I love you column, but I wish you'd be harder on the Democrats.
Carter launched an austerity program. He canceled public works projects and ignored the complaints of organized labor. He convinced a Democratic Congress to pass significant tax cuts for the rich, paid for by decisions that hurt the poor. His airline business deregulation set the stage for massive deregulation under President Reagan. Carter increased the defense budget.
None of this should have surprised me. Carter was a member of the Trilateral Commission, a little-talked-about international organization that served the interests of business and was one of the key organizations pushing neoliberalism. Carter filled his administration with Commission members. His Vice President, Secretary of State, Defense, and Treasury were all members of the Trilateral Commission, and Carter's National Security Advisor was its director. Many lesser officials also came from the commission.
1975, the Trilateral Commission issued a book-length report called The Crisis of Democracy (written by Michel Crozier, Samuel Huntington, and Joji Watanuki). The writers worried about the "governability of the democracies." Frankly scared by the Sixties when "previously passive or unorganized groups in the population," such as "blacks, Indians, Chicanos, white ethnic groups, students and women — all of whom became organized and mobilized in new ways to achieve what they considered to be their appropriate share of the action and of the rewards." The Commission believed that "some measure of apathy and noninvolvement on the part of some individuals and groups" was a prerequisite for democracy. Higher education should emphasize "economic and political goals" not political engagement. If college were offered to the masses, "a program is then necessary to lower the job expectations of those who receive a college education."
Carter did introduce a bill to strengthen the Labor Relations Board, but business spent heavily to ensure the bill's defeat. Carter called it "The most expensive and powerful lobby ever mounted against a bill in the nation's history." We all knew that business was pouring more money into politics, but we had no idea how organized the corporate campaign was.
Why be harder on the democrats? Yes, individual democrats have been seduced by the greed sickness. The fundamental intention of the party is to support a system that supports and encourages equal opportunity, education and care for all its citizens. The Citizens United case.gave permission for oligarchs to go full tilt to corrupt politicians to go full oligarchy in the country. The party that stood against that were the democrats. Irregardless of corruption that’s the vehicle that needs to be supported and strengthened. So pointing out that bumper is rusted, or it gets crappy mileage at the point is counterproductive. Help repair the car.
Democratic Party, Republican Party beholden to BIG MONEY-- They are different but largely only in degree. Until Biden was able to pass the IRA and the ARP, for 40 years Congress had overwhelmingly rejected the wants, values and needs of We the People while enacting much of what the "me" Hoarders wanted. And that included when Democrats ran things. To defend either of the parties out of hand is to ignore the reality. Both have been firmly in the grasp of the Hoarders, just usually to a different batch of them.
Yes, one can thank the SCOTUS decision in Citizens United and the appellate decision in SpeechNOW for injecting the current tsunami of Dark Money and BIG MONEY self-serving interests into campaigns. But that process began almost 50 years ago with the 1979 Soft Money exemption that was stretched further during Pres. Clinton's re-election campaign. I would also point out the way the Democratic Party leadership let the Blue Dogs ruin or kill bill after bill intended to benefit We the People and, in contravention of impartiality rules, actively supported some of those Blue Dogs when primaried by progressive candidates, even in solidly blue districts. The superdelegate rig is still a part of the Democratic Party's nomination process. I would also point to the surprise that newly elected members of Congress expressed about their party-sponsored introduction to campaign funding that was populated only by BIG MONEY funders and had zero representatives from the myriad non-profit (c)4 organizations. I could talk about candidate recruitment. And go on and on, but I won't. Much of the fury against the Democratic Party by members and supporters past and present arises from the sense of betrayal voters feel over the party's talking about popular values and policies while genuflecting before the demands of BIG MONEY and producing almost nothing along those lines.
While the Republicans are obviously even more ensconced in the web of corruption emanating from the "me" Hoarders, I point these examples above out only to demonstrate that this problem of "me" Hoarders running things is not limited to the GOP by any means. Hopefully, the Democratic Party will recruit candidates representative of We the People, the diminished middle-class and the working and unemployed poor. Hopefully, the new DNC leaders will be allowed to put serious reforms in place and will NOT roll over and play dead while this corrupt administration is trying to completely corrupt the American government.
Never have we seen anything like this administration's flagrant corruption and sheer cruelty in this country! I am trying really hard to envision future students' reactions as they read about this period of time in history books...and frankly I can't....
Norm, I understand the issues that go back more than 50 years. And I am not enamored with the Democrats. We no longer have a two party system. And if the oligarchs had their way it would be the equivalent of Russia, N. Korea or China.
At this point the party that has a chance is the Democratic Party.
I agree and write about Carter and, for all the good he otherwise did, he was the first to introduce neoliberal ideas into the Democratic party. It was the thin edge of a very destructive wedge. Thom knows my position as he follows me on substack.
Carter did so much good, but his neoliberal ;policy was a mistake. But then, Clinton was even worse for the working class with NAFTA and Obama, who did get some medical care through, but I think we all hoped for so much more.
I think you misunderstood Chris. He most assuredly is not a Reaganite. Clinton was almost Reagan II. He exported much of the manufacturing that Trump cluelessly wants to bring back to the US (Na gonna happ'n). Like Trump, Clinton took a chainsaw to the government bureaucracy, eliminating "all" first-line supervisors on Day-1. For example, as manager of a Federal Laboratory, I wound up writing performance appraisals on GS-3&4 file clerks with whom I had rare interaction in addition to my GS-12 to 14 scientists -some of whom used to be their bosses.
I led the first-ever government-wide workforce survey for Gore's REGO office. Results showed that workers at all levels thought Clinton's "efficiency order" was the most unpopular and disruptive act of his administration. Gore's REGO changes, on the other hand, were very well received.
Also, back in the 90's, the Trilateral Commission was alive and thriving. In my view, it triggered the birth of QAnon as a force to out all secret fascist liberal powers behind the government that would disarm America and imprison anyone who would not support Clinton's presidency.
We lose because of this mentality. I was part of "Re-engineering" which was based on the Demming method, which was all bullshit. Clinton lied to me. That didn't make me a Republican.
