We, the Plutocrats vs. We, the People - Saving the Soul of Democracy

Bill Moyers Tom Dispatch
Our country's greatest failing, the true disaster, of our time: the scourge of growing inequality, economic and political. It is despicable as the very wealthy convert their financial might into political power to guard that wealth while exacerbating inequality further. This is the vast difference between a society whose arrangements serve all its citizens or one whose institutions have been converted into a stupendous fraud - democracy in name only.

Trump, in a Major Immigration Speech, Is Back in Fearmongering Form

Julianne Hing; Deirdre Fulton The Nation; Common Dreams
In Mexico, Trump is solemn and praising; in Arizona, he's back to hysterical horror shows. His return to his old self was swift. Trump's Wednesday night speech was fiery, leaning on his usual depictions of immigrants as murderous, villainous, sexually deviant leeches. And then, he not only pledged every harsh anti-immigration tactic he'd floated for the past year, he expanded on them all - aimed at revving up his conservative base.

The Disturbing Dawn Of The Alt-Right - The Rise Again of White Nationalism

Heather "Digby" Parton Hullabaloo
Trump's nationalism is absolutely about ethno-purity and an element of populism as well, although it's clearly a misdirection...it's largely about wounded national pride which has been a potent motivating force on the American right for a very long time. The reason Trump is now playing the conservative anthem "Proud To Be An American" at his rallies is: Good old fashioned jingoism - the one thing that brings the old right, the new right and the alt-right together.

'History is Watching': Dan Rather Rips Trump in Epic Facebook Rant; Challenges Colleagues: "This Cannot Be Treated As Just Another Outrageous Moment in the Campaign"

Dan Rather Dan Rather's Facebook page
"History is watching: - former CBS News anchor Dan Rather on Facebook rips Donald Trump's veiled assassination threat against his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Trump in a bid to his followers, who also oppose gun control, said his "Second Amendment people" might be able to stop Hillary Clinton's appointment of Supreme Court justices. This is a new level of the GOP's war on women, where the right has fueled attacks on women and the murder of abortion providers.

Trumpism In The Context Of American History; Why Some Union Members Vote Against Their Own Interests

Van Gosse; Mark Pazniokas
Trump's strategy and campaign is to appeal to majority white, working class voters who have economic anxiety and fear of demographic change. Trump's candidacy viewed in the context of historical continuity - nativism is a primary political discourse in American history. Trump has shown us that it is just as powerful now as in the 1850s or the 1920s. Indeed, "Make America Great Again" recalls the 1920s Ku Klux Klan's appeal for "100% Americanism."

To Win in November, Hillary Clinton Will Need Bernie Sanders's Voters

D.D. Guttenplan The Nation
Still think the Democrats have this election locked up - and that between their 242-vote head start in the Electoral College, and Donald Trump's ongoing identity crisis, the only cloud on the horizon is whether or not the inevitable Republican meltdown is big enough to cost the GOP control of the House as well as the Senate? Well, think again. Just because the presidency looks like Hillary Clinton's to lose doesn't mean it can't be lost.

books

Koch World

Tom Gallagher Los Angeles Review of Books
Mayer charts the domestic far-right effort to remake the political system through foundations, think tanks, university institutes, paid political commentators and huge campaign contributions by heirs to energy giant Koch Industries. One strategist admitted, "We want to decrease regulations. Why? It's because we can make more profit, okay?" Yet selling that line is hard. So they pose that ameliorative legislation denies the "opportunity for earned success" to the poor.

The GOP Now Belongs to Trump. What Are Republicans Going to Do About It?

Eugene Robinson Washington Post
Republican elected officials and party leaders do not have time for retrospective contemplation. They have a decision to make. The party belongs to Trump now, just as Rome belonged to the barbarians, and GOP politicians have to decide whether to fall in line or take up arms against the new order.

Updating Our Strategy: Revisiting the U.S. `Six Party System' Hypothesis

Carl Davidson Keep on Keepin' On
A strategic look at the U.S. political landscape shows how Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders would be able to pull together a majority electoral coalition. It also reveals why either might still be thwarted in pulling together an effective governing coalition in 2017, (assuming they are able to defeat Trump or Cruz). The far right has grown in strength and virulence, while the `regular' conservative right has grown in intransigence.
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