Can We Still Save America?

Today we're faced with a whole litany of troubles. It seems that we just jump from crisis to crisis every day. Sometimes it feels like its hour to hour! Many of us have all but stopped listening to the media's "Crisis du Jure", which attempts to tell us who to hate today and what causes or issues we should be for or against. We just can't take another minute of this negativity anymore. So, what do we do?

They whip our passions using fake patriotism, images of charred houses, and the ubiquitous impoverished children and heartbroken women. We turn to distractions like our "smartphones", video games, brain dead television programs which conditions us when to clap or laugh thanks to their programmed laugh tracks.

We even focus on sports to the point of obsession. Our discussions often become so intense you'd think we had a financial stake in the outcome. Why? Because we know that ultimately the outcome of some game doesn't really affect us. Our attention has carefully been turned away from the issues which truly matter such as rising prices, the declining value of our hard earned dollars or the loss of any benefits  we may happened to have had.

We work longer and harder and earn  less. Did you know that today's average worker's income, after adjusted for inflation,  has the same buying power as it did in 1979? Prices haven't remained the same, and hence finding households where both adults work, and some are holding down two or three jobs!

In fact, we now bring home less than our parents or even grandparents did in the 1970's! When adjusted for inflation, worker wages have only increased 15%. At the same time, the income of CEOs and their ilk have increased 1,209 % since 1979.At the same time taxes and prices continue to rise and yet multi-billion dollars conglomerates pay little or nothing. Do you think that's right?

Divisions among class, race, religion, and ethnic group are worse now than they have in decades. As long as we're divided and fighting among ourselves, it's so much easier to control us while they are free to pull the strings. After all, as long as we're fighting each other, the ruling elite can do as they please. Face it,  those with the real power are playing our manufactured fears like a fiddle from Hell. 

The mainstream media publishes or slants the stories the ruling class wants us to hear. Propaganda is all about perception. Wars, for instance, are usually framed in such colorful phrases  such as "freedom", "democracy", "free enterprise", "obligation " and "duty". They try to  connect our revolutionary war to whatever cause their pushing in order to create a link. It's almost always accompanied by imagery intended to play on our emotions and patriotism. But just how sincere is their message?

More often than not, the answer is it isn't.  Everything always comes down to economics. It's often about forcing a sovereign nation to open its markets to U.S. and Western corporations under the not so subtle veil of a U.S. military invasion.  If it weren't, then why do we prop up undemocratic autocracies like Kuwait or Saudi Arabia just as we did for South Vietnam, Iran, Cuba, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Nicaragua or Panama. Iraq and Nicaragua were praised as allies until they stopped following directions.

Take for instance Iraq. Saddam Hussein (who we helped into power) invaded Kuwait, a key provider of oil and gas. That triggered a rise in prices. So, after a propaganda campaign to manufacture consent by the American People, we were fed a bunch of BS about  promised democratic reforms by the Kuwaiti monarchy such as allowing women to vote and sharing power. You know what happened after we "liberated" Kuwait? Nothing.

Most of these were the result of coups following democratic elections in which we didn't like the outcome.  In their place, we installed ultra conservative military juntas who opposed anything democratic! However, invasion isn't always or even mostly the end result.

In the majority of cases good old bribery and kickbacks do the trick in the form of economic aid. Of course, this works both ways such political donations to various foundations, insider tips on stocks or seats on boards of directors, or being hired as a "consultant".  It's called "pay to play" and the typical American doesn't have the cash to feed the pot.

We talk about being the land of opportunity, yet so many family farms and "mom and pop" businesses are forced to close because of big box stores. Did you know that only 4 companies control 65% of the food market or that other four control 95% of the world's fertilizer and seeds? That represents 65% of the global food supply. Nationally only 5 banks dominate the U.S. financial market---Chase Bank, Bank of America, U.S. Bankcorp, Wells Fargo, and Citibank. 

Just six corporations dominate the pharmaceutical industry and can virtually dictate the price of medication (as an aside, several medical industry research studies have been published which show that 70% of the price increases of prescription medication are not supported by medical research or demand). Shareholders of "Big Pharma" stock saw a 400% increase in payouts from 2000 to 2018.  Government regulations attempt to regulate our ability to cultivate our own gardens or collect rainwater. It's all about dependence.

