Yah, so we have been going on and on about the Democrats getting into power, taking control of the House, well, that’s a given and maybe even the Senate. That’s not a given, but there’s a good chance.
But okay. They do it.
So what?
What do you expect? Massive change? Impeach Trump, throw the administration behind bars where they belong? Oh, still my beating heart. If only it could happen that easily.
Reality is raising its ugly head. What’s going to happen? Well, I’ll tell you what’s going to happen.
A lot of INVESTIGATIONS.
A lot of ARM WAVING.
A lot of NAME CALLING.
A lot of NOTHING.
Why?
Because the Democrats have their own dirty laundry.
Because both parties depend on wealthy donors, corporations, interest groups and the mountains of money that now flow through our political system. Because the same basic system of campaign contributions, lobbying and dark money that Republicans complain about when Democrats benefit from it is the same system Democrats complain about when Republicans benefit from it.
The names are different.
The excuses are different.
The money is still money.
Don’t get me wrong. We will see change. We may see Trump and his political machine dismantled. We may see investigations that uncover things that actually deserve to be uncovered. We may see parts of the Trump political operation disappear.
But will the underlying system change?
That’s the question.
Because if you simply replace one political machine with another, what have you really fixed?
We aren’t going to see fundamental change until we start dealing with the two-party system itself, until Citizens United is addressed, and until the super-rich lose some of their influence over our government.
They will never lose all of it.
Because money is power, and that’s just the way it is.
This is a late-in-the-evening post.
I am reminded of Chuck Keller’s recent post where he brought up alcohol, and I made a comment about how every now and again I guess we all, including Hemingway, must stand there sober occasionally.
Well, today isn’t that day.
I cleaned my smoker. I scraped the grease from the BBQ. I showered twice. I even did a paying job.
And now I’m sitting here with a glass of bourbon, my poison of choice, which apparently makes me willing to admit that I can appreciate the Chinese game plan:
Don’t think about tomorrow. Think about the next 100 years.
So, looking forward:
Who are we going to let call the shots?
A bunch of rich dudes who only want to get richer?
Or…
Maybe that’s the question we should be asking before we decide that simply changing who holds the gavels means we have changed the system.
Because making that decision tomorrow may be too late.