We lost in '80 because of the "October Surprise." We lost in 2000 because of voter preclusion and Bush v Gore. NOT POLICY.
We didn't lose because of elimination of the ICC or deregulation of the airline industry, or the transfer of the Canal Zone or NAFTA or a president making his idiot wife a cabinet level advisor.
The Psychopath bullied and Moses Mike cajoled the Republicans into passing the initial Big Bullshit Bill. As scary as that piece of legislation is, it sure proves the point you are making. Food and health care for "we" that really need it clawed-back to give his wealth addicts their tax break. TRump promised them, but he may not be able to deliver the Senate in order to do it.
And speaking of crossing the Psychopath, everybody that promised something to Trump should stiff him. He has done it all his sick, sorry life---time for payback. Now that he has been told his tariffs are a no-go, he should be told his treats he extorted are as well.
Thanks and keep beating the drum, everyone. See you in the streets!
“I believe that Scripture, the Bible, is very clear that God is the one who raises up those in authority,” he began. “He raised up each of you, all of us. And I believe that God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment and this time.” https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1197956540
"He has condemned no-fault divorce...Johnson says that women’s freedom to leave marriages, along with their freedom to elect out of motherhood when they choose, is responsible for mass shootings."
"Gender conservatism does not tend to attract as much notice as the other pillars of the far-right ideology: it is less distinct than the far right’s avowed white supremacy, less flashy than its hostility to democracy. But the convictions shared by Johnson – about women’s inferiority and men’s right to control them, about gay people’s moral transgression, and about the ways that the sexed body at birth can, and must, be used to determine the outcomes of a person’s life – have become the foundation upon which the Republican party’s warring factions are set to unite."
I was trying to suggest that we my not be able to rely on Democrats to help us out at this critical time. I believe we need a massive movement to force change.
The Democratic party is controlled by old tired stable managers, It hasn't changed, it can't change because the party apparatchiks are deeply embedded and draw salaries from our contributions.
It needs new leadership like AOC and David Hogg, but they scare the shit out of the establishment, which is totally dependent on donor funds.
I went to school with a former Dem party chair who I respect. I was a Dem official.
In Antedeluvian time as a lawyer I represented Republicans and many Republican politicians. I lived and survived periods when many elected officeholders switched parties. I knew members of Congress who were married to members of the opposite party. I know some Republican senators whose kids are Democrats. Whose parents remain Democrats. Whose donors include Democrats.
I hold out hope that the Big Beautiful budget is Trump's downfall. We don't need Republicans to convert...just need thm to see that Trump is entirely corrupt -- and nuts.
I've published the letter Rick Scott sent re Putin/Ukraine. In essence, he calls Trump a liar. The many speeches of people like Hawley, Rand Paul, Tom Tillis etc, people who opposue virtually everything I support -- but call out the Trump budget.
I've told you how 2 of 3 MAGAT House reps here were Dems, but switched due to Cuba policy -- and with pressure can switch back.
You have described a past in which the two parties were simply the different sides of the same coin. That is why I cast my last vote in 1964, until 2016
I consider George and Kelley Ann Conway and their marriage, and that of Mary Matalin and James Carville.
Given that the "conservative" mindset and the "liberal" mindset are not only far apart but at war with each other. Marriages like the Conways and Carvilles are in effect business deals.
I can't speak for anyone but myself, but no way could I share sheets with someone who held beliefs or opinions so diametrically opposed
I do recall the time Daniel, in which the difference between a Republican and a Democrat was rhetorical, not substantive. Maybe not at street level, but at 2nd floor level.
Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson (1963-1968) said, “If a man has an apartment stacked to the ceiling with newspapers, we called him crazy. If a woman has a trailer house, full of cats, we call her nuts. But when people pathologically hoard so much cash that they impoverish an entire nation, we put them on the cover of Fortune magazine and pretend that they are role models"
Greed is an emotional virus that has been spread from early civilizations westward into Europe and then to the Americas. Too bad there is no inoculation for it, other than to build and maintain the firewalls that have been effective in fighting the class war. Removing greed from government is like removing weeds from the garden--it's a continual process.
I agree that we should attack Supreme Court-invented doctrines of “money is free speech” and “corporations are persons.”
I am not a Christian but consider that some of the most ardent idiologues are converts. The whole idea is supposed to be do unto others.....
The vile sinful tax collector was on his way to Damascus when SHAZZAM. Epiphany.
We have the capacity to turn a lot of MAGATS....
At present we have a transactional president who grants pardons to political donors, does foreign policy as if he is a feudal warlord, in effect extorting fealty, sells favor using scrip currency in fake coinage, etc. Yesterday, a panel of Judges of The United States Court of International Trade called out his "emergency" BS.
As of May 28, 2025, at least 180 rulings have temporarily halted some of the administration's initiatives. According to Democracy Forward, Trump loses 93% of cases in court. All of those losses have been appealed and can eventualy reach SCOTUS.
The total number of legal actions filed against the administration since January 2025 exceeds 186.
28 U.S.C. Sec. 455 deals with the disqualification and it states in part:
Any justice, judge, or magistrate, of the United States shall disqualify himself/herself in any proceeding in which his/her impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
See also 28 U.S.C. Sec. 144; Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3.C(1)(a)
"Shall" is mandatory.
Make a record. Maybe it will intimidate the others.
If Thomas and Alito recuse or are disqualified, all bets are off.
All that is true, except for the "we & they" part. There is no "we & they;" there is only the US! We are all capitalists; we are all consumers, and we are living out our Fate. I think of you in a video with thousands of books behind you. Somewhere in there is an Adam Smith, or a John Maynard Keynes, or a Marx, or Engels. They all give warnings about the weakness of capitalism! You need to quit talking about people and politics and start talking about the SYSTEM that created this CULTURE.
Getting rid of Trump won't fix our problem, but getting rid of capitalism and consumerism might.
Democracy and capitalism cannot sleep in the same bed. Autocracy and capitalism are true lovers!
