The closer we come to Trump's presidency, the more we see that conflicts of interest will rule the day. Yes, there are quite a few cabinet appointees who are likely to oppose the goals and purposes of the departments which are supposed to head. But this pales when one thinks of how much business will be done with the Trump Organization while the Trump family has access to the White House and the powers of the sitting president.
Are people upset? Yes, including many in the GOP. But party loyalty is getting in the way of eliminating this problem. The GOP is getting drunk on the power they expect to have as of January 20th. Big business will get everything it wants for the next 4 years, and very little will get in the way. People who voted for Trump to drain the swamp will again be disappointed. And that leads to the question: Can anything be done to stop this mess?
At the time I write this, there is a movement to have 37 "faithless electors" deny Trump the presidency and force the election to the House. This movement of "Hamilton Electors" is trying to get 37 electors to vote for a Republican like Kasich, giving the House the chance to restore sanity to the presidency before anyone takes office. Although I doubt this movement will change things, it would be nice to see the election go to the House, and it would be nice to see the GOP toss Trump out. Even though they would likely keep Pence as the VP in
this scenario, we would avoid even larger problems from a man (Trump) who believes that
Or, in English:
"I AM THE STATE!"
If we look at French History, shortly after the American Revolution ended, the French Revolution started as a response to the corruption of France's elites. Eventually, it resulted in an end to France's monarchy (vive la Guillotine!) and prepared the way for Napoleon and his destructive behaviors. Can America afford to go down this path? No. But we will know if it is more likely than not depending on whether the Hamilton Elector movement succeeds or not. And by the time you read this entry, we will have the answer to this question....
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As David Letterman said before he retired: "Bush presidencies are like Godfather movies - it's best to stop at two." I don't recycle this Letterman joke because I dislike the fellow. Instead, I recycle it as a reminder that he would be the third member of his family to hold the office of President if elected - something he downplayed very much in his announcement that he was running for POTUS.
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Jeb is the Bush brother who was being groomed for the presidency. It was a surprise to his dad that Jeb lost a gubernatorial election in Florida, while his brother won in Texas. And, as a result, it was "W" who ran for POTUS and won in 2000. (I can only imagine what might have happened if Jeb had been in office instead of his brother - would he have come off as more competent? Only god knows - I certainly don't.) But I expect that Jeb will be the likely GOP 2016 nominee - and will run against Hillary Clinton.
Let's contrast the two likely candidates at first glance. Jeb's web site and other media downplays his membership in the Bush family. Hillary in her announcement made a big deal about her connections to both her husband Bill (former POTUS) and Barack Obama (current POTUS). What does this say about Jeb? Does he fear being tarred by the same brush being used on "W"? I can't blame him - I think "W" was a terrible president. (Too bad that he can't distance himself from "W" without also distancing himself from his father - who was a decent president.)
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I am very leery of having another Bush run for POTUS. This family has been extremely well connected for the past 150+ years - and electing one of the entrenched elite from a family who has already supplied 2 POTUS's makes me worry about a static elite in this country. Our founding fathers lived in a world where one could go from poor to rich and back to being poor within a generation or two. This is no longer the case. So I pose the question - can we afford to have families who lock themselves permanently into both the economic and political elites?
Even though Jeb may be a decent man, my concerns about him and his family are solely about the establishment of a permanent elite, and whether a democratic republic can afford to have one. As much as I hate to compare the United States and France, sometimes the comparisons can't be avoided. In this case, history gave us a France with a static elite. The rule of law was perverted to keep this elite in power, and social injustice was rampant. Eventually the pot boiled over, and France had its revolution. The signs are there that America hasn't learned its European history that well - and I am very concerned about what might happen in our lifetimes....
