Vote! It’s the power of people over money

“I believe that in a modern, moral, and wealthy society, no person in America should be too poor to live.” – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 28-year-old self described Democratic Socialist running for New York’s 14th congressional district.

The battle for the next Supreme Court justice of the United States was lost (or won, depending on your point of view) in November 2016, when the country elected Donald Trump president. 

I, for one, could not stand the thought of voting for Hillary Clinton two years ago, but voted for her anyway because of one simple fact. That reason played out last week for the second time during Trump’s so far very brief and tumultuous presidency: He nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. 

Sad times

A Republican majority in both the House and the Senate, and now the presidency, (and soon, too, the judiciary), have made sure that progressive politics in the U.S. has been put on hold (and may be wiped out) — at least during the Trump years. It is one of many reasons that Republicans, so far, have accepted Trump’s antics. With Trump in the White House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan are accomplishing what they alone have not been able to do. As we waste our time watching too much CNN, MSNBC or even Fox television informing us of Trump’s latest tweet, congressional leaders are slowly dismantling many of the programs that truly made this country great. In the process, the oligarchs have become more powerful, and they were already in charge of a burgeoning plutocracy. 

It is a glorious time for the one percent in the U.S., while the needy, some who work two and three jobs just to make ends meet, are becoming needier because of the actions of these persons. 

That balance of power, so often boasted about, which was the so-called genius of the founding fathers… it doesn’t exist any more. 

Voting

For years I have worked hard to register new voters in this country. I have stressed the importance for those voters, and the millions of others already registered, to actually participate in the process that allows us to compensate for the money that today dominates our politics. 

Every election is important. In this country, and especially in this age, there is no election too small or unimportant that should not require our participation. There are few excuses for not voting. (Unless, of course — like has happened around the country, and Republican-driven — one is being denied that right based on race, ethnicity, creed, or draconian laws written to keep certain persons from voting.) 

And yet, we see that almost 50 percent of American citizens did not participate in the presidential election of 2016. Half of us did not feel it was important to vote for a man or a woman who would be holding the most powerful political position on earth. Now figure into those numbers the fact that even less numbers of people participate in non-presidential elections — like the ones coming up in November — and you begin to understand what is happening. 

So, I believe, it is time to look in the mirror and stop blaming others for the multitude of problems we face here in the U.S. Problems, that I may add, have solutions. Because if you look closely at those problems, many can be solved by investment of tax dollars that are currently going to… the oligarchs and their friends. 

Many in the U.S. have given up hope. It’s exactly what the oligarchs want. When we don’t vote because “what good is it gonna do us, anyway,” the bad guys narrow the voting field and make it easier for them to control who DOES vote. And it’s then easier for them to buy elections. 

It is therefore not surprising to hear Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explain her unexpected victory against a powerful New York Democrat, and part of that oligarchy (because it’s not about Democrats nor Republicans), as one where “they had money, and we had people.”   

Because you see, as I mentioned previously, they want you to lose hope and stop voting. It’s as simple as that…

Back to Kavanaugh

When Trump nominated Kavanaugh, who will most likely be confirmed, he named a political activist and a conservative ideologue who will help create a majority for a court that many already consider too easily swayed by “activist” emotions. It is a court that will decide cases in the future that may redefine this country’s moral standing in cases such as: 

• Should a parent and child be separated for political reasons? 
• Should we meddle in a woman’s right to decide whether to have an abortion? 
• Are we to allow two loving partners who care for each other deeply, and happen to be of the same sex, to marry? 
• And most importantly for Trump, Is the president of the United States above the law?

With Kavanaugh, Trump may have found HIS perfect justice. And I emphasize his because the more we see what goes on, the more people in this country are beginning to open their eyes to a president with great possibilities of being indicted, or at best (and this depends on the November elections), face impeachment. 

Trump knows that with Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court vote there’s a great chance he may forego both.

Here’s why. Kavanaugh began his activist career as a young man working for Kenneth Starr. If you’ve forgotten, Starr was the man who pursued Bill Clinton and managed to have him impeached for his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Kavanaugh was the attorney who pushed Starr into delving and exposing even the most torrid and unnecessary (for the public to know) details of the Clinton affair. 

Kavanaugh also worked for George W. Bush when the 2000 election was stolen from Al Gore. He then worked for the Bush White House where he became an influential, although little known, advisor to the president. Interestingly, after the truth about lies used to lead the U.S. into the Iraq War were exposed, Kavanaugh wrote a mea culpa in the, I believe, Yale Law Review, where he admitted to have been mistaken in his treatment of President Clinton. He stated that a president should be shielded from litigation while in office. It was, at the time, a very convenient assertion that I am convinced was written to help Republican President George W. Bush. Kavanaugh was also the attorney behind the attempt to keep Elian in the United States, and keeping him from reuniting with his father in Cuba. 

Which leads me to certain conclusions: 

1. Kavanaugh, who claims to be a deeply religious and family man, believes in the separation of families — if it is politically expedient. And we have seen what the Trump administration is willing to do with families at the Mexican border…
2. Kavanaugh is willing to save a president from the legal system… as long as he is a Republican. 
3. And Kavanaugh is willing to lie to get what he wants, and where he wants to get. Or how do you explain his words when introduced by the president as his nominee: “No president has ever consulted more widely or talked with more people from more backgrounds to seek input about a Supreme Court nomination.” (Lie! Kavanaugh was chosen for Trump by extreme-right organizations like the Heritage Foundation, Judicial Crisis Network and Americans for Prosperity. The fact is that words like “consulting” and “seeking input” are not in the Trump vocabulary.)

And right back to the vote

There are solutions to the problems we face in this country. And there is great hope. Although if you listen to the Trumpsters and other Republicans (although the Republican Party has become the Party of Trump) they will sell you fear and hate, and then attempt to divide us.

It starts in November in the midterm elections. We’ve seen it happen in New York where the unlikeliest of candidates won against a Democratic Party stalwart with ten times as much money to spend as she had. We’ve even seen it in Miami, where an unknown, progressive activist woman beat out the wife of a commissioner who wanted to pass on his seat to her so he could run for congress. 

It is happening and we can win. But it all starts with the vote. 

So I’ll leave you with one thought: Vote!