Pat Buchanan calls his viewpoint Conservatism with a Heart. This is distinct from the Bleeding Heart Conservatism of Jack Kemp. Buchanan considers Jack Kemp a liberal because his heart bleeds too much for minorities and immigrants.
Many Buchanan supporters call themselves populists, and Buchanan himself has been called a populist. These new populists on the Right oppose immigration and affirmative action. They also oppose the international trade agreements - NAFTA and GATT - as part of a globalist conspiracy to destroy American independence.
The new populists of the Right denounce the power of big business in American politics. In this way they are similar to Populists of the last century. Right-wing populists attack international bankers in terms reminiscent of the earlier generation of Populists, often adding right-wing conspiracy theories about banker control of international socialism.
The Populists of the last century had two proposals to deal with the power of wealth. The People's Party and the Bryan Democrats supported giving the federal government power to tax income. While the Bryan Democrats and some western Republicans supported free coinage of silver to promote inflation, the People's Party advocated paper money as a means of stimulating the economy.
William Jennings Bryan ran for President 3 times, but was never elected. Bryan is credited with helping Woodrow Wilson win the Democrat nomination for President in 1912.
In 1913, a federal income tax was established. The same year saw creation of the Federal Reserve System, with power to issue paper money with only partial gold backing. Once seen as the triumph of Populism, today's right-wing populists denounce the income tax and the Federal Reserve System.
Libertarian and free market conservatives call for a return to gold backed money. Right-wing populists call for eliminating the Federal Reserve System, but propose that the federal government issue paper money instead. Many right-wing populists call for ending the income tax, but Pat Buchanan calls for a flat tax.
Right-wing populists echo the rhetoric of other conservatives in denouncing the welfare state, but like other conservatives, have come to support activist government. The Libertarian Party is a real alternative for conservatives who favor limiting government power.