From a Google Image Search - Mother Jones - American Oligarchy
So, two hundred or so rich men and women decide that our republic/democracy is no longer working. They mean, of course, that it’s no longer working for them. They plot and plan - the Koch web of conservative organizations, the leadership of the Evangelicals, the conspiracy bros, the tech billionaires, the Freedom Caucus in Congress - and the takeover begins. The first attempt doesn’t succeed so they bide their time, trash talk about the Democrats, Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act, and Kamala, along with those rather stunning public presentations of the J6 committee. It’s difficult to know if the 2024 vote count was accurate but the Conservatives won.
This time the playbook for the takeover was written by about two dozen extreme right-wing conservatives in a 900+ page document that revealed the game plan for takeover 2.0. With the Supreme Court already stuffed and with control of both houses of Congress, Trump then appoints some loyalists who are dying to dismantle different agencies of the US government. He also appoints a few of the authors of the playbook (Project 2025), and the key author, Russell Vought, full of righteous fire to rid the government of any responsibility for the welfare of the “masses”.
Russell Vought believes that the government should not pay out social security to retirees or the disabled. The government should not be involved in health care. The government shouldn’t fund public schools, but it should oversee what is taught in all schools, pre-K, elementary, high school, and in college and that what is taught should not be about tolerance for diversity. Vought controls the Office of Management and Budget. He should not have the power to cut funds because Congress controls the budget, but he does because Trump says he does.
Perhaps you recall that Republicans used to have a list of talking points that they all used in front of the press and the media. They argued that Americans had grown dependent on the government to take care of them, and it was turning America into a nation of deadbeats. Now they are empowered to act on that talking point. because the Supreme Court gave the president immunity from prosecution, which basically makes Congress an inert body. Congress does the president’s business or it does no business.
Conservatives say that Unions ruined business in America when they won protections like unemployment insurance, which allowed people to stay out of work longer than necessary. Unions need to be gone they say. However, if Unions are gone things like endless work weeks, no sick leave, no vacations and child labor will come creeping back in. (It’s already happening.)
If you look back at our founding documents, conservatives say, not everyone had the right to vote. As in the Roman Republic, only landed men who lived in the city had a vote (and only the rich had land inside the city. Technically, conservatives say, we should get back to our roots, throw out anything added to the Constitution after, say 1789, and make sure only elites (the wealthy) can vote. If you can amass a fortune, you must have the skills needed to govern America, they argue.
After the ballroom perhaps Trump will make a golf course. We may have to think of the White House as another Trump country club/golf club.
Where does this leave “we the people”? After all, we were told that “all men are created equal, and endowed with certain inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” It never says that these are your rights only if you have at least a few million dollars.
We had thought that our nation was enlightened, that we strove to pass laws that offered us life (health insurance) (support for seniors and the disabled), liberty (civil rights), and the pursuit of happiness (purpose, leisure, family, and community). The 200 (or however many wealthy men, are now putting our lives in danger) are trampling our civil rights, and telling us that the key to happiness is doing what our government says, and being a good Christian (like them /s/).
These are dark days, days when our founders would be ashamed to know that their idealistic vision (however flawed) could devolve into whatever this is (a fascist state, a mafia-style state, a kakistocracy, a plutocracy). Citizens are just being nice when they call for a “No King’s Day.” They should just go right to No Dictator’s Day, No Minority Rule. Peaceful demonstrations should not result in loss of life or imprisonment. Our future could be the dystopia we fear, the one that books and movies say awaits us.
Instead, this is highly unlikely to be the sad outcome of the American Dream. We are resilient. If government excludes us and tries to beat us into submission, we will persevere. We will take care of each other somehow. We are Americans. We’re civilized. We’re educated. We are hard-working people. We will do what we can without help from the government. It will hurt to pay taxes to a government that doesn’t serve us, that orphans us, but we will pay because we will be forced to pay.
Soon, rather than organizing demonstrations, we will be organizing safety nets that don’t rely on fickle or cruel government administrations. Americans don’t give up; we don’t knuckle under. We may not be able to save immigrants without legal status, but we may be able to save the American Dream in the long run.
Someone please “leak” those Epstein files.