While the largest producers of oil and gas are Russia and OPEC, the U.S. is a strong contender, yet, when we talk about those companies with control over the spigot, 10 companies overwhelming dominate the market. Together they represent roughly 90% of oil and gas market.

Any new green technology is quickly bought up or "boo hooed" as unpractical  and back up using paid for research papers. That doesn't mean there aren't windmill farms and the like, but there are too few to make much of a difference. They use their influence to divert federal aid from projects that would improve mileage or lower energy costs.  

We now have five corporations controlling 96+% of our media from print and digital to radio and TV. They are behind the shows we watch nightly, the movies we see, the games we play, and even our access to the internet. Just five technology companies dominate 33% of the global technology market, and so the story goes.

Many of these conglomerates have more money than some countries. When comparing economies of size, Apple's revenue is larger than the individual economies of Italy, Canada, Brazil, Russia, Australia, Spain, and others. Microsoft is financially bigger than nine countries including Russia, South Korea, and Mexico. The same goes for Amazon, Facebook, and Saudi Aramco. Only seven nations still has economies larger than these corporations --- U.S., China,  India, and the UK, but that doesn't mean their governments are in control.  

Is it any wonder then that America has undergone a silent coup in slow motion and become a corporatocracy? It was done in such a way that most Americans never even noticed.  And the best part about this silent slow motion coup is that there are those who still denied it ever happened. That's when you know your coup was successful.

The "Republic" is held up as mask to pacify the naive. Our new "America, Inc" is managed by a handful of these meg-rich individuals --- aka "Oligarchs" (or plutocrats if you prefer).  They serve the interest of Wall Street, not Main Street America. Both political parties are quite literally bought and paid for. Consider the "Citizens United" blunder for instance.

Corporations are nothing more than legal fictions. But under Citizens United, they don't have just the same rights as you and I do (an absurdity in itself), but more. How so? Because money is now defined as "free speech" and  you can bet that they have far than we do. Secondly, these "fictional persons" can donate basically whatever they feel like to a issue, party or individual.

Ordinary citizens are capped at an insignificant  $1000 in donations per election cycle. Compare that to Bloomberg Lp which donated just under $93 million to Joe Biden in 2020. The Las Vegas Sands gambled $45 million on Trump . Congressional Leadership PACS (basically "slush funds") received a total of $40.5 million dollars from Big Business, with most of that going to the Republican Party. But what about unions?

The power of organized labor has been broken since the 1960's. Once, they were protected workers and were actively involved in social issues. Nowadays, they are more interested in keeping workers on production lines rather than picket lines. When it comes to donations, corporations give nearly ten dollars for every dollar unions give.

Look at illegal immigration. This has been a national security crisis since the 1980's. That's over 40 years ago. If government really wanted to resolve the issue you'd think four decades would be ample  time. The truth is that they never had any real intentions to resolve the problem. The influx dilutes the workforce, thus driving down wages and benefits (and in some cases, eliminating them altogether). 

It makes employees more concerned about keeping a job than improving their working conditions.  What the ruling class wants is a workforce just smart enough to keep their heads down, do their job, and don't ask questions, which happens to be exactly what public education has participated in creating--- a dumbed down workforce of economic serfs. An unengaged citizenry allows those in power the freedom to do as they please without interference.

Writing legislation has become increasing a corporate lobbyist function rather than that of Congress while using their large staffs to reviewing proposed bills and make recommendations to the House or Senate member on how to vote on any given issue. That frees up the elected representative to spend more time raising money for party leadership.

These corporate lobbyist are also known to provide first rate perks, grease palms, and most importantly, underwrite their elections and provide opponent research.  No wonder members of Congress  have a 98% reelection rate despite having an approval rating of 13% (in November 2013 it was 9%). Think about those numbers for a moment. These are Soviet Era rates! This is what you'd expect in the old Soviet Politburo, China's National People's Congress, or North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly.  They are the percentages of failed democracy.

It's obvious therefore why there's no shortage of willing takers! Why else would already wealthy individuals spend millions for a job that pays just $174,000 or less than what an medium size company president makes? A sense of civic duty? Noblesse oblige?  As the expression goes, the winners write the history...and the game rules. So, in case you're keeping score,  the American People aren't winning. Is there anything we can do to save any part of our remaining Republic?

Well, the answer is a qualified "yes", but there's very little time remaining in the hourglass of our once great nation. Key is that we have to stop bitching and actually do something. We need to stop voting for the "lesser of two evils". Evil is evil. We need to break up the political duopoly. We need to think and vote outside the box. 

