Answers have been in the form of resistance
and action, some of which have led to positive outcomes such as the recent
departure of certain key advisors in the White House, chief among them: Steve
Bannon. While such outcomes are satisfying, they do not resolve fundamental
problems that now infiltrate our system of governance. Here are just a few examples, in brief, that
go to fundamentals of our Constitution, like free speech, the right to vote,
immigration and naturalization, and the general welfare of our citizens:
- Citizens United decision by the SCOTUS granted
free speech rights to corporations as individuals so that money donated to third party PACs
could be seen as unlimited free speech in the form of unlimited
contributions.
- Another decision by SCOTUS invalidated section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
which had allowed the federal government to pre-inspect the voting
requirements of certain states who had violated freedom to vote in the past,
in respect to certain minorities and other groups. That one decision prompted several
states to move quickly to put laws and procedures in place that made it
much harder for members of some groups (known to favor Democrats when
voting) to gain access to their constitutional right to vote.
- Attempts to repeal
the ACA and to
substitute abominable healthcare legislation that would reduce coverage
for millions of Americans (22 million according to OMB estimates).
Moreover, planned reduction of Medicaid to a bare-bones program affecting
more millions, including persons with disabilities, children and persons
requiring long-term care, was also part of that repeal, and now a part of
the 2018 Trump Budget proposal.
Savings from the minimization and destruction of the ACA and Medicaid
will be used to enrich the richest 1% in our nation.
- The undoing of DACA by another of Trump’s Executive orders, putting thousands of young “Dreamers” in jeopardy of being deported to other countries and societies. To many of those young people, those societies are ‘foreign’ because they have spent most or all of their young lives in this country with parents who brought them here without official permission or documentation. Just one more assault upon immigrants as a group.
One might ask: How did we get to this point of diminution and
destruction of constitutional fundamentals?
(1) It can be fairly stated that a major catalyst
is that the overall management of
government is no longer in the hands of independent and democratically-minded
representatives. The election system
we have now is a result of years of neglect, dubious legislation, and
unfortunate SCOTUS decisions. It seems
clear that we are now under the control of an election system that does not
reflect the concepts of fairness, equality or an outcome that can be proven to
be the “will of the people.” In fact,
the pernicious attempts by one Party to control voting and office-holding at
every level of society has served to do just that, but has done no good for the
99% of the people under their political control. Here are examples of schemes
perpetrated mostly by right-wing Republicans (along with some Democrats) that limit
the participation of voters who tend to vote for Democrats:
- Rampant gerrymandering of districts has produced “safe
districts” for many congressional Republicans, which is why Republicans
generally reject any attempts to have districts re-drawn by non-partisan
groups. An LA Times article from
October 11, 2016 indicates that the GOP made their move in 2010 when
Republican-controlled statehouses redrew congressional districts to give
the GOP all-but guaranteed seats, which by 2014 swelled the House majority
to 247, the largest since President Herbert Hoover. “A gerrymandering of
congressional districts, completed six years ago, sought
to secure a Republican House majority for years to come by
packing Democratic voters into fewer, often urban and
minority districts and giving Republican candidates comfortable
majorities in the ones they control. But those tailor-made districts yielded a new crop of
hard-right, often uncompromising Republican members of Congress, running
safely in mostly white, older and rural districts, where
Trump’s support is strongest.”
- ”From Reuters: “When Republicans won full control of 21 states in 2010, they promptly adopted measures that required voters to show one of a restricted set of photo IDs issued by... government. Government studies have shown that these laws can prevent or deter significant numbers of poor and minority voters from voting. By 2015, 13 states had adopted what the National Conference of State Legislatures considers a “strict” voter photo ID law, including seven Southern states formerly subject to federal oversight under section 4 of the Voting Rights Act that was declared unconstitutional by SCOTUS.”
Overall, at least 99
bills to restrict access to registration and voting have been
introduced in 31 states. Thirty-Five such bills
saw significant legislative action (meaning they have at least been approved at
the committee level or beyond) in 17 states. (BrennanCenter.org)
- “Super PACs are a relatively new type of committee that
arose following the July 2010 federal court decision in a case known as SpeechNow.org
v. Federal Election Commission. Technically known as
independent expenditure-only committees, super PACs may raise unlimited
sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals,
then spend unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or against political
candidates. Unlike traditional PACs, super PACs are prohibited from
donating money directly to political candidates, and their spending must
not be coordinated with that of the candidates they benefit. Super PACs
are required to report their donors to the Federal Election Commission on
a monthly or semiannual basis – the super PAC's choice – in off-years, and
monthly in the year of an election.” [Opensecrets.org (Center for
Responsible Politics)]
- “As of August 23, 2017, 2,394 groups organized as super PACs have reported total receipts of $1,791,027,147 and total independent expenditures of $1,061,703,002 in the 2016 cycle.” Of these, over 50% are Republican or Conservative, mainly supported by the richest among us. Super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited contributions from wealthy donors, contributed $22.3 million – nearly doubling the $11.8 million they had spent at this point in 2014.
