Being an anti empire, anti war Socialist this writer has had countless inner dilemmas concerning the Jackass party. As far as their counterparts, the Republicans, well, they are as close to diabolical ( evil?) as can be. It seems forever that I have asked myself why in the hell do these people never ‘ Get it’? Just answered my own question. They do ‘ Get it’ , because the handlers of the Jackass party realize that as the Republicans continue to become a fascist party, then the suckers… oh sorry, the voters, must stay with them, the Dems. Sad state indeed as even this writer has succumbed since the repeat performance of Neo Fascist Trump into voting for them.
For seems an eternity most Americans, when polled, will vehemently support government run national health care. Yet, for generations the Democrats refuse to get aggressively behind that notion. Well, why should they, when all members of Congress get the best health care that us taxpayers subsidize? More crucial is the truth about campaign donations. In 2008 Mr. Hope and Change Obama out collected candidate John McCain by 3 to 1 in donations from the health care industry AKA insurance giants and for profit medical care industry.
For seems an eternity, at least since WW2, many Americans are not so happy to see our military all over the planet. The embedded media aside ( who carry the water for our War Economy), many John and Joan Q Public citizens don’t always drink that Kool-Aid as much as the politicos would think. Vietnam was the Rubicon that many regular ‘ Good Americans’ woke up to. This awakening is what got the power brokers who run our government to phase out that disgrace. It’s one thing to turn off the radical youth element of our nation, but you don’t mess with the over thirty middle class … the ones who vote for you forever. Yet, despite all the rhetoric, the Democrats never really addressed the obscene military spending at all. No, THAT was ( and Is) sacrosanct!
It was a Democratic president who first used the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which did the following:
The amendments enacted in Taft–Hartley added a list of prohibited actions, or unfair labor practices, on the part of unions to the NLRA, which had previously only prohibited unfair labor practices committed by employers. The Taft–Hartley Act prohibited jurisdictional strikes, wildcat strikes, solidarity or political strikes, secondary boycotts, secondary and mass picketing, closed shops, and monetary donations by unions to federal political campaigns. It also required union officers to sign non-communist affidavits with the government. Union shops were heavily restricted, and states were allowed to pass right-to-work laws that ban agency fees. Furthermore, the executive branch of the federal government could obtain legal strikebreaking injunctions if an impending or current strike imperiled the national health or safety.[11]
In 1947 approximately 35% of private sector workers belonged to unions. Today it is around 7%. The Taft Hartley disgrace saw many states passing ‘ Right to Work’ laws , which allowed employees to NOT join a union and still benefit on all that the union does for them concerning wages, benefits etc. What this did was make it more difficult for unions to form in many businesses, thus the current 7%. For anyone who knows ‘A thing about a thing’ this reveals how vulnerable workers are today to their bosses. In some states, like my own here in Florida, they are passing draconian laws to prohibit strikes and what used to be ‘ Lawful picketing’. Hitler did the next best thing after assuming power: OUTLAW UNIONS! Why bother outlawing them when only a fraction of workers are in them?
The January 6th riot and insurrection at our Capitol building was beyond belief. We had our president and his lackeys like Giuliani and Mo Brooks, heating up the crowd. We had Steve Bannon behind the scenes, and caught on his own podcast and emails, orchestrating much of the tragic event. Fake populist and far right wing Senator Josh Hawley fist pumped the crowd as the riot percolated… and then ran to hide while inside the Senate chambers. The January 6th Commission had miles of videos and hours of testimonies , and here it is over two years later and none of the inciters have yet to be indicted! Instead, the Democrats ( and we all know who pulls the strings behind the scenes at the Department of Justice) are still not calling for arrests of Trump, Rudy and Bannon… to name a few. They sit back and watch how Mr. Trump becomes a sympathetic figure with the porno star payoff and alleged rape of a woman almost 30 years ago … regardless if either of these events actually happened.
Finally, the handlers who finance and run the Democrats have decided to let Sleepy Joe Biden run for re-election. If you watch the guy on the boob tube you can see he is not even close mentally and cognitively to what he was even 10 years ago (this baby boomer is 73 and I can see how I have slipped in just a few years). Why would the power brokers decide this? Is it because they figure Trump will be able to run again and be the candidate? Yes, even with a Biden in ’24 they may get enough folks to defeat Trump. Yet, what happens if Trump is not the candidate? All bets are off if that occurs. Then again, we who can feel the sting of this right wing fascism have lots to lose. What about the Democrats? It’s like the popular professional football team that never wins. They always show a profit no matter what. The Dems, with most of them being very financially solvent, and filled with the benefits of elected office, have so little to lose. They will always get the votes because… because… they are the only option to the other side of this Two Party/One Party scam! If we don’t get public funding of ALL elections we will never have a chance for reforming this phony democracy. Never!
Philip A Farruggio is regular columnist on itstheempirestupid website. He is also frequently posted on Nation of Change and Countercurrents.. He is the son and grandson of Brooklyn NYC longshoremen and a graduate of Brooklyn College, class of 1974. Since the 2000 election debacle Philip has written over 500 columns on the Military Industrial Empire and other facets of life in an upside down America. He is also host of the ‘ It’s the Empire… Stupid ‘ radio show, co produced by Chuck Gregory. Philip can be reached at [email protected].
