Tired of Winning Yet?

We heard it a hundred times on the campaign trail.

“I am a winner”

“I am the only person who can fix things”

“I can make the deal”

“Nobody knows more about taxes than me”

We were promised a tsunami of legislation, a rollback of every legislative achievement made by the Democrats in the previous administration. As we reach the end of Trump’s first year in office, we are slowly coming to the realization that he lied about his abilities – ALL of them. His wave of Republican bills was a fantasy, and he seems to have as much interest in the details of legislation as he does reading the Constitution, essentially none.

Meanwhile, his GOP sycophants have been busily at work, dismantling the government piece by piece. Shredding the regulations that protect us. Selling off public lands to the highest bidder. Firing career civil servants on a mass scale. Censoring government research.

But their big LEGISLATIVE “win” has yet to appear. Despite having total control of all three branches of government, they have been unable to achieve ANY legislative accomplishments. They seem to be on the verge of a vote that they will certainly claim as a “victory” but most Americans know better.

For one thing, they had to destroy Democracy to do it.

They didn’t ask permission. They just did it. Right in front of us.

Congress, despite being a public body, still operates with a certain level of secrecy. Other than C-SPAN junkies like me, few Americans know, or even care, about how bills make their way through Congress. Essentially, the process is described by the Constitution, but the actual nitty gritty about how to actually achieve effective legislation involves what has become called “regular order.”

We have sadly learned over the years that involving BOTH parties in major legislation is a necessity. This is, of course, how Democracy works. Competing ideas and policies are advocated for, and then voted on. The appropriate committees in each branch are selected to gather input on proposed legislation. They then schedule hearings, markups and public testimony to craft a bill that is acceptable.  Both parties can make amendments to the process and, if there is enough support, have them voted on. Once each house passes a bill, a conference committee is held where, once again, there are opportunities for both sides to craft something that can get enough votes.

Note that my description of regular order assumes BOTH parties are actively involved with working out the final bill. That was NOT the case with the GOP attempt to gut the Affordable Care Act, and it is certainly not the case with their proposed tax break for billionaires.

Republicans complained very loudly after passing of the ACA that it had been rammed down the throats of legislators. They loved to joke using the line “We have to vote on it, to see what is in it.”

It was all a LIE.

The process leading up to the ACA’s passage involved dozens of hearings. Republicans were allowed to add HUNDREDS of amendments to the final product. They knew EXACTLY what was in it.

They now seem totally blind to the hypocrisy we are all now seeing. First of all, the Republicans are doing all of this monetary juggling of the tax code under special rules. Because the tax bill is technically not a budget bill, they are allowed to pass it with only a simple majority of votes, instead of the usual 60.

The entire bill was being re-written right up until the time it was voted on in each house, so NOBODY had a chance to fully read the provisions.

NO Democratic participation was allowed.

NO hearings were held.

NO public testimony was sought.

The final conference bill was written behind closed doors by a couple of rich white Republicans and released just before the vote to make sure nobody has time to read it. If ever there was a bill that was “crammed” down anybody’s throat – this is it.

Whatever respect I had for John McCain disappeared when he announced he would certainly support this tax bill because it had been done in “regular order.”

So, I will laugh out loud at the Republicans when they strut about, crowing about their huge “victory.” What a joke! 

Even with the deck stacked entirely in their favor and given every possible advantage,  they are struggling to come up with something they can all agree on. The legislation they are about to vote on already is opposed by a majority of Americans, for obvious reasons.

 I did take some political science in college and I learned that there is a name for a country with one-party rule – a DICTATORSHIP. I fear we are rapidly becoming one and this silent coup d’etat has eliminated the one safeguard we have against tyranny, an open and honest debate about our country’s future. It’s hard to have a debate when only one side is represented.

Requiem For America

I never thought I would see the day.