While we may be too late to save the federal government, we should focus our efforts on local and state elections. We need to support third parties and Independent candidates in any way we can. We need to force state legislatures to permit citizen initiatives (if you already have one, count yourself lucky). We need to press for term limits, changes in our campaign financial requirements, adding third party and Independent representative to local boards of election.

We need to eliminate partisan offices on non-policy making offices such as county clerk or attorney, the offices of Secretary of State, Agriculture, or Treasure. Newly elected officials should be required to resign from whatever party they belong to and take an oath to represent everyone in the district, not just fellow partisans.

We must build stronger local communities and demand more from our boards of education, police department, as well as reforming our taxing authorizes. No rate or taxes increases without voter approval. While these are just a handful of changes we can make, to set back and do nothing is not an option any more. You don't have to do all of them. Pick one. Get involved. Be the change we must have. It's time to come home to our roots.

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Open Secrets: Top Contributors to JoeBiden, 2020 Cycle

Open Secrets: Top Contributors to DonaldTrump, 2020 Cycle

The World's Tech Giants, Compared to the Size of Economies

The Top 10 Oil Companies in the World

Who Controls The World's Food Supply?

For most U.S. worker, real wages havebarely budged in decades

CEO pay slightly declined in 2022

Who owns the world's largest pharmaceutical companies? 

Who are the Players in the Pharmaceutical Industry (Big Pharma)?

Changing the Rules of the (Political) Game

I've been a political and community activist and organizer for well over 40 years. I've served as a Congressional aide, political strategist and advisor, a citizen lobbyist, speech and campaign writer from local and issue oriented campaigns up to congressional races. 

I've been fundraiser, not to mention a candidate (won three lost two). I was a partner in a successful candidate training "bootcamp" for newbie's to the political game. I've taught it college at the undergraduate and graduate levels. I've been honored with many local, regional, and national awards for my community activism too.

I've pretty much "been there and done that". I've meet some incredible and amazing people in and out of politics that I will never forget. I've also met with some breathtakingly shallow individuals, those with egos the size of mountains, habitual liars, and those who would steal the pennies off a dead man's eyes that I will always remember too.

My aim has always been to make this world; this nation and the community where I live a little better off than it was before I came along. I never gave a damn about partisan dogma, although sometimes it was a necessary evil in the truest since of the word. The goal has always been the people. 

Sometimes I'd come home from some partisan function and want to jump in the shower and scrub the grime off me. I'll let you in on a little "not so secret" secret.  The longer you're in it, the harder it is to get that grime off. The higher you go, the thicker the grime gets.

I doubt I'm telling any of you what you don't already know.  What I want to talk about is about is something much more basic. I want to discuss America. Specifically what we've become, where we are, and where we might be heading.

Right now the main topic of conversation is whether or not Joe Biden and the Democrats "stole" the Presidential election from Donald Trump. The Democrats and the corporate owned media are arguing that the election was totally legitimate; that it's virtually impossible to rig an election.

The Trump camp, on the other hand, is claiming that there were an awful lot of forged, faked ballots, and uncounted ballots; that election sites were cleared of non-Democrats and only Biden ballots were run through. Some are claiming that Dominion, a company which makes election machines, were somehow rigged to throw out Trump votes.  

The Democrats and media have forgotten (or want to the public to forget) that in 2016  they were claiming that the election was rigged. They were flabbergasted that an outsider like Donald Trump could have defeated Hillary Clinton; that somehow, "the Donald" had denied Hillary a Caesarian triumph down Pennsylvania Avenue. Hillary would not receive her political coronation. Almost immediately claims of rigged ballots were everywhere. It wasn't long before we were being told that the Russians did it.

Of course, as we now know (and after spending millions of taxpayer's dollars), the Russian collusion story, as we all suspected, was pure BS. In fact, it now appears that it may have been concocted by Hillary or those close to her to discredit Trump. Besides, she was deathly afraid that Trump would begin an investigation into some of her questionable doings as Secretary of State.

We can't (or shouldn't) forget that Hillary and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz were involved in rigging the 2016 Democratic Primary against Bernie Sanders, including ensuring that none of his supporters would be heard at the convention. She wanted to make it look like she had total party support. An investigation afterwards confirmed that the primary was indeed "fixed". Wasserman-Schultz was fired but hired the next day to work for the Hillary campaign. As for Hillary, not a thing happened to her.