You put the things I've sensed for a long time into a coherent and compelling argument. I struggle with how "me society" people sleep at night, or tolerate seeing themselves in a mirror. The social scientist and psychotherapist in me can only see this framework as underdeveloped morality and indicative of severe personality disorder.
Binary thinking obscures the fact that we are no longer dealing with two sides of some game, in a contest for power. It's now more like apples and oranges. Democrats may be playing by the old rules, and believe, in this way, they can uphold and salvage the Constitution and the laws. Trump and his minions have thrown all of that out. Theirs is another game completely. We are seeing the new game every day being played in plain sight. It doesn't even pretend to cloak itself in the garments of Democracy and the law. It's more like, winner take all. I think we need to find other ways to speak about this new reality.
We need to win elections, Thom. Why do we want men competing as women? Why do the Dems need to force feed proper "pronouns" down our throats? Why have Dems become so identified with allowing transgender people use whatever bathrooms they feel inclined to use on a particular day? These are LOSING issues, and the Republicans have successfully attached these issues to the Democratic party, and these issues are NOT popular with mainstream voters. There is the perception, accurate or not, that the Democratic party has become beholden to the extreme left that pushes these issues to the detriment of winning elections. Instead, why don't we get behind issues such as those put forward from people like Warren Buffett to increase the tax rate on the super wealthy and in doing so reduce the deficit. If we want to push hard on an issue, that IS the issue, (among many others) that will resonate.
I remember talking with a friend, a Trump person, many years ago, thinking that I finally had an issue we could agree upon which was making the super wealthy pay their fair share of taxes. And this was a working class, pro union person. To my surprise, his response was, " they earned it, they deserve to keep it".
I happened up on a Borowitz daily report during Trump's first term when dismantling Obama Care was on the agenda, and he, quoting someone in his satirical way, "Why do I still have health insurance? This is just wrong!" Evidently this is the mindset of many people, who feel Trump has been ordained. But that still leaves two thirds of the electorate. Let's get behind more mainstream issues and see if that moves the needle.
Who would have thought that we would be living the reality of that quote, only in a backwards sort of way. It's not so much counting the vote, the issue has become disputing the vote with no evidence for doing so. To see our democracy slipping away creates such a deep hurt it can't adequately be expressed. With regard to the men competing as women, if I understand your reply correctly, yes, it is an infintesimal fraction number-wise, but it seems very unfair to women and girls who have trained and practiced to excell, only to come up against a policy which creates a new obsticle (unfair, I say) to exceed.
It is very heartening to have Thom relentlessly provide the reality checks of what we are up against to save our democracy, and to back up his statements with facts and solid research.
An employee of mine, a Trump person, shared with me an 8th grade matriculation exam required to pass on to high school. I don't think he realized that, that single exam shows why our democracy is at risk. In addtion to the math and science portion which appeared quite rigorous was a heavy emphasis on civics. Evidently civics is not taught, or covered in depth anymore in schools. The democracy depends on a well educated electorate. I think that's a big part of the problem. Maybe someone can find that eight grade exam and post it.
In order to win elections, we need to see the big issue. Winning ack our democracy.
"Another important takeaway: Occasional actions that simply protest a particular policy or egregious action aren’t enough. They may relieve an individual’s conscience for a moment, but, ultimately, episodic actions, even large ones, don’t assert enough power. Over and over, the Global Nonviolent Action Database shows that positive results come from a series of escalating, connected actions called a campaign — the importance of which is also outlined in my book “How We Win.”
Thank you for your reply. I am new to this group, so still seeing how I might fit in. And I wish to take a look with the link you've provided. I greatly appreciate Thom exposing the issues in a rigorous way. Tom is who I would want as the front man for the Democratic, liberal cause. There's nothing like thorough preparation to win the day. Having said that, previously Thom was previously just a bit too left for me, but with what's at stake, I've come to realize that this is what it is going to take. The only little bit of solace I feel about today's events is my 27 year old daughter, just married who is as passionate about the issues as I am and follows them almost as closely as I do. I am also aligned with James Carville and his approach. As an aside, what initially drew me to Thom was his spiritual endeavors and his association with the Coptic Church, and his association with Herr Mueller. Those are strong pedigrees.
Thank you for that link. It helps, I mean it helps for any little shred of hope. I am going to go out on a big limb here and possibly paint myself as, well, a little koo koo. But here goes. The reason, or one reason I remain somewhat pessimistic is thus. The most influential book I have ever read is "Initiation", by Elizibeth Haich. She was born in Hungary and came of age in the years prior to WWII. She realized early on that she was different, as in more spiritually aware. She recalls a previous life as the daughter of a Pharoah in Egypt during the height of that civilization. She recalled various initiations in the pyramid on her path to enlightenment. During one of those initiations she had visions of the future, and recalled a time with world leaders became very authoritarian, almost like a wave. To me, it sounds very much like the times we are experiencing now. And, it does not end well.
The events which put Trump into power in retrospect look almost unavoidable. In the Jewish tradition during the celebration of Passover there is phrase, "Enough", as in if God had only done this, it would have been "Enough". But he did much more.
Here's my take from the Republican/Conservative perspective, that has led to this mess.
If Trump had won the presidency, and Dems had won the house and the senate, that would have been enough.
If Repulicans had won the presidency, and the house, but not the senate, it would have been "enough"
If Republicans had won the presidency, and the house and senate, but not had a super majority in the Supreme Court, it would have been enough.
Instead they got all those things are we are absolutely F***ked!
Oh no. What a wimp-out at the end. At a time when there is no morality running our country, there's more passion-based action to be taken. Overshoot is closing in. No time to dally. What can we-the-people do?