For 241 years, our experiment with democracy has persevered against revolts, depressions, panics and even a Civil War. Although certainly not perfect, the original documents drawn up to form our Union have given us a framework that could accommodate differing beliefs, regulate public affairs and protect us from foreign intervention. How sad to see it all end……

The one-party Oligarchy now in control of our nation bears no resemblance whatsoever to American Democracy.

The coup happened slowly. There were no tanks in the streets. The TV stations were not seized. There were no widespread roundups of political opponents. Instead, the process of destroying America took decades, and happened right in front of our eyes. We were too blind to see it, and now it may be too late.

Like everyone my age, I took “Civics” classes, starting in Junior High. I actually learned a few things. I found out how our Founding fathers figured out a way to create PUBLIC power to counteract the growing influence of the mercantile Class and the fading power of Kings and the Pope. I learned the advantages of a tripartite government and the importance of checks and balances. I admired the attempts to improve the original Constitution by adding important protections and regulations through the Amendment process. I learned how laws are made.

Apparently, there are a lot of people in Congress who skipped that class….

I am currently watching C-SPANs coverage of the GOPs latest attempt to achieve some type of legislative “victory,” No matter what the cost to society. They claim to be creating a tax “reform” but are actually trying to increase the money going to rich people.

 
The hypocrisy is off the charts.

For 8 years, Republicans angrily decried President Obama’s dictatorial health care that was “rammed down their throats.” Oh, the outrage! Oh the hand-wringing.

None of this was true. The process of passing the Affordable Care Act included a multitude of hearings, hours of expert testimony and the GOP were allowed over a hundred amendments. It took almost 2 years to get the bill passed, and even then it wasn’t safe. The House voted to repeal or amend it more than 50 times since it was originally voted on.

The process we are witnessing today is the EXACT OPPOSITE.

There were NO hearings.

There were NO expert witnesses.

There were NO amendments allowed by the opposing party.

The bill was hammered out in a closed-door room, kept secret, and only unveiled 4 days before the vote, guaranteeing there would be no time to get an accurate CBO score.

The Republicans have abandoned all democratic pretenses, and are using their hold on power to force through damaging legislation that will affect 100% of the American people. The audacity of it is astounding.

They are so desperate to achieve any sort of legislative “win,” that they are willing to allow 13 million people to be “free” to not have health care. They have no apparent compunction about using money from America’s safety net to give wealthy people more wealth.

That quaint democracy I read about in my Civics book no longer exists. That cute diagram showing how laws are made is a silly anachronism. The forces of authoritarianism are in control now and political expediency rules the day. 

The Oligarch calling himself President seems apparently clueless about his role in bringing about the downfall of America. The only way he was able to achieve an Electoral College victory was by widespread voter suppression, highly-partisan gerrymandering, and with the help of the entire Russian propaganda apparatus.

So far, his ONLY accomplishment after a year in power is the appointment of Neil Gursuch to the Supreme Court – a seat that was unconstitutionally seized by the GOP. Now that he leads the party, he has expressed strong desires to interfere with the Federal Judiciary and only appoint judges favorable to himself.  Trump has also surrounded himself with tycoons, generals and family members – a dead giveaway of a despot.

Sadly, the GOP dystopia we now face is disheartening. Despite conservative claims that we have the best economic system in the World, everywhere I look there is a shortage of wealth, and it's pretty clear it is because we have given it all to the wealthy.

The GOP has found ever more effective ways to funnel wealth upwards into the hands of the .000000000001%. This latest attempt will do nothing but increase the vast disparity in wealth that already exists today.

So, I guess we had a good run….. Fortunately, I was born during a period where Democrats were the ones shaping our society. Full employment, good health care, and high wages were the goals of the Democrats, and, until Ronald Reagan came on the scene, things were good.

I already miss America and wish we could go back to a time when it still existed. My only hope is that the situation will become so horrible that Americans will demand that we bring it back. We have already seen inklings of a major shift in political thinking and, with any luck, it will sweep away the fascists, racists sexists and bigots that now claim to speak for us. I will never stop speaking about it, and I will be able to say I was a patriot to the end.