Debbie's replacement, Donna Brazile, was fired shortly afterwards for providing Hillary with a list of questions to be asked at the last presidential debate. Brazille was hired by FOX news and Hillary laughed. The media glossed  both of these instances over. Meanwhile, the media never shut up about the Trump-Russian collusion which never was.

We can go back to the George W. Bush and Al Gore race of 2000 and its claim of election fraud (remember "dangling chads"?). In this case, a conservative leaning Supreme Court ruled in Bush's favor even though the matter should have been decided by Congress.

When Lyndon Johnson first ran for U.S. Senate back in 1948, there were charges of voter fraud amid the "Box 13 Scandal". Six days after the election, a box of some 202 uncounted votes were "found" in Precinct 13 and were allowed to be counted. All but two were for Johnson  and allowed him to barely defeat Coke Stevenson by a mere 87 votes (decades later, research borne out the claim of fraud).

In Trump's case, he's been under attack from literally day one of his presidency by the media, the Left, Democrats, the media, and members of his own party. He was an "outsider". He was not part of the political establishment; the ruling elite. He was upsetting the rotten apple cart. There was no way Trump was going to be allowed to win. Admit it. Deep down, we all knew it didn't we?

Joe Biden has been an insider for 47 years. He's part and parcel with what's wrong with America. Does anyone seriously believe that a 47 year insider who has consistently voted for corporate tax breaks, higher taxes for small businesses and the working class, looser government restrictions and funding wars, is the "answer" to our prayers?

If there is a "bright" side, it's that Biden won't be in office very long. The man is obviously not all there mentally. I don't know what it is, dementia or some other health issue, but he's not who we want in the Oval Office for anything more serious than lightening the White House Christmas Tree (and then under supervision).

Kamala Harris will be the first female President of the United States. Her background is law, mostly as California's Attorney General. She is a junior Senator with no prior legislative or foreign affairs experience. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? But don't worry. She's very tight with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and, of course, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Yelp, the ole gang is back in business. The Oligarchy out of the shadows again.

As for the Republicans, don't put too much stock in their crocodile tears. They aren't all broke up about Trump's pending departure. "The Donald" was just as much a pain in their butts as the Democrats. Now, everyone can get back to business as usual with their corporate lobbyists pals. The only ones who might actually miss Trump is the media. They've spent the last four years brow beating him and his staff endlessly. What will they talk about now? I'm sure they'll find some make believe story to soft soap us with.  Perhaps shortly after Biden's  inauguration we'll have some new "crisis" to distract us. Ah, happy days again!

There's some murmuring about Trump coming back in four years for another bite at the rotten apple. I hope not. I think the man and his family have been through enough. I wouldn't wish that on anyone but my worst enemy. Of course, I fully expect the Democrat and Republican party chieftains to rewrite the rules to make sure that no one like Trump (that is, a political outsider) can ever seriously challenge their lock on power the way they did after Ross Perot ran back in the 80's.

Let's also do a little soul searching here. America is not what it was intended to be. We are not a Constitutional Republic or representative democracy if you prefer. We pretend it is, but it isn't. Professional and academic studies , reports, surveys, and polls have confirmed and reconfirmed it. Sorry to pop any bubbles out there.

We are a Corporatocracy, albeit one with a thin veneer of representative legitimacy.  A Corporatocracy is not "socialist". It's not "Communist", and it's sure not "National Socialist" or Nazi.  It is a tight  partnership between big business and government. If anything, it's has more in common with Fascism or medieval feudalism than anything (as an aside, Fascism's founder, Benito Mussolini, said that fascism would be better named as corporatism).  Government serves the needs and interests of Big Business and the uber wealthy while keeping us in line and pacified.

If, for instance, Big Business wants to get its hands on some country's resources and the normal means of negotiation fails (like bribery, threats, blackmail, etc), then they turn to the government to rev up the patriotism engine and the next thing you know we're off to "save" some country from a despot who had previously been a "valued" ally weeks or months before or spread some good ole Grade A American democracy.

Occasionally, just the threat of military intervention is enough to work. Other times, we simply manufacture a coup or assassination like in Chile, Vietnam, Argentina, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Brazil, Panama, or dozens of other nations.  Regardless, the Oligarchy gets what they want...no matter the cost.   

