SAUNDERS WANTS TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY

In or about 2007 the so-called Tea Party started to gain some notoriety, mainly as a “no more tax” movement but also focus on attacking the government as an institution. In addition to the tax issue, a tired old political philosophy started to regain a foothold. By 2007, people had relegated Ayn Rand’s political philosophy, which an element of radical politics had she been promoting for years. Her hate for communism fit perfectly with the John Birch Society as well as with the prevailing attitude of most of the US government toward communism as the Second World War ended. Her 1957 book, Atlas Shrugged made it clear that only the healthy and employed able-bodied members of society were welcome in America—no one else mattered. The anti-union stance of her philosophy resulted in management welcoming her ideas with open arms. Obviously, the liberal element of society rejected this philosophy to the point that even mention of the name ‘Ayn Rand’ was not welcome in polite conversations. Then Reagan happened on the scene. Few seem to realize that he built his politics on the Ayn Rand philosophy, although he never mentioned her by name. Reagan entered the scene in 1981 with his trickle down economics, which is what is now destroying America. It shocked me to find that the people we now have in Congress are followers of Ayn Rand; they were being elected to Congress as Republicans some were waving the Tea Party banner other not so much: Eric Cantor, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, Ron Johnson, etc. The Supreme Court’s Citizens United Decision was so obviously corrupt that it suddenly seemed to wake of the liberal elements in this country to the dangers of Reaganomics. I listened to Bernie Sanders’ opening remarks in his effort to enter the 2016 presidential race. His politics are what most people would label as socialism, what the right had condemned for years as being a transitional form of government between capitalism and communism; however, it is clear he is not thinking that way but is sure to be portrayed by the Tea Party as a Marxist. I see a parallel between what happened to the public attitude of the Ayn Rand philosophy and with what is happening with socialism. She was a political pariah for years and then came back into a position of influence. The conservatives in this country for all those years, actually from 1919 until this election, have condemned socialism in just as stark terms as liberals had condemned Ayn Rand philosophy, but the voters in the United States are now seriously considering him and his socialism as a viable way of governing America. He has married our much treasured free enterprise system into his socialism. It has become acceptable for a presidential candidate to talk about universal health care. It is a good idea to say that if a bank is too big to fail it is too big to exist. Reagan’s income disparity is not only unacceptable but also is morally wrong. On the other hand, progressive taxation is morally right. Biggest of all is to undo what the United States Supreme Court had done when they trashed democracy; we must restore the one-man-one-vote principle. The government is there to do what we cannot do for ourselves and Saunders says under his leadership, it will do just that. We do not need less government; we need more. If you do not believe that just look at the list of things, he says, he wants to do and try to do them by yourself. URL: firetreepub.blogspot.com Comments Invited and not moderated