How did a system of over 250 years go so horribly wrong in such a short time? The system's failure was systematic. The collapse was not instantaneous but gradual, kind of like boiling a frog in a pot. You don't realize the water is getting hot until it is already too late.
I believe it all started from day one:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Decades later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and the creation of Social Security sent conservatives into a tizzy. As the presidency and Congress oscillated back and forth between conservatives advocating for less government and liberals aiming to provide for the "general welfare," these two foundational philosophies remained deeply at odds. Ultimately, it was Alexander Hamilton’s views that pervaded. Hamilton argued that the General Welfare Clause grants Congress a separate, broad power to tax and spend for national purposes, as long as it benefits the country as a whole, rather than being restricted strictly to its other enumerated powers. Meanwhile, conservatives maintained their rallying cry: less government!
In the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s, conservatives began plotting their strategy. One of the places where this plan is thought to have come into being was at California's Bohemian Grove, where old money and new money converged. It is believed that the blueprint for the Reagan administration was forged there. These get-togethers were dominated by Wall Street bankers, industrial CEOs, legacy media barons, and traditional Republicans like Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. Power was consolidated through corporate boards, Ivy League networks, and quiet, behind-the-scenes handshakes.
Once in office, Reagan went to work dismantling the unions. However, many of the conservatives' grand plans were stymied by the courts. Ever since then, Republicans broke with tradition; instead of appointing politically neutral judges, they began intentionally appointing jurists who leaned hard to the right.
Meanwhile, a technological revolution took place: the dawn of the World Wide Web. Suddenly, the lunatic down the street could easily talk to the lunatic on the other side of the country.
In times of economic stress, the conditions for revolution become ripe. We saw it in the 1890s, the 1930s, and we see it today as the economy fractures into what is now called a "K-shaped" economy. Back in the 1890s, the public targeted the ultra-wealthy as "Robber Barons." By the 1930s, in his famous 1936 Democratic National Convention speech, President Franklin D. Roosevelt re-baptized them as "economic dynasties" and "economic royalists."
The culmination of this long-game strategy came down to the judiciary. When conservative Justice Antonin Scalia passed away unexpectedly in February 2016, Senate Republicans broke traditional norms and refused to hold confirmation hearings for a replacement, arguing that it was too close to the November election. Yet, as soon as Donald Trump won, they quickly placed Neil Gorsuch on the bench in April 2017.
The hypocrisy became absolute when liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on September 18, 2020—just 46 days before the next election. Instead of waiting for the voters, the Senate rammed through the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett in just weeks. With that, they successfully secured a captured, ultra-right-wing court.
But winning elections through a hyper-radicalized base was never a guarantee. To lock in permanent minority rule, they turned to aggressive gerrymandering, shifting district boundaries so precisely that the ruling party faced virtually no risk of losing power.
However, faced with Trump's polarizing reputation, strategists knew they needed to do more to guarantee victory. They set out to secure their wins by making it intentionally harder for marginalized communities to vote. The result is a modern incarnation of the Jim Crow "Poll Tax." By pushing for strict identification requirements, they have forced voters to produce documents like a passport (which costs $165 for a new application) or a birth certificate (which requires a notarized fee to obtain). For a low-income worker, these are not administrative safeguards; they are financial barriers to democracy.
For years, we have watched a spineless Republican Congress that is terrified of standing up to Trump, though a brave few are finally starting to show glimpses of a backbone. The public is beginning to see the deep structural corruption surrounding this administration—from the blatant buying of presidential pardons to rampant insider trading.
Consequently, Trump’s poll numbers are sinking, and he is getting desperate. He was impeached twice before but survived conviction in a loyal Senate. Now, the political landscape is shifting, and he and his cronies are visibly worried.
In their desperation, the administration's inner circle is testing the absolute limits of executive power. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and border czar Tom Homan have floated the terrifying idea of deploying armed ICE agents or military troops directly to polling places on Election Day. They justify this authoritarian overreach with unproven claims of mass noncitizen voting and the supposed need to stop "leftist terrorists." The true tragedy of our degraded system is that, knowing the nature of this administration, such a catastrophic abuse of power is entirely possible.
Will we wake up on November 4th to the dawn of an authoritarian regime?
The modern plutocrats want to preserve their "champagne wishes and caviar dreams" at any cost, regardless of what happens to the American republic. The water is boiling, the kitchen is quiet, and the feast is served.
Frog's legs, anybody?
[/Political Analysis]
