The Balance of Power in America

Let's say, for a frame of reference, that Bernie Sanders is the Far Left in American politics and that Barack Obama was a little Left of Center and that Hillary Clinton would have been very Centrist or even a tiny bit Right of Center, that any of the Republicans who lost the 2015 primary battle for the presidential nomination (include Mike Pence) were Right of Center by a good margin, and that Donald Trump represented the Far Right.  Why did America end with Trump?

One thing that is more and more clear is that corporate America was perfectly happy to have a big tax cut and all the Republicans would have offered that. Hillary would probably not have done anything major with taxes.

But, this means ANY Republican would have suited them. Well, that's where the Republican primary failed to tame their Far Right voters and Vladimir Putin. There was an effort to get them to accept Putin's involvement and to act in a way that would have disqualified Trump. They (mostly Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky) refused.

So, why is there talk of Trump's 'incompetence' now? Sure, the corporations and rich people wanted a tax cut, but they have that and now they don't want to die in a nuclear holocaust. Why would Trump go that direction? He's gotten what he wanted and now he may want to retire before the Mueller investigation finds real dirt which would lead to jail time for Trump and his family & friends. But, if he's willing to keep pushing toward nuclear war there will have to be something done.

That may lead to "President Pence". The rich and corporations would be okay with that and the Republicans would be okay with that. They like low regulations, laissez-faire economics, slow growth and no complications such as Dems would cause.

They might believe Hillary would tend to continue the Obama economy, but they couldn't be certain. Besides, Pence will happily continue the Trump/Republican low regulations helpful government policies.

But, the American people voted more for Hillary. Too bad. They aren't currently outweighing the rich and corporations which are backing Republicans. Even if Putin is out of the picture, they will still be there giving money since the Republicans opened the Constitutional door with the Citizens United decision and the theft of a Supreme Court seat for the Conservative Neil Gorsuch. They are also continuing their other tactics to prevent Democrats fair representation in Congress.

But, if all this is true, then why did Barack Obama win twice? Why did Bill Clinton win twice? Economics. Aside from the tax cuts the rich want a slow-growing economy and not a Great Depression or even a Recession. In 1990-91 there was a recession during the Bush I presidency. That was part of how Clinton won. The other was Ross Perot's candidacy. In 2007-08 there was a huge recession and Obama walked away the winner.

So, if we don't have a recession or depression, when do Democrats get to win and when does our huge government debt get paid down? Never, if the rich and corporations have their way. They control America by giving money to Republican campaigns and the Republicans gerrymander and rig elections every way they can (including getting help from Russians).

If the majority of Americans ever want their voices heard they have to win and do some very fundamental changes to restore a better Democratic balance in American politics.

First it means we need a giant blue wave election to take power. That means keeping Trump as president until the entire Republican Party stinks to high heaven of Russian influence and criminal activity. Letting Mike Pence become president would be letting the Republicans off the hook entirely.

Second, once in power, Democrats have to change a lot of things to restore Democracy: neutral districting in all states, probably done by computer programs; eliminate jail time for possession and personal consumption of THC/marijuana; eliminate voter ID laws, ensure electronic voting machines can be verified (some are today, but some aren't); etc. etc. etc.

I don't know if there is a big day of reckoning a comin', but we need it if we are to continue calling ourselves a Democracy and not just a China wannabe. If the Oligarchic powers win, the people lose.

Incidentally, why would the rich and corporations want slow growth (the kind Obama with a Republican Congress delivered)? The rich who are growing older don't want to risk their wealth on real investments or on expanding businesses and hiring people in America to work. They want a sure thing (and zero taxes on their bequeathments to children): slow growth with low interest rates and a continuing large U.S. government debt which lets them buy bonds. I wouldn't even be surprised if Putin and other government leaders around the world want American bonds to be their piggy-bank, so low interest rates and slow growth is their view of a nice safe secure piggy-bank which doesn't kick them out. If the economy grows faster it raises interest rates and business becomes more challenging, wages go up, and their whole plan is harder to do. If government can pay down the debt (as Presidents Clinton and Obama were doing), then their piggy-bank may get broken. They don't want that, though their interests endanger America's future.

What kind of government do we have? A Democracy if we can keep it.