America has no faith in the political process, and that lack of faith is manifested in many different forms. That lack of faith is reflected very differently by those from either party. Yes, technically speaking there are various parties including the Green Party, the Justice Party, and the Libertarian Party, among many others. However, until one party or another gets its act together and builds a growing grassroots movement, the duopoly of the Republican and Democratic Parties is all that effectively matters.
This election season is different than any other in living memory. Each party is running a maverick, and each maverick claims they are building or leading a movement of some kind.
Donald Trump’s movement was a surprise. The Republican Party viewed Trump as a joke, and they know he is not a real conservative. The Republican Party believed its own rhetoric. They believed that rank-and-file Republicans really believed in the conservative orthodoxy.
The reality is that the Republican Party is a combination of low-tax plutocrats, evangelical extremists, insular racists, confused welfare recipients, gun toting zealots, secessionists, and a large swath of good people.
When one queries Republicans, there is one common thread: They believe there are people out there who are trying to take away something that they’ve earned. The “something” they have earned could be something material, something spiritual, or an unearned privilege Donald Trump’s words spoke to all the fears and wants of the low-information, racist, and opportunist sects of the Republican party.
The Republican Party realizes now that there was, in fact, a Trump movement. Trump united all of the party’s factions into a cohesive unit. He gave them the belief that as a plain-spoken person uninterested in political correctness, he represented the party with a tonality they would not personally articulate. He became their alter ego. He became their spokesperson. Yes—he gave them hope.
Whereas the Republican Party disregarded Donald Trump and allowed the poisonous weed to grow, the Democratic Party knew better. The Democratic Party decided who it wanted to anoint as a candidate. As such, it ensured no viable Democratic establishment candidate would contest the anointed one. They ensured that the Democratic establishment was in lockstep.
No one in the Democratic establishment believed that Bernie Sanders would present any kind of threat. After all, the word “socialist” is part of how he describes himself.
Sanders has proven that even with the headwinds of a party that has been working against him, he is able to compete. Why? Because whether one supports him or his opponent, his message is the message they all want to hear. The problem is that rank-and-file Democrats have been programmed to believe their desire for a just society is unattainable. They believe most of the country would believe it’s unattainable and likely vote for the other side, which has a pseudo-populist message as well.
The corporate media and the Democratic establishment trivialize Sanders’ message, which is mathematically sound but would in fact mitigate the redistribution of wealth upwards. It isn’t in line with many in the Democratic Party. After all, the plutocracy funds most Democrats and Republicans alike. Bernie Sanders is raking in millions from the masses, a politician justifiably owned by we, the people.
What the Democratic Party has done is temper voter turnout. Many voters believe that Bernie Sanders ultimately cannot win. Too many believe they have nothing to vote for.
The difference in voter turnout between Republicans and Democrats is probative in the early primaries, but specifically on Super Tuesday. Republicans are cleaning the Democrats’ clock.
Currently, the Republican establishment is terrified. The Republican rank-and-file, however, is hopeful. Their level of voting shows it.
Currently, the Democratic establishment is hopeful. Unfortunately, the Democratic rank-and-file is terrified. Democrats want to at least, hold on to their gains. They are risk-averse. Their votes and their level of voting show that.
It’s ironic that in the 2016 election Republicans are voting for hope while Democrats are voting out of fear. A real social justice revolution and a real economic revolution cannot start without awareness, cannot be built solely on hope, and definitely cannot occur based on fear. One hopes Americans will become aware over the next few weeks, lest our decline continues.
Listen to the Politics Done Right radio show where we had callers discussing this issue here.