If you don't have ideas, send your subscribers to me. Here's a compilation of actions we could be taking as I look for others who want to deal with getting us from where we are to where we need to be:
A thorough investigation of Nature would prove that nothing in Nature can exist without support from the surrounding Natural World. Nothing can exist alone in life because life is all encompassing. The idea that man can exist alone and separate from his surrounding support systems is a position that is against all reason. However, since the Republicans and corporations are not an integral part of the Natural World, in a conscious sense, then they are subscribers of the "Me" doctrine of cultural assimilation. I am fine with that and wish them the best of luck, but the idea that they can push this on others in their vain attempt to prove that they are "right", is beyond the pale. As a nation, we must move away from this "me" attitude and approach and accept that we all will either exist together or not at all. Politics has become the arena of entertainment within which we massage this concept, but politics is suppose to be a body of representatives who actually create the guardrails and boundaries within which we all can explore our humanness. Politics should have nothing to do with cultural domination and control. We can argue until "the cows come home" about who did what and what should be, but the reality is that until we align with the rules and laws of the natural world and the Universe, we are only arguing about the many ways to beat a dead horse.
Both greed and hoarding are spawned out of fear—deep seeded fear that is passed on generation after generation. It comes from living in a world of uncertainty and constant danger of starvation and death from either uncontrollable natural forces or being prayed upon by both marauding humans and those who were given exclusive power over the masses.
Saving, for the sake of survival in the future, came about as protection from these uncontrollable forces. But, how much to save and how? Before electricity we could only save food in natural cold storage. Now we can save food for years. Previously, wealth was buried or hidden, now, we put it in insured institutions and keep it for years.
We have been taught from the past that those who squirrel away for the future were prudent and wise. Then it was established that investing which paid dividends and interest—passive income— was even more prudent. But, how much to hide away and make “work for you”? Then it becomes painfully apparent that it never enough. Someone always comes and threatens to take it away and leave you with nothing. So, the only apparent solution is to insulate yourself and those you love with so much wealth that no one can touch you.
But long before interest and investment people with the knack learned how to hoard so much that they were able to have others build them big beautiful houses and palaces and have others do the work of survival for them. Let others toil for you. This all became acceptable in society and even envied. It still is. The coin has two sides. Those that know how to manipulate the system they live in (the people) and amass fortunes and those who dream of having those riches, the fortune to live opulently knowing that it won’t be depleted in their lifetime.
This has all been developed and taught to us gradually over thousands of years . Those who didn’t save and, much later, invest would perish in times of “want”. But, the idea that it’s never enough to be truly safe, has come over time, also.
Wealth is also synonymous with power. Why? Power to pay others to toil for you, or force others to do your work, and, then, force others to even think like you—believe as you do. The next step is to invent a god who is was responsible for blessing them with all their wealth. They become higher than the ordinary person. And why not, they have all the power while others starve. They should have worked harder. They must be lazy and terminally stupid.
It not just a sickness of a few, it’s woven through the population that’s why the laws are passed when too many have suffered, but eventually politicians successfully make these laws suddenly disappear.
The difference between the US and everyone else is we aren't supposed to have landed gentry. The Statute of Wills in 1540 marked the initial steps toward the taxation of wealth passed through inheritance. Subsequent acts in the late 17th and early 18th centuries laid the groundwork for what eventually became known as the death duty. Post independence, we didn't extend it.
In early common law, only cerain people got more than a life estate. I.e. A spouse had dower rights. This means they could live on or use the property, but they couldn't sell it outright. While modern estate laws in most states have replaced dower, some states still retain some form of dower or dower-like protections.
Under primogeniture, the eldest child, typically the eldest son, inherits all or a larger share of the family's property or title. Historically, it was commonly used in monarchies and aristocracies to ensure the continuity of power and property within a single family line.
States still have inheritance taxes. When I practiced in Pa, the most powerful person in my county was the inheritance tax appraiser.
Great column, Thom. As I read it I couldn’t help thinking that corporate Democrats, a subset generously represented in Congress, overtly or tacitly support the “me” economy, to the massive and continuing detriment of “we”. A major concern among “we” is that, should the nation survive MAGA’s hyper-me degradations, the Democratic approach to reform will be inappropriately, thus uselessly, restrained. We must relieve corporate Democrats of their duties.
The mental illness of greed is clear in the Bible. Those that had food and refused to offer the Earth would open up and swallow them. Eating alone was considered dangerous especially if there were those near around that needed relief. The fact is equal rights were normal when monogamy was the social pattern. You only need to control women when you do not use monogamy and use trading women with different tribes as your way to keep from having children from your own blood. So why does the GOP want to control women? What path does that make possible. Reagan also violated the rule that your country not borrow from foreign nations. Using debt to fund your national economy was not used until Reagan as before the USA was the greatest lender of money to other nations in the world which worked just fine without debt financing. All this influencing for undemocratic policies has made the middle class much smaller and with fewer thriving. These harms to society makes it so that our nation has a parasitic economy and much less innovation. All this is hard to see because our media is fine with misinformation that malforms our social status in the world. America needs fewer parasites and more conditions that creates innovation. That innovation cannot occur with the morbidly rich acting as a parasite to our people.
You are exactly right, as always. Somehow we have to get that mantra out of the law, money is free speech and corporations are people. Rubbish. I like your clear dichotomy between the we society and the I society, because now that you say it, it does come down to that.
I love you column, but I wish you'd be harder on the Democrats.
Carter launched an austerity program. He canceled public works projects and ignored the complaints of organized labor. He convinced a Democratic Congress to pass significant tax cuts for the rich, paid for by decisions that hurt the poor. His airline business deregulation set the stage for massive deregulation under President Reagan. Carter increased the defense budget.
None of this should have surprised me. Carter was a member of the Trilateral Commission, a little-talked-about international organization that served the interests of business and was one of the key organizations pushing neoliberalism. Carter filled his administration with Commission members. His Vice President, Secretary of State, Defense, and Treasury were all members of the Trilateral Commission, and Carter's National Security Advisor was its director. Many lesser officials also came from the commission.
1975, the Trilateral Commission issued a book-length report called The Crisis of Democracy (written by Michel Crozier, Samuel Huntington, and Joji Watanuki). The writers worried about the "governability of the democracies." Frankly scared by the Sixties when "previously passive or unorganized groups in the population," such as "blacks, Indians, Chicanos, white ethnic groups, students and women — all of whom became organized and mobilized in new ways to achieve what they considered to be their appropriate share of the action and of the rewards." The Commission believed that "some measure of apathy and noninvolvement on the part of some individuals and groups" was a prerequisite for democracy. Higher education should emphasize "economic and political goals" not political engagement. If college were offered to the masses, "a program is then necessary to lower the job expectations of those who receive a college education."