None Dare Say His Name

Ever since it was announced that Donald Trump had enough electoral votes to claim victory in the 2016 Presidential election, liberals realized that America now faced a threat greater than ever before. The very foundations of our Democratic order were being questioned by the bullying, reality show TV star now pretending to be President of the United States.

The need for resistance to the usurper was obvious, but there was one problem: his name. Trump had made a fortune just on the use of his name, and liberals did not want to give his brand even more exposure than it was already receiving. How can he be attacked, if we can't even say his name? Essentially, his critics just have decided to use the term “45,” for instance to avoid using the name “Trump.”

I totally disagree.

Yes, I too, avoided his name at first, using the more accurate term “The Oligarch” instead. But, as I watched Trump flail aimlessly in his first 6 months, I realized that his name was actually his Achilles Heel weakness .

Sadly, it became obvious right away that Trump ran for the Presidency with some serious misconceptions about how government worked. When he took office, he behaved exactly like a wealthy businessman would, sitting at his desk, imperiously issuing one order after another, and demanding that Congress jump to his bidding. He still does not seem to understand the “three equal branches of government” thing, and seems mystified as to why Congress is not just following his orders.

I do not believe Donald Trump will complete his term of office, and I think he will leave on his own choice..

And we can make it happen.

All it will take is for us to start using his name – often and loudly. The modern Germans have essentially demonized the name “Hitler” in their country and his name is rarely heard or spoken there. The horrors of his misdeeds were considered so reprehensible, his name was forever tarnished.

We need to do the same thing to Donald Trump. We need to make sure every citizen understands the man’s mendacity, dishonesty, and lack of human compassion. We need to expose every corruption, reveal every scandal, and make sure that the name “Trump” is associated with all of it. We need to make it so no decent person would use his name in polite company, again.

We could start with associating a terrible word along with “Trump,” essentially using his own favorite tactic against him (“Lyin’ Ted”. “Little Marco,” “Crooked Hillary,” etc.).  I favor alliterations, so I will throw out the word “Tyrant” just to get the conversation going. . “Trump the Terrible” is accurate, but a little unwieldly.

We have learned one thing about Donald since he has been in office – he is incredibly vain and cannot perceive why everybody does not worship him. He proudly flouts his name, and allows it to be pasted on golf courses, luxury hotels and office towers. If the Trump name can be denigrated to the point where it starts affecting his bottom line, he will quickly take notice. As the scandals mount, eventually Trump will realize that playing President was a lot harder than his former roles. As the demonstrations grow, his “brand” will not look so attractive to developers. At some point, he will have to understand that his public incompetence is seriously hurting his undeserved reputation as being a “good business man.”

So I say – keep up the pressure. Attach his name to every protest sign. Make sure the voting public associates that name with the values that Trump promotes – intolerance, bigotry, greed and racism. Every homeless encampment should be called a “Trumpville.” Our disintegrating health care system should be called “Trumpcare” at every opportunity. If we can destroy the Trump name in the same way they did President Obama’s, we may be able to make him see the light and retire from public life.  I will continue doing my part, pointing out how abominable our situation is, and reminding people who is behind it all. After all….”Tyrant Trump” has a nice ring to it…….

The State of our (Dis)Union

I was as shocked as anyone when the results of the last Presidential elections were announced last fall. How could America, a nation that used to stand for advancing democracy, defending the weak, and promoting the general welfare elect such a vile, vain, and venomous man as its leader? Gradually, we learned that this epic upset was only possible by misinforming the American public on a mass scale. Although investigators have denied that our long-time enemy Russia, hacked any individual voting machines, they overlook the obvious point: Vladimir Putin did not need to do anything so crude to make sure Hillary Clinton did not get elected. All he had to do was turn the entire Russian propaganda apparatus to swamping our media with “fake news” stories sliming President Obama and Hillary, while praising the eventual winner with lavish compliments. An army of Russian bots spread out through social media, claiming to be Americans who loved the GOP and its heroic nomination of a SAVIOR of our nation.