When corporations screw up and need billions of taxpayer money to bail them out (and pay executive bonuses) and taxpayers say "no", what happens? That's right. They get more than they asked for of our money. When we demand a stop to illegal immigration, but corporations want the cheap labor, who wins? Hint: it's not us. When some government entity wants to raise taxes, and we say that we can't afford it, what happens? You know. They get it every single time.

When developers want to pave over play lots for kids, quiet forested acres, what happens? The Zoning Boards have already ruled before announcing a hearing (usually at some time and place where most residents can't make it because they actually work).

We can protest...if we get permission from the city and secure a "permit". We can write letters to the newspaper editors voicing our outrage, but if it doesn't coincide with their agenda, it won't see the light of day or it's made to look like a minority position as suddenly massive "pro" letters magically appear. We can try call in radio shows, but we rarely ever get heard. Let's fact it folks, if you think elections are fixed, it isn't anything compared to the system itself. 

The U.S. has a "winner take all" political system. When one side wins, everyone else is essentially unrepresented for the term. Consider Independents. We're the largest political bloc in America. Larger than Democrats or Republicans, yet both parties collude to make it nearly impossible to participate in elections due to unequal (and perhaps illegal) election laws. Same for third parties in some states.

Many state legislatures forbid voter referendums because it doesn't serve their interests; it dilutes their power. We can't even represent ourselves!  But since the system serves the interests of the corporations, we are all unrepresented anyway. Perhaps it's time we take back our power and restore our Republic.

 

1948 United States Senate election in Texas

United States involvement in regime change

Elizabeth Warren and Donna Brazile both now agree the 2016Democratic primary was rigged

WikiLeaks Proves Primary Was Rigged: DNC UnderminedDemocracy

 

 

Election Tuesday and Political Endorsements

Tuesday, May 22nd is Election Day across many states. Some pundits are proclaiming that it will be referendum on President Trump and his political agenda. Others are calling it "course correction" with Republicans expected to lose some but not all of their seats, while others think the Democrats will see more losses. Regardless, it should be an interesting election since we have a record number of democrat socialists running for office, as well as a record number of school teachers and a record number of Muslims (all but one are running as Democrats by the way).

We are also seeing several Congressional members not seeking reelection such as Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania), Elizabeth Esty (D-Connecticut) and John Delaney (D-Maryland). All told, 10 Democrats and 24 Republicans are quitting., which personally I think is a good thing. Not that I care about who is leaving or their party, I'm just happy to see fresh ideas and new blood come to Congress. The way the election game is rigged, it's virtually impossible for incumbents to be defeated, so about the only way we actually see a vacant seat is if the incumbent quits, dies, or gets indicted.

Of course, the political system itself is broken beyond all hope of repair. But then, that's way we're a de facto Oligarchy and no longer a democratic or Constitutional Republic. We let it happen. We were too busy with life to get involve. Too busy with kids or grand kids. Too busy just trying to make ends meet. We are also distracted by the media's "Crisis du jure"; by "social media" and playing on our Smartphones and computers; by watching so-called "reality" TV shows instead of actually having a life of our own; by watching who got drafted and who didn't, and all the sports programs. Basically, anything and everything that has actually nothing to do with our lives like, you know, taxes, wars, gas prices, illegal immigration, school violence, or even the price of food. Ah, blessed ignorance.

Nevertheless, none of that is the intended topic for this edition of Another Opinion. Nope. Not at all. What I wanted to speak to you about is manipulation. Specifically, manipulation by the media. We all know the media is owned by just six corporations (at least 96% of it is). We all know the media has an agenda, and it attempts to influence what we think and how we feel by manipulating what we see and hear. They spin, mislead, misdirect, use innuendos, and emotion grabbing images. Old news, I know.

However, it's during election time that the media most attempts to get you to buy into their agenda, especially at the local level. You see, they've spend nearly every second of every day trying to get you to see things their way. Then election day rolls around and they just so happen to have list of politicians they want you to vote for. And why shouldn't you? After all, they've done all the "necessary" research for you to make sure their positions fits "preferred" agenda, which they usually call "the People's interests" or other more friendly and disarming phrases.