Carter did introduce a bill to strengthen the Labor Relations Board, but business spent heavily to ensure the bill's defeat. Carter called it "The most expensive and powerful lobby ever mounted against a bill in the nation's history." We all knew that business was pouring more money into politics, but we had no idea how organized the corporate campaign was.
Divide us to conquer us. Is that your goal?
Carter is dead. Nobody is perfect. What we face is fascism.
Kind of like our "friend" Boris constantly harping on Biden as if he was still President.
Why be harder on the democrats? Yes, individual democrats have been seduced by the greed sickness. The fundamental intention of the party is to support a system that supports and encourages equal opportunity, education and care for all its citizens. The Citizens United case.gave permission for oligarchs to go full tilt to corrupt politicians to go full oligarchy in the country. The party that stood against that were the democrats. Irregardless of corruption that’s the vehicle that needs to be supported and strengthened. So pointing out that bumper is rusted, or it gets crappy mileage at the point is counterproductive. Help repair the car.
Democratic Party, Republican Party beholden to BIG MONEY-- They are different but largely only in degree. Until Biden was able to pass the IRA and the ARP, for 40 years Congress had overwhelmingly rejected the wants, values and needs of We the People while enacting much of what the "me" Hoarders wanted. And that included when Democrats ran things. To defend either of the parties out of hand is to ignore the reality. Both have been firmly in the grasp of the Hoarders, just usually to a different batch of them.
Yes, one can thank the SCOTUS decision in Citizens United and the appellate decision in SpeechNOW for injecting the current tsunami of Dark Money and BIG MONEY self-serving interests into campaigns. But that process began almost 50 years ago with the 1979 Soft Money exemption that was stretched further during Pres. Clinton's re-election campaign. I would also point out the way the Democratic Party leadership let the Blue Dogs ruin or kill bill after bill intended to benefit We the People and, in contravention of impartiality rules, actively supported some of those Blue Dogs when primaried by progressive candidates, even in solidly blue districts. The superdelegate rig is still a part of the Democratic Party's nomination process. I would also point to the surprise that newly elected members of Congress expressed about their party-sponsored introduction to campaign funding that was populated only by BIG MONEY funders and had zero representatives from the myriad non-profit (c)4 organizations. I could talk about candidate recruitment. And go on and on, but I won't. Much of the fury against the Democratic Party by members and supporters past and present arises from the sense of betrayal voters feel over the party's talking about popular values and policies while genuflecting before the demands of BIG MONEY and producing almost nothing along those lines.
While the Republicans are obviously even more ensconced in the web of corruption emanating from the "me" Hoarders, I point these examples above out only to demonstrate that this problem of "me" Hoarders running things is not limited to the GOP by any means. Hopefully, the Democratic Party will recruit candidates representative of We the People, the diminished middle-class and the working and unemployed poor. Hopefully, the new DNC leaders will be allowed to put serious reforms in place and will NOT roll over and play dead while this corrupt administration is trying to completely corrupt the American government.
Never have we seen anything like this administration's flagrant corruption and sheer cruelty in this country! I am trying really hard to envision future students' reactions as they read about this period of time in history books...and frankly I can't....
Norm, I understand the issues that go back more than 50 years. And I am not enamored with the Democrats. We no longer have a two party system. And if the oligarchs had their way it would be the equivalent of Russia, N. Korea or China.
At this point the party that has a chance is the Democratic Party.
Reagan ran on a program of not appointing any Trilateral Commission of Council on Foreign Relations members to his cabinet.
And the first thing he did was to appoint said TC and CFR members including Casper Weinberger (TC) to Dept of Defense.
I agree and write about Carter and, for all the good he otherwise did, he was the first to introduce neoliberal ideas into the Democratic party. It was the thin edge of a very destructive wedge. Thom knows my position as he follows me on substack.
Carter did so much good, but his neoliberal ;policy was a mistake. But then, Clinton was even worse for the working class with NAFTA and Obama, who did get some medical care through, but I think we all hoped for so much more.
So...by necessary implication you support Reagan, GWB.
This is the baby and the bathwater scenario. Slit your own throat.
I think you misunderstood Chris. He most assuredly is not a Reaganite. Clinton was almost Reagan II. He exported much of the manufacturing that Trump cluelessly wants to bring back to the US (Na gonna happ'n). Like Trump, Clinton took a chainsaw to the government bureaucracy, eliminating "all" first-line supervisors on Day-1. For example, as manager of a Federal Laboratory, I wound up writing performance appraisals on GS-3&4 file clerks with whom I had rare interaction in addition to my GS-12 to 14 scientists -some of whom used to be their bosses.
I led the first-ever government-wide workforce survey for Gore's REGO office. Results showed that workers at all levels thought Clinton's "efficiency order" was the most unpopular and disruptive act of his administration. Gore's REGO changes, on the other hand, were very well received.
Also, back in the 90's, the Trilateral Commission was alive and thriving. In my view, it triggered the birth of QAnon as a force to out all secret fascist liberal powers behind the government that would disarm America and imprison anyone who would not support Clinton's presidency.
The antidote to Carter was Reagan.
The antidote to Clinton was GWB.
We lose because of this mentality. I was part of "Re-engineering" which was based on the Demming method, which was all bullshit. Clinton lied to me. That didn't make me a Republican.
We lost in '80 because of the "October Surprise." We lost in 2000 because of voter preclusion and Bush v Gore. NOT POLICY.
We didn't lose because of elimination of the ICC or deregulation of the airline industry, or the transfer of the Canal Zone or NAFTA or a president making his idiot wife a cabinet level advisor.
Do unto him what he has done unto others:
The Psychopath bullied and Moses Mike cajoled the Republicans into passing the initial Big Bullshit Bill. As scary as that piece of legislation is, it sure proves the point you are making. Food and health care for "we" that really need it clawed-back to give his wealth addicts their tax break. TRump promised them, but he may not be able to deliver the Senate in order to do it.
