No, They are NOT the Same

When I was a little boy, maybe third or fourth grade, I asked my dad what the difference was between Republicans and Democrats. There had been a boy on the playground who was going around threatening to beat up any kid who said he was a Democrat. I messed around with him by going, “I’m a Democrat…  OK, I’m a Republican. No, I’m a Democrat…” I wasn’t too worried about getting beaten up… he was a fat kid, so I knew he couldn’t catch me. (I still remember his name… He’s probably the president of his local RNC.) But later, I figured I’d get to the bottom of the whole thing and try to figure out what I really was.

Many parents would have told their child not to worry about such things at such a tender age. But Dad told me something I’d never forget. He told me, “Republicans want the rich to get richer, and the Democrats want the poor to get richer.”

I thought for a second and said, “Then I’m a Democrat.”

Dad said, “Good boy.”

In the fifty-plus years since then, I’ve never seen any evidence that Dad was anything but 100% right with that call. Everything Republicans do is for the ultimate goal of improving the lives and bank accounts of the rich, even if it’s just pandering via religion to stay in power. It used to be subtle, but no longer.

Such open market tampering should be illegal… It probably is for the president via the Emoluments Clause, which states that a president may not profit from the office. But here he is anyway, making stock trades where he can create motion in the market just by saying something. So when he talks about a company or industry, he knows the inevitable result in the market, so before the speech, he either buys or sells, depending on where he KNOWS the stock is going.

It’s like he’s Biff in Back to the Future 2, making bets based on a sports almanac from the future, which shows all the winners. And no one will do jack shit about it. The Justice Department is no longer an entity that enforces the law, they are the president’s personal legal team. Prosecuting him is not in their charter. But watch them charge Nancy Pelosi with the same thing!

Yeah, the Republicans have been howling about Pelosi’s stock trades for years, and ignoring their own Congress critters who do the same thing. Bills have been introduced to outlaw stock trades by sitting Congress people, but, surprise-surprise, have not gotten any traction in getting passed.

It’s like with term limits. Why would they want to eliminate a perk of their own job? It’s in their interest to keep things the way they are. That especially goes for those who aren’t already wealthy, which, granted, are few and far between. Even though the congressional salary of around $175k sounds like a lot to Middle America, it costs a fortune to live in the DC area. Apartments and real estate in the DC metro area are obscenely expensive. And it’s not like you always get bang for your buck, either. It’s not that the places are that great; it’s that they're near DC, that’s it. It’s like the LA of the East Coast, only with lousier weather.

As far as I’m concerned, they should establish Congressional Barracks, like a complex of row houses, earmarked for Congress and even support staff (who REALLY get reamed on cost of living). With housing covered, they can pass a law banning stock trades for all government officials. Transgressors would get hit with loss of the amount used for purchase or sale, with an equivalent fine to boot.

Whatever the details, our elected officials should not be using their positions to enrich themselves, especially not by manipulating the markets and then using insider knowledge to profit.

Another peek into the Republican psyche comes from this article on Shark Tank’s token money-worshipping rich prick, Kevin O’Leary:

The complete quote from the headline: “I hope they work for my competitors.” This is the Republican philosophy in a nutshell, regarding how they view non-rich Americans. We’re just cogs in their personal machines that convey dollars upward to them. They don’t care about our quality of life, our opinions, what makes us happy, or anything else. We are a resource to exploit for their own gain. They would rather we just thank them for keeping us busy.

Once upon a time, such things were never stated publicly; one could only surmise such a stance from evaluating their corporate policies. But the current regime has emboldened the 1% to seek out the same kind of praise and adulation for being large and in charge that the president craves so much.

They want to demand company loyalty, applying pressure to work longer and harder for less and less. And then they display no such loyalty back, rolling out layoffs and job eliminations to keep the bottom line where they want it. It’s not like they’re going to cut back on executive bonuses, are they?

They demand everything, give you as little as possible in return, and cut you loose at the first sign of trouble. That’s the corporate American way, which is synonymous with the Republican way.

And somehow, they get people to keep voting for them, showing how they are true masters of manipulation.