Plutocracy or Just Government by Bullies?

In a showdown between those championing representational democracy and those seeking targeted and tailored control of government to a designated few, at least here in the United States, guess who’s winning? In legislative governance, we have a House GOP caucus that has declared its intent to use control of committees and the flow of pending legislation to stop any social or immigration legislation that the Dems might suggest, regardless of the merits. They are even hell-bent on reversing recent legislation as well.

Judicially, the US Supreme Court – in Harper vs Moore – is considering just how far state legislatures can act to limit who can vote… and whether they literally have power to change election results they do not like free from judicial review. For those who are trying to rein the seeming monolithic power of companies like Google, Apple, Amazon and Meta, they faced a tsunami of money from those companies to stop an obvious “best for 99% of Americans” expansion of federal antitrust legislation… that really put the kibosh on bills even reaching a vote.

The commonality of these barriers to governance is not just the big money imperative of a plutocracy; it is the desire of a minority to control the country and marginalize anyone who might oppose them. Backers of that MAGA body that includes so many White Christian Nationalists are hardly just an assemblage of rich taxpayers trying to avoid writing big checks to the government.

These are the armed “boots on the ground” grassroots populists who dominate the GOP today. “Moderate Republican” is not only an oxymoron; it has its own derisive label within the body of elected GOP representatives and leaders: RINO – Republican in Name Only. Big corporations simply want it their way: virtually no regulation or limits, low taxes and no accountability even in civil tort actions. And they do not care which party hands them that delicious plate!

It's no secret that the Freedom Caucus of ultra-right-wing House Republicans intends to leverage passage of any appropriation/debt ceiling bill to reverse Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, to reduce Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid benefits, to stop climate change infrastructure construction and to defund federal regulatory agencies. And with Kevin McCarthy’s (R/CA) obsession to become House Speaker hinging on a very narrow GOP majority, he is ready to do anything that Caucus wants, even if that results in total congressional gridlock for policies most Americans oppose. “Thirteen Republican representatives and representatives-elect on Monday [12/19] sent a letter calling for any legislative priorities backed by a GOP senator who supports the $1.7 trillion year-end spending bill to be thwarted in the 118th Congress.

“House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is trying to lock down enough votes to be elected Speaker, endorsed the letter on Tuesday [12/20]… The letter’s signatories included five who have said or strongly indicated they will not vote for McCarthy for Speaker: Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Matt Rosendale (Mont.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Ralph Norman (S.C.) and Bob Good (Va.).

“‘Further, we are obliged to inform you that if any omnibus passes in the remaining days of this Congress, we will oppose and whip opposition to any legislative priority of those senators who vote for this bill – including the Republican leader,’ the letter said. ‘We will oppose any rule, any consent request, suspension voice vote, or roll call vote of any such Senate bill, and will otherwise do everything in our power to thwart even the smallest legislative and policy efforts of those senators.’” The Hill, December 22nd. The legislation in question includes a bi-partisan omnibus $1.7 billion federal appropriations bill for fiscal 2023.

Even a number of GOP Senators find this lockstep, self-imposed gridlock counter-productive and a position that could hurt the GOP in the 2024 elections. “Leading Senate Republicans didn’t appear to take the threat from the 13 lawmakers seriously…: ‘That doesn’t sound like a recipe for working together in the best interest of the country, so I think this is just words spoken during the heat of passion,’ Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is an ‘aye’ vote for the omnibus. ‘Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail.’” The Hill.

Meanwhile, another piece of bi-partisan Senate legislation – co-sponsored by Amy Klobuchar (D/MN) and Charles Grassley (R/IA) – bit the dust under the crush of corporate pressure. “The American Innovation and Choice Online Act would have prevented the tech giants from using their platforms to disadvantage competitors, and the Open App Markets Act would have pared back Apple’s and Google’s control over app stores… The opposition campaign exploited contrasting concerns of the two parties. To Democrats, tech lobbyists argued that the bills would harm marginalized groups and reduce online privacy. To Republicans, they focused on free speech and free markets.” Bloomberg, December 22nd. The bills never made it to floor votes.

Our antitrust laws were designed well over a century ago, focusing on direct market manipulation (like “price fixing”) and mega-mergers. They were not designed to control organically-evolved monoliths and have recently “bought off” Congress with campaign contributions and lobbying under a mantra of “stop hurting out tech job-creators.” That consumers are denied choice and often have to pay through the nose are irrelevant. So, we have to rely on vastly more modern antitrust laws that have evolved as these tech giants have grown… in the European Union, which has been brutal to these brand-name American behemoths. “The companies have been forced to make significant changes in Europe to comply with similar European Union laws set to take effect in the coming years. U.S. advocates believe that will happen here too — but it will take time.” Bloomberg. Yeah, maybe. We seem powerless to stop these small but loud voices from crushing most of us.

I’m Peter Dekom, and it’s time we either change our ways or delete the notion that our Constitution and body of laws represent “a government of the people, by the people and for the people.”