And speaking of crossing the Psychopath, everybody that promised something to Trump should stiff him. He has done it all his sick, sorry life---time for payback. Now that he has been told his tariffs are a no-go, he should be told his treats he extorted are as well.
Thanks and keep beating the drum, everyone. See you in the streets!
“I believe that Scripture, the Bible, is very clear that God is the one who raises up those in authority,” he began. “He raised up each of you, all of us. And I believe that God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment and this time.” https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1197956540
"He has condemned no-fault divorce...Johnson says that women’s freedom to leave marriages, along with their freedom to elect out of motherhood when they choose, is responsible for mass shootings."
"Gender conservatism does not tend to attract as much notice as the other pillars of the far-right ideology: it is less distinct than the far right’s avowed white supremacy, less flashy than its hostility to democracy. But the convictions shared by Johnson – about women’s inferiority and men’s right to control them, about gay people’s moral transgression, and about the ways that the sexed body at birth can, and must, be used to determine the outcomes of a person’s life – have become the foundation upon which the Republican party’s warring factions are set to unite."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/08/mike-johnson-house-speaker-republican
Every female Republican office holder should be questioned. Does their religion require them to"submit"? Do they think that Trump does God's work?
https://www.nfrw.org/women-senate
Johnson is an ignoramus.
I was trying to suggest that we my not be able to rely on Democrats to help us out at this critical time. I believe we need a massive movement to force change.
The Democratic party is controlled by old tired stable managers, It hasn't changed, it can't change because the party apparatchiks are deeply embedded and draw salaries from our contributions.
It needs new leadership like AOC and David Hogg, but they scare the shit out of the establishment, which is totally dependent on donor funds.
I've been supporting Jerry Weiss' suggestions for jujitsu. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
I went to school with a former Dem party chair who I respect. I was a Dem official.
In Antedeluvian time as a lawyer I represented Republicans and many Republican politicians. I lived and survived periods when many elected officeholders switched parties. I knew members of Congress who were married to members of the opposite party. I know some Republican senators whose kids are Democrats. Whose parents remain Democrats. Whose donors include Democrats.
I hold out hope that the Big Beautiful budget is Trump's downfall. We don't need Republicans to convert...just need thm to see that Trump is entirely corrupt -- and nuts.
I've published the letter Rick Scott sent re Putin/Ukraine. In essence, he calls Trump a liar. The many speeches of people like Hawley, Rand Paul, Tom Tillis etc, people who opposue virtually everything I support -- but call out the Trump budget.
I've told you how 2 of 3 MAGAT House reps here were Dems, but switched due to Cuba policy -- and with pressure can switch back.
You have described a past in which the two parties were simply the different sides of the same coin. That is why I cast my last vote in 1964, until 2016
I consider George and Kelley Ann Conway and their marriage, and that of Mary Matalin and James Carville.
Given that the "conservative" mindset and the "liberal" mindset are not only far apart but at war with each other. Marriages like the Conways and Carvilles are in effect business deals.
I can't speak for anyone but myself, but no way could I share sheets with someone who held beliefs or opinions so diametrically opposed
I do recall the time Daniel, in which the difference between a Republican and a Democrat was rhetorical, not substantive. Maybe not at street level, but at 2nd floor level.
Present tense.
Yet, the Democratic party is weighed down by old guard leadership and tradition.
Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson (1963-1968) said, “If a man has an apartment stacked to the ceiling with newspapers, we called him crazy. If a woman has a trailer house, full of cats, we call her nuts. But when people pathologically hoard so much cash that they impoverish an entire nation, we put them on the cover of Fortune magazine and pretend that they are role models"
Where are such politicians today?
To give you an idea, his grandson was a lawyer in Miami......
Didn't know that.
Greed is an emotional virus that has been spread from early civilizations westward into Europe and then to the Americas. Too bad there is no inoculation for it, other than to build and maintain the firewalls that have been effective in fighting the class war. Removing greed from government is like removing weeds from the garden--it's a continual process.
I agree that we should attack Supreme Court-invented doctrines of “money is free speech” and “corporations are persons.”
I am not a Christian but consider that some of the most ardent idiologues are converts. The whole idea is supposed to be do unto others.....
The vile sinful tax collector was on his way to Damascus when SHAZZAM. Epiphany.
We have the capacity to turn a lot of MAGATS....
At present we have a transactional president who grants pardons to political donors, does foreign policy as if he is a feudal warlord, in effect extorting fealty, sells favor using scrip currency in fake coinage, etc. Yesterday, a panel of Judges of The United States Court of International Trade called out his "emergency" BS.
As of May 28, 2025, at least 180 rulings have temporarily halted some of the administration's initiatives. According to Democracy Forward, Trump loses 93% of cases in court. All of those losses have been appealed and can eventualy reach SCOTUS.
The total number of legal actions filed against the administration since January 2025 exceeds 186.
The SCOTUS Dems have not challenged Thomas and Alito on bias, but they have the capacity to make them recuse. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf.
28 U.S.C. Sec. 455 deals with the disqualification and it states in part:
Any justice, judge, or magistrate, of the United States shall disqualify himself/herself in any proceeding in which his/her impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
See also 28 U.S.C. Sec. 144; Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3.C(1)(a)
"Shall" is mandatory.
Make a record. Maybe it will intimidate the others.
If Thomas and Alito recuse or are disqualified, all bets are off.
How many of those legal actions (186) filed have been TRO's, not permanent injunctions?
How many of them have been upheld by the SCOTUS, how many reversed?
Of the one or two upheld by SCOTUS, how many has Trump ignored? (All of them as I count).
The more ignored the better. Hoisted on his own petard. Makes a better case for epiphany, sanctions and contempt.
In other venues we've been discussing SCOTUS. Thomas and Alito aren't the only vulnerable justices. If Roberts has a problem, it's that he and his wife allegedly have been profiting from hiring for law firms that appear before the court. https://newrepublic.com/post/172304/congress-known-john-robertss-wifes-shady-financial-dealings-months
All that is true, except for the "we & they" part. There is no "we & they;" there is only the US! We are all capitalists; we are all consumers, and we are living out our Fate. I think of you in a video with thousands of books behind you. Somewhere in there is an Adam Smith, or a John Maynard Keynes, or a Marx, or Engels. They all give warnings about the weakness of capitalism! You need to quit talking about people and politics and start talking about the SYSTEM that created this CULTURE.
