Pressed again this week, so I’m going to comment briefly on a few topics. Stop me if I get ahead of myself.
Eliminate the middleman. I guess it’s official: Donald Trump is a phenomenon. Of course, in a field of seventeen candidates, all you need for first-tier status is to poll in the double digits. It’s not surprising that a quarter of the Republican activist electorate find his brand of arrogant, reality-star crackpotism attractive. He does make one valid point, I will admit – he doesn’t need another billionaire to bankroll him, unlike his 16 rivals. That’s because he’s his own billionaire.
So that’s his competitive advantage, right? No middleman necessary. Let the rich rule directly. Let’s hear it for feudalism! Submit yourself to the will of the landlord!
Schumer’s gambit. Senator Schumer has defended his decision to oppose the nuclear deal with Iran by suggesting that a deal more favorable to the U.S. and Israel can be forced through extension and intensification of sanctions and – I suppose – more aggressive negotiations. In this respect, he is channeling Trump. What’s sad about this is that even the administration, in its defense of the pact, buys into the same imperial mindset that has defined our relationship with Iran since 1979.
Personally, I don’t think the agreement is a particularly good deal for Iran. We still target them economically and politically, surround them militarily, blame them for every ill in the Middle East – which is really too much like the pot calling the kettle black. This is just payback for Iran’s unforgivable crime of stealing something truly valuable from us: their sovereignty.
What matters. Many have commented on the Black Lives Matter movement’s interruption of political rallies in recent weeks, and some have complained about the tactic being used on Bernie Sanders. Though I like Bernie, I can’t blame BLM for speaking up at every opportunity. This is an emergency for Black Americans, one that has been underway for hundreds of years. Until white folks start listening and responding appropriately, expect more disruptions.
Luv u,
jp
This crowded clown car is such a stunning illustration of the extent to which the national Republican Party has lost control of their own electoral process. Either that or they have completely lost their minds. There was a day when the party could take someone aside and say, “No, no. Not this time. Next time, maybe,” and the ambitious pol would refrain from competing. Now the process is being driven from the outside; it’s being pushed by talk radio, conservative bloggers, and Fox News, as well as foundation-funded think tanks and 401(c)3’s and 4’s. If I were a Republican, I would be disgusted by this lack of discipline. There is no way to foster a meaningful televised debate between 10 egotistical people, let alone 17.
It’s vintage American political theater, kind of like the ubiquitous flag pin. (Pin on, hero! Pin off, traitor!) We are so obsessed with symbolism that we invariably miss the fundamentals. Reverend Barber was talking about this over the last few days, countering a lot of the happy talk about everyone coming together and pulling down that offending flag. Seriously, when I watched Nikki Haley making her dramatic announcement, all I could think of was the thousands of working families in South Carolina – many of whom are African-Americans – who could benefit from Medicaid expansion under the ACA, if only she and her party would allow it. Sure – symbols mean something to those who have suffered under them. That’s reason enough to pull the stars and bars down. But let’s not stop there.