One of the most tired set of clichés in all of American politics is that of DC "centrists" talking about populism as all about beating up on the rich and redistribution of income instead of growth. A note here before I get into the main point of this piece: I put centrists in that sentence above in quotation marks because in Washington, DC, centrism seems to be about being in line with certain kinds of big money special interests rather than supporting what the center of the country in terms of voter believe. DC centrists believe in cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits; not taxing Wall Street tycoons at the same levels as their secretaries; weakening regulations on the kind of financial speculation that caused the 2008 financial panic; bailing out bankers when they get in trouble, and not prosecuting them when they break the law; doing trade deals that have historically benefited mostly big business and created bigger trade deficits.