That the snarkier circles of political commentary thrill to the
elephantine bellowings of Donald J. Trump only shows the pathetic limitations
of the snarkists. They enjoy Trump’s filterless mouth, his harsh goadings of
the other presidential wannabes, and his supposed telepathic empathy for the
suffering public outside the magic kingdom of DC.
Trump has one legitimate issue, immigration, plus a brief against the
general incompetence of professional politicians, and a pocketful of
grandiose claims about his majestic skills in business and deal-making. As
business goes in this huckster’s paradise, being a real estate developer is
perhaps one click above being a car-dealer, and the fact that some of Trump’s
artful deals end up in bankruptcy court might argue against his
self-proclaimed mastery. Hence, his relegation to the clown category.
What Trump represents most vividly in this moment of history is the
astounding lack of seriousness among people who pretend to be political
heavyweights. No one so far, including the lovable Bernie Sanders, has nailed
a proper bill of grievances to the White House gate. A broad roster of dire
issues facing this society ought to be self-evident. But since they are
absent so far in the public discussion, here is my list of matters that
serious candidates should dare to talk about (all things that a sitting
president could take action on):
The security state. America has developed the most horrifying state
security apparatus that the world has ever seen in its NSA and associated
agencies. It has become the sugar tit for some of the most malevolent
enterprises of the corporatocracy — the black ops companies and the weapons
dealers. The growth of this monster was not mandated by heaven. A president
could lead the move to deconstruct it. A candidate with a decent respect for
our heritage would make this a major campaign issue.
Related to this is the disgusting militarization of the police. Police
forces in small towns have no business owning MRAP vehicles, tanks, and heavy
weaponry. The federal government gave a lot of this stuff to them. Guess
what? It can take the stuff back. Serious candidates should propose this.
There is a more general militarization of national life that ought to be
disturbing to thoughtful citizens. I live near a US Naval base. I see
enlisted men in town wearing desert camo uniforms on their time off. I resent
this hugely. Military personnel at home have no business wearing war theater garb
in a place where they are not at war. Historically, it was never before the
case that US soldiers went about in battle dress at home. This disgusting
trend has even been adopted in major league baseball. The New York Mets and
the Pittsburgh Pirates have gone on TV wearing camo baseball uniforms. What
are they trying to prove? That we are all at war all the time?
The pervasive racketeering in American life is destroying the country.
Medical racketeering leads the way. Be very clear: it is a hostage racket.
You are the hostage when you are sick or in need of treatment. You will
probably agree to anything that will save your life. The medical racketeers
know this. Hence, we live under the tyranny of the “Charge-master” pricing
system that assigns ludicrous costs to everything doled out as “medicine,”
with the pharmaceutical industry creaming off whatever remains. A trip to the
ER with a broken arm can easily propel a household into financial ruin. A
president could apply the antitrust laws to many of these rackets and
practices. There is no excuse for failing to take a stand.
The most dangerous rackets of our time are those running through banking
and finance. The superficially genial President Obama has done absolutely
nothing to defend the public against gross financial misconduct and pervasive
accounting fraud. His justice department has failed to prosecute widespread
criminality in banking and his regulators at the Securities and Exchange
Commission and other agencies have sat on their hands for six years while
markets are hijacked and manipulated. This behavior gives credence to a
greater conspiracy between the governments, the “systemically important”
banks, and the Federal Reserve to prop up a Potemkin financialized economy
for political cover and favor at the expense of crumbling real
economy. A potential president has got to swear to defend the public against
these institutional turpitudes. A president can lead the way by proposing to
reinstate the Glass-Steagall act and by directing the justice department to
break up the “systemically important” banks before they implode the entire
operating system of the global economy.
President Obama didn’t do a damn thing in the wake of the 2010 Citizens
United decision issued by the Supreme Court. This decision endowed the
alleged “personhood” of corporations with a “right” to express their
political opinions by giving money in unlimited amounts to candidates. The
decision has been a disaster, since it amounted to a “right” to buy
elections. The “personhood” of corporations has evolved during the industrial
age from a very circumscribed set of chartered practices to the very dubious
realm of “personhood” privileges. The basic truth is that corporations do not
have duties, obligations, or responsibilities to the public interest; only to
their shareholders and boards of directors; and this condition should be
self-evident to jurists. Hence, it is necessary to directly address by
statute or constitutional amendment the limitations on the personhood of
corporations. A president can lead the effort to do this via his party allies
in congress.
Why has the foreign policy apparatus of the USA gone into the business of
antagonizing Russia? How does it benefit the American people for its
government to finance and direct a coup d’é·tat in Ukraine? Why did the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee cease to function. Some of the GOP
candidates for president are sitting senators. Why doesn’t press inquire of
their failure? Why is there no public discussion of this very disturbing
policy?
President Obama promised in 2009 to put an end to the revolving door
between government regulators and the entities they were regulating, banks in
particular. He did absolutely nothing about it. In fact, he installed a
revolving door at the White House, allowing the free movement of such rogues
as Robert Rubin, Gary Gensler, Mary Jo White, and Larry Summers in and out of
government. Such villains are destroying the nation. Any president with a
shred of common decency could put an end to this practice.
There you have a few choice things to chew on. They go beyond mere
inchoate rage and revulsion against politicians. They represent a very rich
agenda of matters the country must attend to if it is going to survive. I
wonder if the major media grandees who make up the debate questions will even
think of these things.
