Learn English – What does “storm–the–gates populism” mean

meaningmeaning-in-context

I was drawn to the words "storm-the-gates populism" in the following passage of the New York Times’ (February 15) article that came under the title, "Donald Trump escalates rhetoric before South Carolina primary":

"If Mr. Trump wins the primary on Saturday, as every public poll shows
him on track to do, it will be after reverting to the storm-the-gates
populism
that led to his political rise and refusing to back down amid
criticism."

I googled for the clue to fathom out the meaning of "storm-the-gates populism" and picked up the following three related sources:

  1. Storm the Gates of Hell is the fourth studio album by Christian metal band Demon Hunter, released on November 6, 2007, which apparently seems to be irrelevant to the case.

  2. When we storm the gates of hell, the church is marching into all the hells in this world, ready to reclaim every square inch for Christ. And when we storm the gates of hell, Christ promises we cannot fail. We will prevail! It’s time to put the devil on the run. The phrase pulai hadou (gates of hell) is a Jewish expression meaning "realm of the dead." — Ligoniel Ministries.

  3. In Matthew 16, Jesus asks his disciples the question: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Then Cephas pipes up: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus commends his outspoken disciple: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” . – ibid.

Given the above input, still I’m not able to come to the clear notion of "storm–the-gates populism." Is "storm the gates" totally irrelevant to "storm the gates of hell"? What does it mean? Is it a well-estabished phrase, or a political buzzword?

Best Answer

"Let's storm the gates of the castle!"

is what the townspeople in all those old Turner Classic movies shout to each other when they're fed up with being treated poorly. This is where the author's reference stems from.

One specific example are the disgruntled villagers with pitchforks and torches who, outraged and angry, rush Dr. Frankenstein's castle...you know that scene. It's been in millions of movies. That's a storm-the-gates mentality.

Another is the lyrics to the song "Burn Down The Mission" by Elton John:

Bring your family down to the riverside
Look to the east to see where the fat stock hide
Behind four walls of stone the rich man sleeps
It's time we put the flame torch to their keep

"Storming the gates" is shorthand for the common people taking back control. It's a mob composed of people without power, who gather together to attack the more powerful, with the goal being an overthrowing, rebellion or revolution.

So storm-the-gates populism, for example, would be the 90% of Americans who have just 25 percent of the country's wealth banding together to attack the 10% of Americans who hold 75 percent of the wealth.

It is not an official phrase, as far as I know. But I happened to "get it," and I thought it was a really nice turn of a phrase by the author.

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