Just like Windrip, Prang is really motivated by self-interest, and his political grievances are just a ploy to gain power, wealth, and status. These grievances depend on turning democracy on its head. Prang encourages millions of people who are suffering in the Great Depression to view themselves as “Forgotten Men” who have been excluded from American democracy. Then, he tells these “Forgotten Men” that their survival depends on electing an
anti-democratic leader, like Buzz Windrip, who will defend their interests. In a nutshell, Prang tells his followers that democracy has failed them, and so their self-preservation requires destroying democracy and handing absolute power to a dictator.