Returning From Oligarchy to Democracy

Some are expressing disappointment with the Democratic party after voters gave the party, “control,” of the three branches of the US federal government...

We, Democrats, did not get control of the federal government. The US Senate has a Jim Crow era procedure known as the filibuster. If one party does not have 60 votes in the Senate bills can be stopped, period.

The Democrats do not have 60 votes in the US Senate. The Democrats do have a simple majority, because the Senate President is the US Vice President. We also have two, well purchased Senators giving control of the Senate back to the Qpublicans. The Qpublicans (post insurgency Republicans) have a stated purpose of allowing nothing (no bills, no rules/procedure changes) to pass in the Senate.

The Democratic party is recovering from a counter productive syndrome known as, “neo-liberalism.” That is the syndrome that allows Democrats to fix the budget/spending problems caused by Republican administrations, then blamed on Democrats when administrations change parties. The Democrats reduce Qpublican deficit spending by cutting the public programs that Democrats like; Qpublicans have always hated.

When the New Deal (FDR administration) and the Great Society (LBJ administration) passed public programs, that helped as close to all Americans as possible, the US Senate's Democratic majority was not only greater than it is now, we had something called bi-partisan (some Senators from that other party) votes. Bi-partisan votes are rarely, to never, done anymore.

The Democrats also do not have majorities in the legislatures of most of the states. That has allowed states to make it difficult for citizens to participate in the democratic republic that the USA is supposed to be; we are currently an oligarchy.

To continue to build toward an all inclusive, democratic republic we, the voters, must vote in every election... Do what you must do (without breaking reasonable laws) to get registered to vote, vote and then follow up, communicate (in a brief and courteous manner), with your elected representatives (even if they aren't the ones for whom you voted).

We had the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, Women's health controlled by women, etc... All have been largely taken away, because someone else wanted, wants, power over everything and everybody... These same few also want extraordinary wealth (think Smaug). These are people for whom, “enough,” has no meaning. The MAGA crowd are just the sheep they need to help satisfy their unquenchable desires.

To quote (paraphrase?) Winston Churchill, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for everything else.” The USA has lost it's democratic republic to that small group of people who would be aristocrats in a country ruled by their authoritarian regime.

We, the 99%, can stop the 1% even if we must do it without approximately 25% who are the MAGA sheep.

Getting back, and then keeping, a democratic republic, that works for as close to everybody all the time, is a perpetual work in progress...

Let's stay busy!