In search of ‘the people’: A rhetorical alternative

The Populist Chameleon: The People's Party, Huey Long, George Wallace, and the Populist Argumentative Frame

“…McGee writes, ''About the only point of agreement is that, in politics, 'the people' are omnipotent; they are an idea of collective force which transcends both individuality and reason.'' 17 In populism, the ''people'' call forth a diverse set of identity markers. For instance, Robert Gunderson argues that Gilded Age Populism mobilized through the articulation of shared agrarian experience.…”

Predicaments of Communication, Argument, and Power: Towards a Critical Theory of Controversy

“…The "good reasons" tradition, for example, has not only generated productive criticism, but also evolved forms of valid argument in narrative (Wallace, 1963, Fisher, 1978. Ideological and contextual critiques of public argument in the evolution of counterpublic spheres, technical expertise, and new social movements are expanding (see for example, Charland, 1987;McGee, 1975;Wander, 1984). Yet, rhetorical studies appear detached from how cumulative practices of influence impact possibilities of communication.…”

Reimagining the Self-Made Man: Myth, Risk, and the Pokerization of America

“…When examining myths, we need to be conscious of their audiences and their roles in the creation and promulgation of them. For too long, audiences have been treated by rhetoricians merely as a plural abstraction of the person or individual (McGee, 1975). In his analysis of Nazi Germany, McGee argued that the Nazi Party did not form itself first and then create myths to justify its existence.…”