George Rebane
Democracies are stable only to the extent that they enjoy a cohesive ideological spectrum and in which questions are decided with close votes. In such jurisdictions the alternatives decided are not inimical to each other, and everyone knows their vote on the matter counts. In lopsided democracies the minority’s vote no longer counts, which then induces its members to start seeking an alternative body politic.
Time for a fresh page of campaign revelations that present our country with possibly the most vexing election in its history. Both sides can and do make the case that if the other is elected, then the America we have known and loved is down the tubes.
Hillary released her 2015 tax returns carefully manicured for the 2016 election. Trump is still hiding his under an IRS audit. The Clintons tithed about a $1M of their $10M to charity. What could be more generous in the eyes of the nation’s nebbishes? Actually a lot when you discover that about 96% of that was donated to The Clinton Family Foundation. And the other 4% came back with dividends to their Clinton Foundation, that cosa nostra cash cornucopia that funds the Clinton Empire.
You heard about Hillary’s plan to get the economy kick-started, the same economy that from the other side of her mouth has been doing such a swell job of recovery? Well anyway, she’s going to tax more of the bejeezus out of the rich and the corporations, and come up with $275B to fund “infrastructure” over the next four years. I kid you not, that’s what that woman and her economists brain trust really believe will do it this time – yep, it’s all those “shovel ready jobs” that weren’t so shovel ready when Obama pissed away over $8T over seven years to get the economy up to an anemic 1-2% growth level. And she’s gonna kick us back up to the 3-4% level in the next four years. For the arithmetically challenged, that gal is going to spend 16 cents a year for every dollar Obama spent, and do in four years what Obama failed to do in 7.5 years. How do you spell Double Dummy? – those are the people who believe her.
I’m having a real hard time with Trump. It doesn’t look like he is going to do much ‘presidential’ campaigning. And now he’s let out that his Plan B is beginning to look good to him in case he loses – not a clever thing to start lipping off about while the RNC is already soiling their shorts. What a choice, between a self-centered know-it-all whose clumsy pronouncements are grist for the lamestream that doesn’t even have to work hard to keep him off message, and a corrupt political hag who is beyond-the-pale demonstrably crooked, unaccomplished, evil, and stupid. Oi weh!
For your reading assignments I recommend Peggy Noonan’s insightful 13aug16 column updating the historical disconnect between our governing elites who make policies that cause untold hardships on their ‘little people’ while they and theirs remain immune above the fray that they construct around the world. Also take a peek at Norm Sauer’s piece in the 13aug16 Union in which he summarizes some insights about international and national socialism vs nationalism (well-established in RR) that he gleaned from his (our) recent trip to Europe.
rebanesruminations.com 
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