To a ruling elite oligarchy as we have today, anything that decentralizes the political system is radial socialism. And in their view socialism is not just about the economy, it is about who writes the rules.
The wealthy have their own tax code, and it appears they have their own judicial system that punishes corporations not people for felonies. JP Morgan has had five felony charges under the leadership of the current CEO. Why?
I have recommended signing up for Heather Cox Richardson’s daily writing on the news. She is an historian who brings context to the most important democratic happenings of the day.
What I learned today is that when we hear the word “socialism” from conservatives, it is as much against decentralized shared democracy as it is about spending and definitely not about shared ownership.
For example, in her post yesterday:
This morning, as expected, the House Republicans elected Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Trump’s choice for conference chair, to replace Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY). This means that the four top House Republican leaders—Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), Stefanik, and Policy Committee Chair Gary Palmer (R-AL)—all voted to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory after the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Today’s vote confirmed that the leaders of the current Republican Party are willing to abandon democracy in order to save the country from what they call “socialism.”
Radical statement, but keep reading.
But what Republicans mean when they say “socialism” is not the political system most countries recognize when they use that word: one in which the people, through their government, own the means of production. What Republicans mean comes from America’s peculiar history after the Civil War, when new national taxation coincided with the expansion of voting to include Black men...
…The South became a one-party state ruled by a small elite class, defined by white supremacy, and mired in poverty. For its part, the North also turned on workers, undermining the labor movement and focusing on protecting the new industrial factories whose owners claimed they were the ones driving the economy.
WOW, but we have come so far since then. This is not America today, right? Well…
But by 2020, it was clear that the Republicans’ drive to slash the government back to its 1920 form, along with the racism and sexism that had become central to the party to pull voters to their standard, had become so unpopular that it was unlikely they could continue to win elections.
And so, Republicans began to say that the United States is “not a democracy,” as Utah Senator Mike Lee tweeted in October. “Democracy isn’t the objective,” he continued, “liberty, peace, and prosperity are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that.”
Democracy isn’t the objective, democracy ISN’T the objective ???
No, their ideology is. And theirs may not be yours. Nor most Americans to include Republican voters. So “rank” voters must be suppressed – the rank voters not voting for them.
As for their own “rank” voters, they must be lead so truth does not matter. Lies are justified by the end – winning elections.
With the election of Democrat Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, along with a Democratic Congress, the leadership of the Republican Party has taken the next step. They are rejecting the legitimacy of the election, doubling down on Trump’s Big Lie that he won. Claiming to want to combat “voter fraud,” they are backing bills across the country to suppress Democratic voting, making sure that no one but a Republican can win an election.
“Big Lie”: In 61 court cases, they never presented any evidence of voter fraud, none. It was all for propaganda to lead their own “rank” voters.
Just as white southerners argued after the Civil War, Republican leaders claim to be acting in the best interests of the nation. They are standing firm against “the radical Socialist Democrat agenda,” making sure that no wealthy person’s tax dollars go to schools or roads or social programs.
Republican conservatives have called Democrats socialist forever. The funny thing is, one of the reasons FDR enacted the New Deal was to thwart socialism in America which was taking hold in the world at that time. He wanted Social Capitalism, not socialism… but the top 1% still hated it.
It worked, and we had the highest long term economic growth rates in our history when the highest marginal tax rate on the wealthy was 90% – yes, 90%! But that’s another post. Something about forcing businesses to invest in the economy to get tax deductions and lower their effective tax rate.
Someone wrote the following in the comment section of Dr. Richardson’s website after the whole article:
I thought about that phrase off and on all day yesterday, and if that’s what being concerned about the rights of ALL Americans is, then yes, I’m proud to be a “radical socialist Democrat”.
The financial elites on both sides of the aisle do not want to reverse the next chart. They love “financial stimulus” and the loath “fiscal stimulus” because it goes to those lazy unemployed people who should be flipping burgers even if they can’t find child care (Note: Women are the ones not returning to work today).
The rich live in the financial economy where taxes are low and they don’t pay social security tax which runs 12.4% for workers. Americans live in the real fiscal economy and pay higher taxes than the wealthy today. And it shows.
The problem today, is the financial elites have already won. They’ve been writing the laws, tax codes to reverse Socialized Capitalism. I see these two years as the last stand, but I do not think the line will hold.
And I do not think the Dems have good talking points.
Why not scream about the rising “Fascist Oligarchy Elite” since it appears to fit.
Fascism: is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism[1][2] characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy (wikipedia).
No we are not there yet which is why a say “rising”, but the Democrats are not “socialist” or “radical”. But look ahead…
It is highly likely the Republicans take back the House and Senate and the last two years of Biden’s Presidency nothing will be done. It is highly likely the bubbles will burst and inflation will be the pin that the Fed can not control. The blame will go to the Democrats and not the bubble blowers and wealth concentrators.
And then, democracy takes the back seat to someone else’s definition of liberty, peace, and prosperity [for the few] after the next Presidential election. That is the risk that I lose sleep over.
So, I hope the break-away Republicans do put up candidates to give conservative voters the choice of democracy first. Even if they only take a few seats, they would be the swing votes in Congress and very powerful. So there is hope the pendulum can start swinging back toward some middle ground… or at least stop moving far-right.
The Historian’s Perspective full article
Articles of Interest
The purging of Liz Cheney is about much more than the future of the GOP 15 May 2021
Liz Cheney blasted Fox News for the Big Lie … on Fox News 14 May 2021
Influential Republicans threaten to form new party 12 May 2021
A TSP Smart & Vanguard Smart Investor public concern post
Categories: Perspectives