A one-page Guide to American Politics

This guide is designed for those Americans who, by necessity or inclination, do limited reading and
analysis of social and political conditions within the United States. America has only one political
party with two wings, the Democratic wing and the Republican wing. Discussion: The
Democrats campaign from the left and govern from the center; the Republicans campaign from the
right, then govern from the center-right while pursuing a pro-business agenda that does little to
elevate the quality of life of ordinary people in America. As a result, there is only a modest range of
potential change in policy that occurs between the center and center-right positions, resulting in a
frozen democracy and the continuance of the status quo desired by the politicians’ masters.

The latter include influential members of the financial sector, the Republican and Democratic party
leaders , and owners of the media. Lewis Lapham and Walter Karp refer to this group as “the
permanent government” in America. Congress and the Presidency constitute the provisional
government, where the morality play of social and political issues unfold; however, the real
decisions are made by their masters. Congress is clearly the largest house of prostitution in
the nation, with ordinary American’s experiencing the illusion, not the reality, of
representative democracy. As one Republican Congresswoman was bold enough to say, “if
you want access, you have to pay for it.” It would be helpful if all Senators wore race car
driver outfits with logos revealing their corporate and other sponsors; it would then be easier
for Americans to understand who owns them. The five member conservative majority on
the Supreme Court demonstrated its corruption in the Gore decision after the 2000 election
by reversing their long-standing respect for states rights while indicating that this decision
was an exception. It was a politically motivated act to aid the Republicans to whom they
owed their appointment to the High Court. The Court declined to allow a recount in the State
of Florida, where there were numerous flaws in the election process, including a system that
fraudulently denied certification to eligible voters and police roadblocks in Volusia County
designed to limit Black turnout in the election. Presidential Obama, like his predecessors,
campaigned for change, but has largely promoted a continuance of government policies in
many areas.

Moreover, in the healthcare debate, he could have submitted an administration backed bill that included a
comprehensive single-payer plan. Instead, he avoided a contentious debate where he could
potentially lose political points, leaving it to the corrupt Congress to pass a watered-down
version of health care that still excludes millions of persons from healthcare coverage to this
day. On a personal level, it is not inspiring that he bought his house in Illinois at below
market value from a man subsequently convicted of bribery and extortion. The American
Electorate is divided into two groups. The first includes the majority of conservative
White voters, along with a smaller percentage (10% of Blacks, 33% of Asians, and
33% of Latinos) of minorities. The second group is comprised of roughly 40% of
progressive White voters, along with 90% of blacks, 67% of Latinos and 67% of
Asians, and smaller populations. The Conservative White Majority constitutes the
poison that permeates American society through its promotion of 19th-century rugged
individualism, anti-intellectualism, and racism. Discussion: The rugged individualism is
cast in modern-day society as “personal responsibility”, the name the Republicans gave to
the 1995 welfare Reform Act. Under their view, each individual is responsible for himself; it
is a form of social Darwinism that rejects collective responsibility and mutual support.
Although they fear socialism, they have no idea that government subsidies to oil, agriculture
and other industries constitute socialism. Indeed, as the late economist John Kenneth
Galbreath observed, America has long had socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor.

This is beyond their meager understanding. The anti-intellectualism is manifested with George Bush
prancing around the stage and 2004 throwing out clichés such as “you can run, but you can hide.” and the
success of Sarah Palin, despite her intellectual implosion on national television in her interview with Katie
Couric. The racism is reflected not only in the placards from the tea party march in Washington depicting
the President as a monkey, but in Sarah Palin’s vice presidential campaign when she said, in addressing a
White audience, that “ it is good to be around real Americans”. How likely is it she would refer to a
gathering of people of color by that term? The so-called Tea party movement is sponsored by two
billionaires, appeals to the worst of American values, rugged individualism, anti-intellectualism and racism.
Within the tea party, there is a fundamental rejection of a sense of community. During their public
demonstrations, some supporters carried dehumanizing signs depicting President Obama
as a primate rather than a human being. It is important to note that many other tea party supporters were
willing participants to march along side the persons carrying these racist placards. Tea party members, who
are overwhelmingly white, fail to offer a positive vision of a better Society for all Americans. From the
misspellings on the placards, many of the tea party supporters are not among our better educated citizens.

The so called “American Dream” is a pathetic one of a job, house and a car, with no thought given to the
fact that such basics are merely a point of departure for enriching the human experience
through the arts, music, literature and other pursuits that enhance the human experience. The
dreams of the White majority are individual ones; mutual sharing and support are rejected.
Under these conditions, is it a good idea to vote? One reason to vote for a different party is
to deny legitimacy to the one party system of Democrats and Republicans. At the same time,
a good reason to vote Democratic is, if one is not wealthy, to block the Republicans and their
disregard for the quality of life of ordinary people.