'The Last Time Oligarchs Tried to Take Over America It Led to Civil War' Thom Hartmann [View all]

[Joinfortmill]

Last edited Fri May 17, 2024, 02:24 PM - Edit history (2)

https://hartmannreport.com/p/the-last-time-oligarchs-tried-to-f57

My words: You need to read this, people. I posted the entire article. (Please note: I combined some of the paragraphs togethter.) My words update: Folks, I thought Thom gave us permission to post his articles in their entirety, but it seems I may be mistaken. I've been asked to reduce this post. I do hope you will take the time to click on the link and read it.


'Is America in the final stage of the 40-year transition from a forward-looking & still-evolving democratic republic into a white supremacist ethnostate ruled by a small group of fascist oligarchs?' "The headline in this week’s Fortune reads: “Billionaire investor Ray Dalio warns U.S. is ‘on the brink’ and estimates a more than 1 in 3 chance of civil war” Billionaires and civil war? A billionaire-funded Supreme Court Justice flew the American flag upside down outside his house after January 6th in apparent support of Donald Trump‘s attempt to overthrow our government. Back in the day, the late Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis warned us: “We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.” The number one movie in America last month was Civil War. Rightwing militias are on the march. More than half of Republicans say they are “expecting” a civil war. How did we get here? And what does oligarchy have to do with civil war?

The clear result of five corrupt Republicans on the 1978 and 2010 Supreme Courts legalizing political bribery of politicians (and Supreme Court justices) by both corporations and the morbidly rich is that America is now well past the halfway mark of a fatal-to-democracy slide into oligarchy and the strongman autocracy typically associated with it. And the conflict that can follow that. You can see the consequence in any contemporary survey. The majority of people want things, from a strengthened social safety net to a cleaner, safer environment to quality, free education, that Congress refuses to do anything about because it is in thrall to great wealth.

And now, for a second time in American history, we’re confronted with a near-complete takeover of about half of our nation by America’s oligarchs. And with it has come not just the threat of political violence, but the reality, from the death of Heather Heyer to the George Floyd protests to January 6th and the assault on Paul Pelosi. All driven by oligarchs determined to pit us against each other so we won’t recognize how they’re robbing us blind. Unless and until our tax laws are changed and the Supreme Court’s legalization of political bribery is reversed, we’ll continue this disintegrative slide into fascism and the danger of domestic armed conflict.

This fall we’ll have the opportunity to elect politicians who actively oppose oligarchy and fascism while embracing the true spirit of American egalitarianism. President Biden is the first president in 80 years to actually raise taxes on rich people and corporations. That political bravery has brought him powerful enemies: this fall’s election will be hard fought. Make sure everybody you know is registered to vote, and if you live in a Republican-controlled state double-check your voter registration every month at vote.org. America’s future — and the integrity of our history — depend on it."