Our Democracy Is at Stake
[VV note: Friedman works from a wrong assumption here. The U.S. was never a true democracy but a Republic. Even then, it's really neither anymore: It's an oligarchy, and the majority of Congress is in cahoots with the monied power players. The Republican party is perhaps more culpable, but there are many Democrats who are equally as guilty. And there is certainly lots of hypocrisy on both sides of the aisle in their attempts to hide the truth.]
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, NYT
This time is different. What is at stake in this government shutdown forced by a radical Tea Party minority is nothing less than the principle upon which our democracy is based: majority rule. President Obama must not give in to this hostage taking — not just because Obamacare is at stake, but because the future of how we govern ourselves is at stake.
What we’re seeing here is how three structural changes that have been building in American politics have now, together, reached a tipping point — creating a world in which a small minority in Congress can not only hold up their own party but the whole government. And this is the really scary part: The lawmakers doing this can do so with high confidence that they personally will not be politically punished, and may, in fact, be rewarded. When extremists feel that insulated from playing by the traditional rules of our system, if we do not defend those rules — namely majority rule and the fact that if you don’t like a policy passed by Congress, signed by the president and affirmed by the Supreme Court then you have to go out and win an election to overturn it; you can’t just put a fiscal gun to the country’s head — then our democracy is imperiled.
This danger was neatly captured by Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, when he wrote on Tuesday about the 11th-hour debate in Congress to avert the shutdown. Noting a shameful statement by Speaker John Boehner, Milbank wrote: “Democrats howled about ‘extortion’ and ‘hostage taking,’ which Boehner seemed to confirm when he came to the floor and offered: ‘All the Senate has to do is say ‘yes,’ and the government is funded tomorrow.’ It was the legislative equivalent of saying, ‘Give me the money and nobody gets hurt.’ ”
“Give me the money and nobody gets hurt.” How did we get here? First, by taking gerrymandering to a new level. The political analyst Charlie Cook, writing in The National Journal on March 16, noted that the 2010 election gave Republican state legislatures around the country unprecedented power to redraw political boundaries, which they used to create even more “safe, lily-white” Republican strongholds that are, in effect, an “alternative universe” to the country’s diverse reality.
(More here.)
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, NYT
This time is different. What is at stake in this government shutdown forced by a radical Tea Party minority is nothing less than the principle upon which our democracy is based: majority rule. President Obama must not give in to this hostage taking — not just because Obamacare is at stake, but because the future of how we govern ourselves is at stake.
What we’re seeing here is how three structural changes that have been building in American politics have now, together, reached a tipping point — creating a world in which a small minority in Congress can not only hold up their own party but the whole government. And this is the really scary part: The lawmakers doing this can do so with high confidence that they personally will not be politically punished, and may, in fact, be rewarded. When extremists feel that insulated from playing by the traditional rules of our system, if we do not defend those rules — namely majority rule and the fact that if you don’t like a policy passed by Congress, signed by the president and affirmed by the Supreme Court then you have to go out and win an election to overturn it; you can’t just put a fiscal gun to the country’s head — then our democracy is imperiled.
This danger was neatly captured by Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, when he wrote on Tuesday about the 11th-hour debate in Congress to avert the shutdown. Noting a shameful statement by Speaker John Boehner, Milbank wrote: “Democrats howled about ‘extortion’ and ‘hostage taking,’ which Boehner seemed to confirm when he came to the floor and offered: ‘All the Senate has to do is say ‘yes,’ and the government is funded tomorrow.’ It was the legislative equivalent of saying, ‘Give me the money and nobody gets hurt.’ ”
“Give me the money and nobody gets hurt.” How did we get here? First, by taking gerrymandering to a new level. The political analyst Charlie Cook, writing in The National Journal on March 16, noted that the 2010 election gave Republican state legislatures around the country unprecedented power to redraw political boundaries, which they used to create even more “safe, lily-white” Republican strongholds that are, in effect, an “alternative universe” to the country’s diverse reality.
(More here.)
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1 Comments:
You can call it a democracy, a Republic or even an oligarchy; it is dysfunction … and no hope in sight.
Let’s remember a few things … what they are debating is a resolution to extend current governmental activities until mid-November or mid-December … they are still not passing a Transportation bill (largely because the House Republicans do not like how much is being cut and their districts are being impacted) nor an Ag bill. They are just kicking the can down the road.
What Senate and House Republicans and Democrats seem to agree upon is that the 2.3% Medical Device Excise Tax needs to be repealed … this points to a oligarchy because this tax cut will not benefit the masses but instead the Corporate Fathers … the MDET is expected to raise about $3 Billion a year … which is half what Americans spend on potato chip snacks every year. Consumers are paying the MDET either directly or indirectly, but if they give a tax cut, those dollars will go to the Corporations.
When Republicans and Democrats agree on something, you know the People will be screwed.
The point of gerrymandering and Adelson should be punctuated by the fact of how much money has already been given thus far :
Here are the top donors for 2013:
1. U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other Chambers $1,770,105 (with $1,595,105 to the Republican State Leadership Committee, RSLC)
2. WellPoint Inc $1,350,000 (with $600,000 to the RSLC)
3. Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America $1,255,000 (with $675,000 to the RSLC)
4. Bob Perry (deceased) $1,250,000 (with $1 million to the Republican Governors Assn., RGA)
5. American Future Fund $1,185,000 (all to the RSLC)
6. Contran Corporation $1,100,000 (with $1 million to the RGA)
7. David Koch $1,000,000 (all to the RGA)
8. Wal-Mart Stores $825,000 (with $265,000 to the RSLC)
9. Altria Group Inc. $815,000 (with $690,000 to the RSLC)
10. Reynolds American Inc. $761,000 (with $466,000 to the RSLC)
11.Devon Energy Corp. $700,000 (with $450,000 to the RSLC)
12. American Justice Partnership $635,000 (all to the RSLC)
13. AstraZeneca $610,000 (with 250,000 to the RGA and Democratic Governors Assn, DGA)
14. American Beverage Assn. $600,000 (with $275,000 to the RGA)
15. AT&T Inc. $585,000 (with $250,000 to the RGA)
The strategy seems to be now that the congressional districts are safe, make sure the state legislatures are tilted Republican.
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