Of course, it's not about your interests. It's not even necessarily about the communities best interests. But it is always about the best interests of the ruling elites, be at the local, state, or national level. What matters is that their interests are taken care of first, foremost, and last. If you and I happen to benefit, well then, that's great. However, we typically don't. We end up with people who want to raise taxes (or at least won't do anything to stop them from going up); people who have no qualms with shipping out high paying jobs with benefits while bringing in minimum wage jobs with few or no benefits. We seem to get stuck with individuals who get contracts to their political friends in exchange for a little friendly graft sliding back their way. Seriously, don't you think things would change if the powers-that-be wanted them to? They are the way they are because it benefits them. It's that simple.

The notion of political endorsements by the media used to make sense. Back a century or so ago, few people ever got to see or hear a politician, let alone find out anything about their position on various issues or their background. Thus, newspapers (which were the only news source available) took up the role "defending" the interests of its readers by doing "investigative journalism", which on more than a few occasions would smear yellow (thanks to a little "green" on the palm). This expanded with the newspaper editor's making political recommendations; helping political and business friends and their associates get elected.

But times have changed. We have TV, with cable and satellite, giving us hundreds of channels with different news and perspectives. The same for radio. We have the internet with literally millions of sites to explore, and countless ways to read or research issues important to us. We can also check out candidates we're interested in, including visiting their sites, watching or listening to old interviews and speeches, and comparing it with what they're saying now. We can read voter guides to get candidate's opinions on various topics.

Simply put, we don't need or even want the media (or anyone else) telling us how to vote anymore than we want someone else to tell us how or what to think. Yet, newspaper editors continue to do just that. Often, without having any clue whatsoever about the candidates they "endorse", let alone the ones they don't. Many, if not the majority of newspapers, simply "endorse" on the basis of political party or whether someone is a incumbent or not. Does that sound like honest journalism to you? It sure doesn't to me. Besides, If I'm old enough to vote, I'm old enough to make my own informed decisions. I don't need or want someone trying to tell me what to think...or how to vote.

As an aside, if the same newspaper that you wrap fish in or use to line birdcages feel they are entitled to dictate how you vote, why can't other media outlets? Why not ESPN or Fox? Why not CNN or your favorite radio disc jockey? Why not one of your local TV anchors or their managing directors? For that matter, why not your company president? Any of these would be just as legitimate. I think it's because none of them want to be bothered. Besides, these media companies are ultimately owned by one of the same six corporations who have their political spin going on. Maybe it's just that newspaper editors still believe they are "entitled"; sort of a ways to keep their much faded clout and remain relevant in a world where information is readily available at the click of a mouse or touch of a button.

So, I will make no effort to try and tell you who to vote for (or even who I may vote for). I presume that if you're smart enough to read Another Opinion, you're smart enough to do your own research and make that decision yourself. However, I will encourage you to ignore any and all political endorsements from the media and to be sure to go vote. Don't forget too that there are many candidates not running with a Democrat or Republican label who might be a far better choice. Besides, with Independents already being the largest political bloc in nation and growing along with third parties, voting Democrat or Republican just might be "throwing your vote away". Go vote folks!!


Ballotpedia: List of U.S. Congressional incumbents who are not running for reelection in 2018



UNCG: The Independent Voter



Gallup: New Record 43% Are Political Independents

The Republican Endorsement of Hillary Clinton?

Who says politics isn't a team sport? It seems everyone has a team. Of course, that team is theirs and how everything revolves about them. However, once in a while, these various "teams" come together in a common cause. In this cause, that common cause is Donald Trump and the team name should be something like "Who's Not Supporting the Republican Party Nominee?". I think people would be surprised by who isn't onboard with Team Trump. We know Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell isn't. 

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who had been in the "no" column has given a very lukewarm endorsement while 34 other Republican House members have said nope. Former Secretary of the State, Condi Rice isn't and neither are Ted Cruz and Mario Rubio. Former GOP Presidents George H Bush (and his wife Barbara Bush), Jeb and George W Bush aren't. Two time GOP loser Mitt Romney isn't and neither is John McCain. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg isn't. Neither is the Koch Brothers and many more. Most of those who have, with a few exceptions like Chris Christy, have given only a "limp fish" endorsement of Trump; many adding that they will not actively support or hinder his campaign. The Republican National Committee too has offered a less than stellar endorsement of their nominee.

In short, the Establishment GOP is not crazy about the guy who beat their handpicked candidates, so they intend to punish their conservative base (you know, the "common folk" who voted for Donald Trump over the "Rich Old Boy" network's choices) by not helping Trump. The GOP Establishment has taken every opportunity to take a swing at "The Donald" they can. 