Getting rid of Trump won't fix our problem, but getting rid of capitalism and consumerism might.
Democracy and capitalism cannot sleep in the same bed. Autocracy and capitalism are true lovers!
It is all in those books behind you:)
Powerful comment. Thank you.
You put the things I've sensed for a long time into a coherent and compelling argument. I struggle with how "me society" people sleep at night, or tolerate seeing themselves in a mirror. The social scientist and psychotherapist in me can only see this framework as underdeveloped morality and indicative of severe personality disorder.
Binary thinking obscures the fact that we are no longer dealing with two sides of some game, in a contest for power. It's now more like apples and oranges. Democrats may be playing by the old rules, and believe, in this way, they can uphold and salvage the Constitution and the laws. Trump and his minions have thrown all of that out. Theirs is another game completely. We are seeing the new game every day being played in plain sight. It doesn't even pretend to cloak itself in the garments of Democracy and the law. It's more like, winner take all. I think we need to find other ways to speak about this new reality.
We need to win elections, Thom. Why do we want men competing as women? Why do the Dems need to force feed proper "pronouns" down our throats? Why have Dems become so identified with allowing transgender people use whatever bathrooms they feel inclined to use on a particular day? These are LOSING issues, and the Republicans have successfully attached these issues to the Democratic party, and these issues are NOT popular with mainstream voters. There is the perception, accurate or not, that the Democratic party has become beholden to the extreme left that pushes these issues to the detriment of winning elections. Instead, why don't we get behind issues such as those put forward from people like Warren Buffett to increase the tax rate on the super wealthy and in doing so reduce the deficit. If we want to push hard on an issue, that IS the issue, (among many others) that will resonate.
I remember talking with a friend, a Trump person, many years ago, thinking that I finally had an issue we could agree upon which was making the super wealthy pay their fair share of taxes. And this was a working class, pro union person. To my surprise, his response was, " they earned it, they deserve to keep it".
I happened up on a Borowitz daily report during Trump's first term when dismantling Obama Care was on the agenda, and he, quoting someone in his satirical way, "Why do I still have health insurance? This is just wrong!" Evidently this is the mindset of many people, who feel Trump has been ordained. But that still leaves two thirds of the electorate. Let's get behind more mainstream issues and see if that moves the needle.
Factually virtually no (000.01%) men compete in women's sports. That's an example how psy ops is effective.
I think we wuz screwed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2024_United_States_elections
“Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything.”
― Joseph Stalin
Who would have thought that we would be living the reality of that quote, only in a backwards sort of way. It's not so much counting the vote, the issue has become disputing the vote with no evidence for doing so. To see our democracy slipping away creates such a deep hurt it can't adequately be expressed. With regard to the men competing as women, if I understand your reply correctly, yes, it is an infintesimal fraction number-wise, but it seems very unfair to women and girls who have trained and practiced to excell, only to come up against a policy which creates a new obsticle (unfair, I say) to exceed.
It is very heartening to have Thom relentlessly provide the reality checks of what we are up against to save our democracy, and to back up his statements with facts and solid research.
An employee of mine, a Trump person, shared with me an 8th grade matriculation exam required to pass on to high school. I don't think he realized that, that single exam shows why our democracy is at risk. In addtion to the math and science portion which appeared quite rigorous was a heavy emphasis on civics. Evidently civics is not taught, or covered in depth anymore in schools. The democracy depends on a well educated electorate. I think that's a big part of the problem. Maybe someone can find that eight grade exam and post it.
The exam was from the early 1900's
Steven
In order to win elections, we need to see the big issue. Winning ack our democracy.
"Another important takeaway: Occasional actions that simply protest a particular policy or egregious action aren’t enough. They may relieve an individual’s conscience for a moment, but, ultimately, episodic actions, even large ones, don’t assert enough power. Over and over, the Global Nonviolent Action Database shows that positive results come from a series of escalating, connected actions called a campaign — the importance of which is also outlined in my book “How We Win.”
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2025/01/can-nonviolent-struggle-defeat-a-dictator-this-database-emphatically-says-yes/
Thank you for your reply. I am new to this group, so still seeing how I might fit in. And I wish to take a look with the link you've provided. I greatly appreciate Thom exposing the issues in a rigorous way. Tom is who I would want as the front man for the Democratic, liberal cause. There's nothing like thorough preparation to win the day. Having said that, previously Thom was previously just a bit too left for me, but with what's at stake, I've come to realize that this is what it is going to take. The only little bit of solace I feel about today's events is my 27 year old daughter, just married who is as passionate about the issues as I am and follows them almost as closely as I do. I am also aligned with James Carville and his approach. As an aside, what initially drew me to Thom was his spiritual endeavors and his association with the Coptic Church, and his association with Herr Mueller. Those are strong pedigrees.
Thank you for that link. It helps, I mean it helps for any little shred of hope. I am going to go out on a big limb here and possibly paint myself as, well, a little koo koo. But here goes. The reason, or one reason I remain somewhat pessimistic is thus. The most influential book I have ever read is "Initiation", by Elizibeth Haich. She was born in Hungary and came of age in the years prior to WWII. She realized early on that she was different, as in more spiritually aware. She recalls a previous life as the daughter of a Pharoah in Egypt during the height of that civilization. She recalled various initiations in the pyramid on her path to enlightenment. During one of those initiations she had visions of the future, and recalled a time with world leaders became very authoritarian, almost like a wave. To me, it sounds very much like the times we are experiencing now. And, it does not end well.
The events which put Trump into power in retrospect look almost unavoidable. In the Jewish tradition during the celebration of Passover there is phrase, "Enough", as in if God had only done this, it would have been "Enough". But he did much more.
Here's my take from the Republican/Conservative perspective, that has led to this mess.
