No, unfortunately there is nothing usual about what is now taking place in this presidential election cycle. As I wrote some time ago, the presidential elections in the United States are typically accompanied by a frenzy of media activity and propaganda that render any rational debate difficult. But this time, it is different. What we are observing now is not so much a “quadrennial frenzy”, it’s a “crisis of the political system”.
Just consider the outlandish statements that are being made by liberals today: “There is urgent need for greater effectiveness in our programs, both public and private, offering safeguards against the privations that too often come with unemployment, old age, illness, and accident. The provisions of the old-age and survivors insurance law should promptly be extended to cover millions of citizens who have been left out of the social-security system.” Did I say that this statement was made by a liberal politician? Actually, it is a quotation out of the State of the Union address of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. In the same vein, he wrote a letter the following year to his bother Edgar in which he says: “Should any political party attempt to abolish Social Security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history.”
In today’s Republican Party, the criticism of the Social Security system is common parlance, and the attempts to reduce or to dismantle it are numerous. Leading candidates, including Ted Cruz, the winner of the Iowa Caucus, have gone on record as saying that they would reduce social security benefits, raise the retirement age and push young Americans away from social security into private savings accounts. In an interview with CNBC last year, Cruz praised the reform plan of President George W. Bush to partially privatize Social Security and indicated that he would as president pursue the same strategy. I wonder what Eisenhower would think about this! On the other hand, there is Donald Trump who came in second in the Iowa vote–a man whose conduct and demeanor oscillate between that of a dictator and that of an entertainer. Where are the outstanding politicians today in the Republican Party? A comparison of Donald Trump with the late Howard Baker reveals with unquestionable clarity the breakdown of the Republican Party. In an article by Norman Ornstein entitled “Howard Baker was the kind of reasonable Republican that hardly exists anymore”, the author praises Baker for his role as vice-chairman in Senate Watergate Committee. Baker wanted desperately to protect the reputation of his close friend President Richard Nixon, but he had the integrity and honesty to pursue the investigation in a bipartisan manner. Such cooperation no longer exists in our age of polarization and division. I wonder what Howard Baker would think about Trump! Cruz and Trump claim to be members of the Republican Party. Do they even know the meaning of the word “republic”, the res publica, or in plain English the “commonwealth”? A commonwealth is a nation united by agreement of the people for the common good. But alas, a deep concern for the common good is hardly detectible in the speeches of any Republican candidate.
And then, there is the Democratic Party, the party of the people. Well, at least it is supposed to be the party of the people. After all, that’s what the word means, being as it is a derivative from the Greek “demos” (people) and “krateo” (rule). The Democratic Party should be attuned to and aligned with the will of the people. Instead, the democratic establishment is currently pulling out all of the stops to destroy the one man who actually represents the people, the Senator from Vermont. When Hillary Clinton campaigned against Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primaries, it was initially assumed that she would easily win, but Obama turned out to be much more of a challenge than anyone expected. So Hillary was forced to wait another 8 years. After losing the primaries, she began planning her strategy more carefully for the 2016 campaign–to be sure, with the help of Barack Obama. To ensure that Clinton remained in public view, Obama appointed her as Secretary of State, and to give her the edge in 2016, he appointed in 2011 Debbie Wasserman Schultz to be the 52nd Chair of the Democratic National Committee. Yes, it was the same Debbie Wasserman Schultz who had been Hillary’s campaign co-chair in the unsuccessful 2008 bid for the presidency. Now, we might overlook such insider dealings if the end result were really in the interest of the people, but the interest of the people was not the primary factor involved in these dealings. At stake was not the well-being of the people of the United States, but rather the preservation of the Clinton Dynasty with its inseparable ties to Wall Street and Corporate America.
In the eyes of Hillary Clinton, the plan must have seemed perfect. Everything was set in place for a solid victory in 2016. Then entered Bernie Sanders, stage left. At first, he was simply an annoyance, nothing more. But the crowds listening to him began to grow, and his popularity with the people emerged as a real threat to the Clinton plan. At this point, the story really becomes bizarre. As it turns out, the party of the people does not want a president who actually represents the people any more than Wall Street does. So the democratic establishment launched an assault on Bernie Sanders that is now in full swing. The dutiful pundits of the corporately owned media including the New York Times are now busily discrediting Sanders from every possible angle, and the first results of their efforts are now apparent in the Iowa win of Hillary Clinton. Do not expect, however, for the assault to stop. These opponents of the people, who have the audacity to call themselves democrats, will not stop until they have crushed the most democratic candidate in the campaign.
So I ask: What is really left of the Democratic Party, the party of the people? And: What is really left of the Republican Party, the party of the commonwealth? Looking at the political scene today, I would gladly welcome back any one of the outstanding Republicans or Democrats of the past!
Villager Jack Brush is a frequent contributor to Villages-News.com
