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We hear nowadays about candidates not wanting to be “part of” the Washington, D.C. political establishment. They refer to themselves as “outsiders”, which suggests they are outside the stale and corrupted thinking within the Beltway.I was wondering....is this a relatively new phenomena, or does it have some history? When is the earliest that you can think of that candidates for the presidency campaigned on or referred to themselves as "outsiders" for political purposes?
Reagan campaigned as an outsider and indeed he was. I think most politicians try to present themselves as separate from the “institution” in an effort to justify their efforts to unseat incumbents…to not do so would imply to the voters that they should just stick with the incumbent.
True, and I think that the idea of the “outsider” is one that carries a kind of “innocence” or “purity” with it as well. This idea presupposes that those who make careers as “insiders” are beholden to special interests and shady deals rather than to the people, whereas the “outsiders” do not have such connections or influences and are therefore in better positions to do the will of the voters.So if Reagan did this, was it also done before him? Probably so, and I wonder if it goes back into the 19th century.