It's even being humored that the now infamous "locker room tape" leaked to the corporate press came from within the Republican Party Establishment which wouldn't surprise me a bit. The same goes for many of these women stepping forward with allegations of sexual harassment by Trump (no police reports were ever filed or mention ever made to others). Some are wondering if these women are being paid to fabricate or exaggerate their claims. Regardless, they are getting their fifteen minutes of notoriety at just the right critical time for the Hillary camp. Coincidence?

There's been only a few times in US political history where a political party ruling clique has set out to sabotage its own Presidential nominee's campaign. The first came with the implosion of the Whigs which coincided with the breakup of several smaller "third parties" such as the Free Soil Democrats and the America "No-Knowing" Party, which later came together to form the Republican Party in 1856. 

The second time is when Republican Howard Taft failed to live up to expatiations (at least in Teddy Roosevelt's eyes) and when he refused to step aside to allow "Teedy" to run again, TR bolted from the GOP to form a new political party, the Progressive Party, or as was better known as, the "Bull Moose Party". In the first instance, it marked the end of the Whig Party and the other smaller parties and birth of the GOP. 

It's second Presidential nominee was Abraham Lincoln, who presided over the breakup of the United States and a civil war which followed. In the second instance, it severely damaged the Republican Party and split the conservative and moderate vote, which then threw the election to Democrat Woodrow Wilson, who, despite his promises to the contrary, supported entry of the US into World War I.

As most political junkies know, and as common sense would tell you, fractions and factions in politics are commonplace. After all, you're dealing with super rich spoiled brats with ego's the size of Montana (sounds like professional sports). Everyone of them think their Wall Street's gift to America. But usually there are the backroom deals just before or during the party convention which attempts to plaster over these differences. 

It there that vice presidents are selected, along with cabinet post positions the other key offices in exchange for support, favors, or money. However, that didn't happen in this case; at least as far as we know, although Mike Pence as Trump's running mate could have been the result of a backroom compromise with the GOP elite (which may explains the bizarre behavior of Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio afterwards).

I think that in the current situation, we have a similar recipe for disaster. First off, these current and former Republican "leaders", by their refusal (and ego driven temper tantrums) to support their nominee are making a de facto endorsement of Hillary Clinton. 

By the RNC not actively supporting Donald Trump, they too are endorsing Hillary by default. The others, with their tempt "endorsement" are saying to voters of all stripes that they have no confidence in their party's nominee and, thus, support the other candidate; in this case, Hillary Clinton. 

Either way, should Clinton win the election, the Republican Party and all of its elected representatives will no excuse to criticize either Hillary or the Democratic "leadership" over the next four years. How could they when they won't support their own nominee and are making implied endorsements of the other party's candidate? Of course, I'm sure some are just that hypocritical that they'll try.

But not all of this is on the Republican Party. The Democrats are facing a similar though less publicized problem. The Millennials, who are the nation's largest (and still growing) demographic voting bloc, strongly supported Bernie Sanders, or at least, Bernie's proposed political agenda. 

Many were highly upset when Bernie failed to do as well in the primary as they though he would, so needless to say, they were highly miffed when they learned that Hillary Clinton and the DNC (Debbie Wasserman-Schultz in particular) had conspired together to fix the Democrat Primaries and later, the Democratic National Convention.

 True, Wasserman and some others were immediately fired, Hillary's camp turned right around and hired them as campaign advisors. The result has been more Millennials leaving the Democrat party and joining the majority of voters as independents (the GOP has already faced a similar exodus when it began forcing out its moderates in the 1980's who went on to join ranks with the Indies).

The end result is an electorate which strongly disapproves of either party's presidential offering combined with a sustain and exceptionally high disapproval of the Washington politics in general. 

The public has long understood that the political process was corrupt and broken beyond repair. Now it's being played out for all to see. Even down ticket candidates on both sides are trying to distance themselves from the two nominees and their party by emphasizing that they are "independent", "non-partisan" or "independent thinking" (which is not only an oxymoron since they are running on a corporate party ticket but disingenuous as well). 

The only real winners out of this will be the third parties such as the Libertarians and the Greens; perhaps especially so since most Millennials seem to gravitate to one or the other of these two parties in terms of their party platforms. I think too that the American People themselves may benefit by leaving the duopoly created and financed by Wallstreet and promoted by their corporate media. Meanwhile, should either of the two corporate sponsored candidates win in November, America is in for a very rough next four years.



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