- “A think tank (also
called a policy institute) is an organization, institute,
corporation, or group that conducts research and engages in advocacy in
public policy. Many think tanks are
non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide
with tax exempt status. While many think tanks are funded by governments,
interest groups, or businesses, some think tanks also derive income from
consulting or research work related to their mandate. In some cases, think tanks are little
more than public relations fronts.”
(Sourcewatch.org)
- “there are twice as many
conservative think tanks as liberal ones, and the conservative ones
generally have more money.” Many of them devote their efforts to
out-think and out-maneuver the Democratic Party (and any other more
liberal entity). Many of their ideas have been incorporated into the
platforms, budgets, and policies of the Republican Party. Their influence has moved the GOP
farther to the Right. But what
must not be forgotten is that these entities get their operating cash
from oligarchs who are intent upon the takeover of our government and
institutions -- like the media and schools -- and they gladly “pony-up” large
sums of money to maintain that takeover.
- Paid lobbyists and contributions to congressional candidates
and incumbents (and other campaigns) are crucial to the control of
legislation, and thus of how government functions. While it is difficult
to know exactly how many lobbyists there are, Wikipedia offers the
following:
- “A report in The Nation in 2014 suggested that while the number of 12,281 registered lobbyists was a decrease since 2002, lobbying activity was increasing and "going underground" as lobbyists use "increasingly sophisticated strategies" to obscure their activity. Their analyst estimated that the “actual number of working lobbyists was close to 100,000 and that the industry brings in $9 billion annually.”
It is difficult to
know how many lobbyists are related to conservative issues and how many to
liberal or progressive issues, but one thing is clear: those oligarchs who desire the top lobbying
professionals can afford to pay one or more of the top lobbying groups to
advocate for their political or economic or socially conservative points of
view.
(2) A second
major cause is the lack of legislation that would truly benefit the working people
of this nation. But, more specifically,
the blocking
of legislation intended to address the welfare and protection of the People
has played a major role. And, finally,
the many proposals of destruction of social programs and offices
of government that are intended to address the basic needs of the
People --like food stamps, Medicaid, Social Security, the EPA, community block
grants and community action programs --represent a major portion of the 160+
programs that will receive budget cuts in the pending Trump Budget Proposal.
o
“The
Trump Administration's fiscal year 2018 budget proposal proposes massive cuts across
virtually every major department and agency, with the exception of
Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs.” Overall, the budget outline “reallocates $54
billion from civilian programs like the EPA, which faces the largest
percentage cuts, to defense-related projects and border security.” (Time.com)
- The inability to solve or resolve real problems in a forthright and competent process is also part of this lack of meaningful legislation.
- Legislative Committees unable or unwilling to
use proven and professional problem-solving techniques;
- lack of witnesses before committees who are
actually affected by the legislation being discussed; lack of data
collection for informed sponsoring of problem-solving legislation
- witnesses called who represent corporate America,
but rarely represent working Americans living with the rigors, inequities
and exigencies of everyday life
- continuous attention to made-up issues that
appeal to certain voters or contributors
- inattention to the views of constituents in home
districts;
- lack of inclusion of opposition party in the legislative
process
- lack of substantive debate
(3) Government has become overly-identified and obsessed
with the needs of Business and the economy, with austerity measures for
reducing deficits, balancing budgets, protecting manufacturers and financial
entities, the stock market; and, with schemes for aggrandizing a small group of
wealthy citizens and corporations, protected by a system of “law and order”
rather than one of protection and safety for all citizens.
- We are now under the control of an oligarchic value system that is contrary to the democratic values of our Republic. We are allowing elections to be controlled by a small group of billionaires and millionaires, and we are at the mercy of employees of rich corporations that desire a government entirely created and managed to their advantage. Among those employees are lawyers, lobbyists, think-tankers, PAC managers, bought politicians, and unexpectedly, the non-voters, occasional voters, un-registered voters, and eligible citizens who don’t vote because they see no connection of politicians to their lives. Non-voters are included here as “employees” because by their non-participation they contribute greatly to the ultimate control that the oligarchs have accumulated. The oligarchs actually depend heavily on that non-participation.
As a result
of these underlying manipulations of our fundamental democratic values, our
mission has been changed, our purposes are questionable, and our rights and
freedoms are in danger. We must, above
all, return to progressive democratic values by taking a fresh look at our
fundamental document: The Constitution of the United States. What does it say about our mission? What purposes are revealed there for us to
accomplish? What values are important to
maintain and defend as defining concepts for our way of governing? And finally, what actions are crucial for
citizens to take? More on these
questions in future postings.
