Thom Hartmann’s daily newsletter for Friday took on what an oligarchy will mean in the US. It is pretty obvious that an oligarchy is what the American people voted into office if only by less than half a percentage point. 

Hartmann began his post with quotes from three American leaders who stepped in at previous times of oligarchy in attempts to turn the country from oligarchy. Since it is Christmas I will prevail on Mr. Hartmann’s generosity to use his lines. 

As we view the achievements of aggregated capital, we discover the existence of trusts, combinations, and monopolies, while the citizen is struggling far in the rear or is trampled to death beneath an iron heel. Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people’s masters. — President Grover Cleveland

Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day. — President Theodore Roosevelt

We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace: business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. — President Franklin D. Roosevelt

The subject of money controlling our government has been on the minds of many of us because we know what the rich and greedy want – they want it all at the expense of everyone else. They already have more money than can be spent in several lifetimes and they want more.

They will stop at nothing to get it all. Apparently Elon Musk has bought himself a share of the presidency. One of his first acts as co-president has been to demand passage of a continuing resolution to keep the government open that would end the debt ceiling so that Congress would have NO limits on how deeply the country could be driven into debt. 

Hartmann in his article discusses how the SCOTUS set the groundwork for a country where the rich get expedited pathways to power. While we have government with powers divided among three branches, the founders failed to consider what would happen if all three branches were in aligned in a scheme to redesign the government. 

Remember that a government with divided powers can be overthrown from within by members who have their own agendas ahead of the agenda of the country. We are about to see a line up of the executive branch whose greed is unquenchable and which will stop at nothing. 

We have a legislative branch controlled by the executive’s party that is totally spineless when dealing with the executive branch. The MAGA legislative branch’s only agenda these days is to get re-elected and to do so they will allow the executive to humiliate them in any manner. Their legislative priority is to do what the executive tells them.

Finally we have a judicial branch that is openly taking bribes. To keep these bribes flowing they simply have to pervert their opinions to excuse executive actions. Last term’s decision that the executive cannot be held liable for actions when acting as the executive ended one of the very core tenets of our country: That no one is above the law.

So it is a sad assessment as we approach Christmas of 2024. We know what they (the MAGA executive, legislature and judiciary) are planning to do. They have told us over and over. We must resist using what powers we have. While it may seem weak we need to us what media we can. Write letters to the editor and opinions in local media.

We need to use social media to push our ideas and to make sure Americans understand what the oligarchs are doing. And we must support those who support the small ‘d’ democracy with contributions and votes.

Money in American politics has always been the rot in the base of the structure. Politicians such as the Roosevelts and Cleveland tackled the problem before. Recently politicians such as McCain and Feingold took it on. The corruption of money can be tamed but WE need to call for it, and make it an issue before Trump and his oligarchs can weave it even more deeply into the system.

I am kind of laying back this weekend. Quiz tomorrow, though.