A juxtaposition of ends
There's interesting movement on both ends of the political aisle.
On July 4, the Constitution Party (CP) relaunched its website and put out a somewhat revised and updated version of the Declaration of Independence, which concludes by observing:
We, therefore, the Constitution Party, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the correctness of our intentions, do, in the Name of the Citizens of America, solemnly publish and declare, That We the People are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent; that We are Absolved from all Allegiance to the Oligarchy, and that all political connection between us and the Oligarchy, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent Citizens of America, We have full Power and Right to do all other Acts and Things which Free Citizens may of right do. We invoke the return to the Constitution and to a limited government that will secure our inalienable Rights.
We demand that our States get their creation, the U.S. government, back under control. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Unfortunately, the states are the ones bitching that the federal government is laying down a load of unfunded mandates upon them thanks to Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress. They don’t want to have to raise taxes, and they can’t run a deficit like the federal government has for practically all of its existence. While it’s not as lucrative of a gig as being a Congressman is, there are a lot of state legislators who depend on their salary to support their families because they don’t seem to have other marketable skills, and voting to raise taxes doesn’t exactly endear one to the electorate.
Of course, the CP can get away with these statements because they’re not part of the duopoly and only cater to the small portion of altruistic and independent-minded folks who crave a limited government, like me. I’m reconsidering moving back to the GOP now - maybe I’ll stick around with these guys. (It’s not like I have a ton of primaries to vote in, which is basically the only difference.)
On the other hand, the folks at Indivisible believe they own the Democrat Party, so they were big mad when Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed and was signed on Friday. Oh yeah, they were fuming:
In the end, Republicans chose to side with billionaires over their constituents to pass this bill. They cared more about staying in the good graces of their cult leader than they did about the lives of vulnerable families back in their districts.
They think they’ll get away with this. They hope that by the time 2026 rolls around, their constituents will forget about their betrayal. It’s up to all of us to make sure they don’t.
The fight to kick these corrupt bastards out of office starts right now. Every dollar we raise today will go directly toward holding them accountable and ending their House and Senate majorities next year.
Of course they designed this as a fundraising appeal, although Indivisible isn’t really hurting for funds given the billionaires behind them. Conversely, the Constitution Party hasn’t seen $12 million in its entire existence per FEC records, but that’s Indivisible’s annual take now. I guess when your reason for being is to limit largesse by rightsizing government to the standard set by the Constitution rather than provide a return on investment via taxpayer dollars directed to the pockets of you and your cronies, the CP is not going to get rich. Those “corrupt bastards” Indivisible is referring to inhabit their side of the aisle as well, perhaps even more so than the GOP side.
If the political system were rebuilt to my standards, it would have the Libertarian Party on the left and the Constitution Party on the right. (The Democrats and Republicans would be the ones having to petition for ballot access.) We would certainly have clashes over social issues and role of government regarding those, but in general government would be more limited.
Therefore, I’m guessing Indivisible will keep having protests and such all summer long, or at least until its billionaire backers decide the investment’s not worth it anymore. Me? I’ll just be here working at this less-than-lucrative labor of love to rightsize government, extending the OBBBA where possible to cut Fedzilla down to size even further. “Rescission” is my word of the summer.
Next time I’ll look at what might be considered the middle.
In the meantime, though, you can Buy Me a Coffee, since I have a page there now.
My dissatisfaction with the local Republican party led me to become Independent. While their platform speaks of doing the right things, their daily actions prove they're as corrupt as the Demcraps they rail against. It is time for other political entities to take charge, however the oligarchy is well entrenched in the whole of the Uniparty and won't go quietly into that good night. I suppose the only logical choice is to build the minority parties and finally give them competition. I could see MAGA as the kernel of such a movement, but time will tell whether it's a movement or just Trumps charisma.