     Just after the election, I made a number of predictions about the likelihood that our new oligarch would accomplish any of his many promises during the campaign. My conservative friends, assured me that his eection the best thing that could happen to America, and agreed with our leader that we would soon be “tired” of “winning” so much. “Give him a chance!” they whined, and so I have.

     Now, six months into the new administration, it seems a good time to take a look at what he has wrought on our nation. Frankly, it does not look good. We seem poised on the brink of a national cataclysm, one that is likely to tear our country apart and could even result in a Civil War. Already, we are the last generation to see Democracy in our government. The autocratic, one-party oligarchy that is now trying to control every aspect of our lives, bears no resemblance whatsoever to American Democracy. My conservative friends, who posted endless political misinformation every day for 8 years, are now strangely silent.

     Initially, the Oligarch behaved exactly as you would have expected. Having no experience in democratic institutions, it seems clear El Presidente believed the entire government was there to serve as his flunkies. Obviously, the concept of a three-part government and checks and balances are foreign concepts to him. For the first several months, he did NOTHING but issue Presidential directives, one after another, trying to undue EVERY advancement made by President Obama. He genuinely seemed puzzled that Congress did not immediately jump to his commands and do everything he told them to. Despite his repeated claim to be the most successful President EVER, he has accomplished exactly NO major legislative accomplishments in his first six months. There is no border wall. He has not prevented Muslims from entering the country. He has not yet been successful in destroying our nation’s health care system. The only thing Republicans can claim as a ”success” is getting a Supreme Court Justice appointed, but that was only done by STEALING the seat from President Obama.

Nothing illustrates the moral bankruptcy of the President and his GOP supporters as their obsessive attempts to “Repeal and Replace Obamacare” with something “wonderful.” Intelligent people knew all along this was a fantasy. Hoping to get Republican buy-in for the health care overhaul, President Obama chose a GOP plan to base the ACA on. In order to defeat single-payer proposals, Republicans had long argued that such a system was the only “free market” solution to health care. As soon as the first African-American President adopted the system, the GOP suddenly HATED the idea and they have spent the last 7 years trying to discredit it. This is why, of course, they have been unable to come up with ANY alternative. The Massachusetts-model ACA was the ONLY way to keep private health insurance companies in business, and by sliming it incessantly, the GOP has made single-payer look a LOT more appealing.

     Ironically, the GOP oligarch has carried out every action he criticized the past administration on - usually far surpassing President Obama. The number of days playing golf, for instance. I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard Republicans ridicule the Democrats for “ramming through” the Affordable Care Act with no GOP support. Factcheckers have pointed out that the Democratic attempts to pass the ACA were considerably different from this current effort, mainly by making full use of the committee process. In the lead-up to the ACA, Democrats held hundreds of hours of debates and allowed hundreds (actually over a thousand) of amendments to the legislation, many of them by Republicans. There were 44 hearings and public events about the plan in the Senate alone. Despite this, the GOP decided not to cast a single vote for it – just because it had originally been proposed by Barack Obama. Since they had spent so much time sliming him already, the Republicans decided to label the ACA as “Obamacare” to make sure their supporters knew who to hate.

Compare this with the current efforts. A small group of white men in a closed room have been making decisions that will affect 1/6 of the American economy with NO public participation, whatsoever. No hearings. No debate. No amendments. In fact, they essentially have carried out martial law in Congress – cutting the opposition party out of the process entirely and forcing their membership to vote on a bill they have never even seen. And to think they ridiculed Democrats for saying Congress members had to vote for the ACA bill to see what was in it!

     Fortunately, the GOPs total failure to govern is now obvious to just about everyone. Despite having total one-party control over all aspects of our former Democracy, they STILL cannot agree on how much to hurt the average American. I hate to see what they come up with next……..

The Emperor Has No Clothes!