Rhetoric" (2016). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 2902. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/10083214 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. 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RONALD REAGAN, BILL CLINTON, AND THE POPULIST TRADITION IN PRESIDENTIAL RHETORIC By Sarah Beth Shaw Bachelor of Arts – Communication Studies Bachelor of Arts – Philosophy University of Nevada, Las Vegas 2014 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts – Communication Studies Department of Communication Studies College of Urban Affairs The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 2016 Copyright by Sarah Beth Shaw, 2016 All Rights Reserved Thesis Approval The Graduate College The University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 12, 2016 This thesis prepared by Sarah Beth Shaw entitled Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and the Populist Tradition in Presidential Rhetoric is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts – Communication Studies Department of Communication Studies David Henry, Ph.D. Kathryn Hausbeck Korgan, Ph.D. Examination Committee Chair Graduate College Interim Dean Tara G. McManus, Ph.D. Examination Committee Member Jacob D. Thompson, Ph.D. Examination Committee Member David R. Dickens, Ph.D. Graduate College Faculty Representative ii Abstract Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and the Populist Tradition in Presidential Rhetoric By Sarah Beth Shaw Dr. David Henry, Examination Committee Chair Chair and Sanford Berman Professor Department of Communication Studies University of Nevada, Las Vegas Populism is one of the most ambiguous terms in rhetorical scholarship. It can be a political strategy, a genuine reflection of personality, a deep manipulation of core American values, and much more. Political pundits have used it as a descriptive term, and on occasion as an insult. Some have deemed the concept’s flexibility confusing and even counterproductive, which sparked an interest in studying what is meant when analysts and scholars address political speakers as populist. This thesis examines populism in detail, by analyzing the rhetoric of former presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Two questions drove the research: (1) What do people mean when they label a politician as populist? (2) Is this an illuminating descriptor? The research found that that populism’s ambiguity contributes to its utility; however, it is also essential that critics, writers, and others who use the term do so carefully in order to clarify their intent. iii Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... iv Chapter One: Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose and Rational ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Literature Review ................................................................................................................................................ 6 Exemplary Texts ................................................................................................................................................ 14 Method of Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 19 Endnotes ............................................................................................................................................................ 22 Chapter Two: Reagan’s Populism of Faith .......................................................................................... 26 Conventional Wisdom ....................................................................................................................................... 28 Exemplary Rhetoric ........................................................................................................................................... 33 Populism ............................................................................................................................................................ 41 Concluding Remarks ......................................................................................................................................... 47 Endnotes ............................................................................................................................................................ 49 Chapter Three: Clinton’s Populism of Hope ........................................................................................ 54 Conventional Wisdom ....................................................................................................................................... 56 Exemplary Rhetoric ........................................................................................................................................... 63 Populism ............................................................................................................................................................ 70 Concluding Remarks ......................................................................................................................................... 76 Endnotes ............................................................................................................................................................ 78 Chapter Four: Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 82 Review ............................................................................................................................................................... 84 Implications ....................................................................................................................................................... 88 Endnotes ............................................................................................................................................................ 97 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 98 Curriculum Vita .................................................................................................................................... 105 iv Chapter One: Introduction “The 2016 presidential campaign is just getting underway, but so far one message seems clear: populism’s moment has arrived.”1 The claim that this political strategy may reach a pinnacle moment in the 2016 campaign reflects what has now become a routine analysis of the candidates running for office– they are populists. Although this may seem like a broad brush with which to paint platforms that pride themselves in being in opposition, it is one that has increased in use as the election draws closer. Comparisons of presidential hopefuls as diverse as conservative Republican Mike Huckabee and liberal Independent-Democrat-Socialist Bernie Sanders frequent news stories that claim this type of rhetoric is now necessary to get the increasingly prominent “anti-establishment” vote.2 Some journalists blame not the establishment, but rather international threats, as the cause of this political trend, stating that right-leaning politicians across the world (e.g. Donald J. Trump, Marine Le Pen in France, and Viktor Orban in Hungary) are turning towards populism in response to “a climate of insecurity rivaling the period after the First World War.”3 While trying to determine what causes this rhetoric globally may be a fruitful area for additional research, what is of more interest in this project is the rise of political pundits who are labeling nearly everyone in the American 2016 presidential race as populist. What is this term supposed to convey? What do the journalists and political analysts mean when they designate one person or another as populist? The fact that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump fit under this banner may say more about populism as a concept than about either person as a politician. Examining the justifications