It was a lousy day to be on top of the world.
In 2021 Joe Biden took the oath of office in the spot where two weeks earlier a violent mob egged on by the sitting President of the United States engaged in a nearly successful effort to disrupt the orderly transfer of power, most of the world, and half of the country breathed a sigh of relief.
The conventional wisdom pronounced that America had dodged a bullet.
How does this look four years later? If it’s possible, worse.
American Democracy Is At The End…Along with the American Empire
Contrary to popular belief, empires crumble over long periods of time. By the time that the barbarians sacked Rome, the empire had long since disintegrated. Corruption and apathy over nearly 400 years pointed to an inevitable end to Roman hegemony.
The return of Donald Trump has put the levers of power in the hands of people who are openly promoting the end of democracy. The central organizing principle of America, that “All men are created equal,” has been definitively cast aside. Consider this, from the once respected Claremont Institute:
“Let’s be blunt. The United States has become two nations occupying the same country. When pressed, or in private, many would now agree. Fewer are willing to take the next step and accept that most people living in the United States today—certainly more than half—are not Americans in any meaningful sense of the term.
“I’m really referring to the many native-born people—some of whose families have been here since the Mayflower—who may technically be citizens of the United States but are no longer (if they ever were) Americans. They do not believe in, live by, or even like the principles, traditions, and ideals that until recently defined America as a nation and as a people. It is not obvious what we should call these citizen-aliens, these non-American Americans; but they are something else.”
And this terrifying assertion: “Our norms are now hopelessly corrupt and need to be destroyed.” And this: The U.S. Constitution no longer works.
From here forward, the struggle is over not only who is worthy enough to be permitted to participate in civic life, but who gets to make that decision. And the answer is clear: only radical ultraconservative Republicans whose fealty to Donald Trump is complete are the only ones qualified to determine your status in American society. And herein lies the justification for disenfranchisement.
The larger strategy, one that ties directly to Claremont Institute’s goals, is to institutionalize the permanent disenfranchisement of those identified as “disloyal” to their goals and therefore vanquish political opposition. Make no mistake about it, this is about establishment of permanent one-party rule. After all, “Real Americans” never vote for Democrats.
Is There An Answer to This?
If there is, it’s not obvious. As usual, the Democrats are showing up to a gunfight armed to the teeth with knives. Or to use another old saw, all dressed up ready to fight the last war.
Democrats are plainly divided among themselves as to where the direction of their party should go. The MSM describes it as a debate between “wings,” but it goes far deeper than that.
The Republicans have figured it out: Control the narrative, define the opposition, and use raw power to hammer the outcome to their advantage.
The Democrats fiddle fart around trying to pretend that the rules of the game are the same as they’ve been for 250 years. The last time this happened, we had a full-on civil war.
American Democracy Has Ended
There is no question about who actually won. American democracy is at the end. Oligarchy and white supremacy have captured the levers of power and will wield them for the foreseeable future. Joe Biden was just a bump in the road to absolute control and a one-party state.
