Populista Roemer

POLITICO.com:

Buddy Roemer has been running for president as something of a man without a movement: His single issue has been to curtail the influence of money in politics, but there doesn't seem to be much demand for a populist uprising around campaign finance.

But the former Louisiana governor took an interesting step toward relevance this week by becoming the lone presidential candidate -- in either party -- to speak up strongly on behalf of the Occupy Wall Street protestors.

He's been on MSNBC to deliver the same message. Roemer also went after Herman Cain for disparaging the anti-bank protests, tweeting: "Herman Cain’s views on Occupy Wall Street are un-American. You should apologize Herman."

Roemer's perspective may not be right over the plate for a conservative primary electorate that's more outraged about big government than big business. But at a moment when Americans' distrust of large institutions is at a historic high, there's a conspicuous space in the 2012 conversation for a candidate who takes aim at both Washington and Wall Street.

That's a space that Tim Pawlenty seemed to have the potential to fill, with his periodic criticism of the "triangle of greed: big government, big unions and big bailed out businesses." Sarah Palin also made rhetorical gestures in that direction before bowing out of the 2012 race.

Roemer's endorsement of Occupy Wall Street is a bolder populist move than Pawlenty or Palin -- or Barack Obama -- ever made. If Roemer had a Ross Perot-sized fortune at his disposal, he might find disaffected voters in both parties who are intrigued by what he has to say.