If Trump had won the presidency, and Dems had won the house and the senate, that would have been enough.
If Repulicans had won the presidency, and the house, but not the senate, it would have been "enough"
If Republicans had won the presidency, and the house and senate, but not had a super majority in the Supreme Court, it would have been enough.
Instead they got all those things are we are absolutely F***ked!
Oh no. What a wimp-out at the end. At a time when there is no morality running our country, there's more passion-based action to be taken. Overshoot is closing in. No time to dally. What can we-the-people do?
If you don't have ideas, send your subscribers to me. Here's a compilation of actions we could be taking as I look for others who want to deal with getting us from where we are to where we need to be:
An epidemic of courage
For doing what saves humanity
https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/p/an-epidemic-of-courage
A thorough investigation of Nature would prove that nothing in Nature can exist without support from the surrounding Natural World. Nothing can exist alone in life because life is all encompassing. The idea that man can exist alone and separate from his surrounding support systems is a position that is against all reason. However, since the Republicans and corporations are not an integral part of the Natural World, in a conscious sense, then they are subscribers of the "Me" doctrine of cultural assimilation. I am fine with that and wish them the best of luck, but the idea that they can push this on others in their vain attempt to prove that they are "right", is beyond the pale. As a nation, we must move away from this "me" attitude and approach and accept that we all will either exist together or not at all. Politics has become the arena of entertainment within which we massage this concept, but politics is suppose to be a body of representatives who actually create the guardrails and boundaries within which we all can explore our humanness. Politics should have nothing to do with cultural domination and control. We can argue until "the cows come home" about who did what and what should be, but the reality is that until we align with the rules and laws of the natural world and the Universe, we are only arguing about the many ways to beat a dead horse.
Both greed and hoarding are spawned out of fear—deep seeded fear that is passed on generation after generation. It comes from living in a world of uncertainty and constant danger of starvation and death from either uncontrollable natural forces or being prayed upon by both marauding humans and those who were given exclusive power over the masses.
Saving, for the sake of survival in the future, came about as protection from these uncontrollable forces. But, how much to save and how? Before electricity we could only save food in natural cold storage. Now we can save food for years. Previously, wealth was buried or hidden, now, we put it in insured institutions and keep it for years.
We have been taught from the past that those who squirrel away for the future were prudent and wise. Then it was established that investing which paid dividends and interest—passive income— was even more prudent. But, how much to hide away and make “work for you”? Then it becomes painfully apparent that it never enough. Someone always comes and threatens to take it away and leave you with nothing. So, the only apparent solution is to insulate yourself and those you love with so much wealth that no one can touch you.
But long before interest and investment people with the knack learned how to hoard so much that they were able to have others build them big beautiful houses and palaces and have others do the work of survival for them. Let others toil for you. This all became acceptable in society and even envied. It still is. The coin has two sides. Those that know how to manipulate the system they live in (the people) and amass fortunes and those who dream of having those riches, the fortune to live opulently knowing that it won’t be depleted in their lifetime.
This has all been developed and taught to us gradually over thousands of years . Those who didn’t save and, much later, invest would perish in times of “want”. But, the idea that it’s never enough to be truly safe, has come over time, also.
Wealth is also synonymous with power. Why? Power to pay others to toil for you, or force others to do your work, and, then, force others to even think like you—believe as you do. The next step is to invent a god who is was responsible for blessing them with all their wealth. They become higher than the ordinary person. And why not, they have all the power while others starve. They should have worked harder. They must be lazy and terminally stupid.
It not just a sickness of a few, it’s woven through the population that’s why the laws are passed when too many have suffered, but eventually politicians successfully make these laws suddenly disappear.
Grasshopper vs the ant.
The difference between the US and everyone else is we aren't supposed to have landed gentry. The Statute of Wills in 1540 marked the initial steps toward the taxation of wealth passed through inheritance. Subsequent acts in the late 17th and early 18th centuries laid the groundwork for what eventually became known as the death duty. Post independence, we didn't extend it.
In early common law, only cerain people got more than a life estate. I.e. A spouse had dower rights. This means they could live on or use the property, but they couldn't sell it outright. While modern estate laws in most states have replaced dower, some states still retain some form of dower or dower-like protections.
Under primogeniture, the eldest child, typically the eldest son, inherits all or a larger share of the family's property or title. Historically, it was commonly used in monarchies and aristocracies to ensure the continuity of power and property within a single family line.
States still have inheritance taxes. When I practiced in Pa, the most powerful person in my county was the inheritance tax appraiser.
Sorry, Daniel. I did not reference inheritance in my post. Perhaps you meant to comment on someone else’s?
Great column, Thom. As I read it I couldn’t help thinking that corporate Democrats, a subset generously represented in Congress, overtly or tacitly support the “me” economy, to the massive and continuing detriment of “we”. A major concern among “we” is that, should the nation survive MAGA’s hyper-me degradations, the Democratic approach to reform will be inappropriately, thus uselessly, restrained. We must relieve corporate Democrats of their duties.
The mental illness of greed is clear in the Bible. Those that had food and refused to offer the Earth would open up and swallow them. Eating alone was considered dangerous especially if there were those near around that needed relief. The fact is equal rights were normal when monogamy was the social pattern. You only need to control women when you do not use monogamy and use trading women with different tribes as your way to keep from having children from your own blood. So why does the GOP want to control women? What path does that make possible. Reagan also violated the rule that your country not borrow from foreign nations. Using debt to fund your national economy was not used until Reagan as before the USA was the greatest lender of money to other nations in the world which worked just fine without debt financing. All this influencing for undemocratic policies has made the middle class much smaller and with fewer thriving. These harms to society makes it so that our nation has a parasitic economy and much less innovation. All this is hard to see because our media is fine with misinformation that malforms our social status in the world. America needs fewer parasites and more conditions that creates innovation. That innovation cannot occur with the morbidly rich acting as a parasite to our people.
You are exactly right, as always. Somehow we have to get that mantra out of the law, money is free speech and corporations are people. Rubbish. I like your clear dichotomy between the we society and the I society, because now that you say it, it does come down to that.