Is the Republican Party destroying American democracy?

[Cyrano]

Actually, that question isn’t quite accurate. It should read, “Are the corporations who own virtually all Republican politicians, (as well as many Dems), trying to destroy American democracy?”

Here’s my answer to that question. Corporations are more concerned with profit, power and total control, than they are with democracy, socialism, communism, fascism, or any other “ism.” The term “destruction” doesn’t even occur to them. They are a virus that infiltrates and consumes everything they come in contact with.

Those at the top really don’t give a damn who seems to be in power in America or anyplace else. The plain truth is that they are the ones in power in America and they are well along in spreading their tentacles around the entire world.

Many believe this scenario to be true, and many others don’t. And that doesn’t even include those who are totally oblivious to the current situation. In my opinion, it’s just a matter of time before we are all indentured servants to a gigantic, faceless, corporate beast.

So here’s the problem for those of us who believe this to be true. What do we do about it? The corporations own the media, they own the political establishment, and they hold financial power over all of us. How do we fight them? Pitchforks and torches aren’t going to cut it.

I’d really like to hear your thoughts on this.

[havocmom]

1. destroying? As is still in the process of? No, they are not.

It is the one mission they actually accomplished already.

[Juneboarder]

21. You think they are through with us?

Think again... there is so much more to fall apart right in front of our eyes. The fun has just begun...

[piratefish08]

2. Yes. The MINORITY republican party is destroying us.

And the MAJORITY is allowing it to occur.

[movonne]

11. you are right...

[Individualist]

3. With the aid of DLC, they've already succeeded.

[avaistheone1]

4. +1

The Republican can't do it without the Democrats help.

[Echo In Light]

5. The two party ruse, which only serves corporate interests, has.

[blm]

6. Yes - and they're been helped along by a few powerful Dems who've protected the fascist agenda

and some of them STILL do.

[tom_paine]

7. You beat me to it, havocmom. It's already gone.

Actually, we are now at the point where the dead corpse sitting out in the sun has begun to stink quite a bit.

I am pretty sure our future holds two equally unattractive choices.

The brutal technocratic, yet still "kinder and gentler" control of the Far-Right Corporate Neofeudalism, or good old fashioned Uber-RW Nazi/Bushie/Bircher/KKK Classical Totalitarianism.

I think the latter is more likely, because as good as the modern corporate mechanisms for social control and manipulation are (and they are many times more subtle and powerful than anything at Hitler's disposal), the demons awakened by Bushiganda will eventually need to be fed in the old-fashioned way, by the blood and lives of scapegoats.

[Juneboarder]

22. Things could be much worse...

Unemployment could skyrocket. We could face another collapse of the dollar, or commercial real estate market, or...

Please don't be comfortable with the fact that they are done with us. We are still pawns in their game. The game is just getting interesting (to them); scary (to us).

[ixion]

8. BOTH parties are doing this... not just the GOP

The Dems helped BushCo throughout his entire two term debacle by providing almost zero opposition.

They have advocated both the so-called 'wars' on Drugs and Terror, and have signed their name to legislation that has done just what you claim.

I agree that democracy is being destroyed. I disagree that the GOP is solely to blame.

[NRaleighLiberal]

9. +1 on this OP and all responses to it. The destruction is well underway.

[CornerBar]

10. It's all about

social control. We serfs are being dominated by the ruling elites. The old mechanisms to alleviate the pain are shattered. We now must reach outside the current system for effective change. Do we have what it takes?

[Zoeisright]

12. Yes. It's already done.

[rhett o rick]

13. Their goal isn’t to end democracy, it’s just a side effect of the progression of capitalism.

By any definition Democracy is already dead. The election of Little Bush in 2000 should have been enough proof. Then the election of Little Bush in 2004 again should prove that we do not have a fair election system. Some might argue that the election of Obama proves we have a chance. I don’t want to get into that here because it would deflect this discussion. For the sake of argument let’s stipulate that Obama wants what is best for the middle class. But Pres Obama isn’t the government and hasn’t done much to stop the slide into fascism. Congress-critters are almost all owned by corporations. And the Supreme Court is one of the most activist in history and clearly favoring corporations at the expense of the middle class. The anti-democratic DOJ of Little Bush is still intact. How can we fix this? I don’t think we can. I believe we have gone past the tipping point. We have none of the tools needed. Doesn’t mean we should give up. But we must come to grips with where we are before we proceed. And pitchforks in the streets is romantic but laughable. It is exactly what the tyrants want.

We need a leader
We need to organize
We need to boycott and move our money
We need to exit the stock market
We need to be involved in local politics.
We need to realize that the DLC and DCCC are not our friends and to donate via moveon, PDA or DoA.
We need a network separate from the internet.
We need a propaganda machine.

[Cyrano]

16. The last two items you mention are perhaps the most difficult.

It would seem that a network separate from the internet is a virtual impossibility.

And as far as a propaganda machine, I've been investing my hopes in the internet being the key to that propaganda machine.

Building these two things from scratch is a mind boggling proposition.

[rhett o rick]

17. Information disemination is the most important factor in the fight to restore

democracy. The internet is very vulnerable. We need to use our brains to come up with alternate means. Organizations like moveon and PDA have membership lists that could be contacted by mail and maybe by phone. This might be a way if they co-opt the internet. And they will try.

We need to start a sight that has sections by issues (this may exist but i am not aware of it). Where a progressive can go and, by issue, find out the latest news and current progressive talking points. This needs to be convenient to print out in flier form to pass out at malls and stores. Pamphlets like Thomas Paine's "Common Sense".

Another, We need to work to be self sufficient like the colonials prior to the Revolution.

[Betty Karlson]

18. I respectfully diagree.

Since corporations would profit from a plutocratic stratification of the American society, the elimination of any means of mass advancement and/ or mass emanciation (including democracy) is, indeed, a goal.

[rhett o rick]

20. I hear you, but I think it is a means and not a specific goal. But maybe I am

quibbling.

[Vidar]

14. Both parties, in the current incarnations, are.

[rhett o rick]

15. It's much bigger than the republican party. They are just a tool.

As are many in the Democratic Party. The middle class still holds a tremendous amount of wealth collectively. The capitalist want that wealth. And they are employing a very clever way of getting it. Their government (it's clearly not our government) gives them no-bid contracts or subsidies and borrows on the wealth of the middle class. Painless. One day the middle class will wake up and realize that all their wealth is spent (owed).

Agree or not, there is a corporate, capitalist cabal. Maybe not directly united by organization, but certainly united by ideology.

"They don't want to kill us, they just don't care if we die".

[upi402]

19. corporatism, all of Republican Party and much of the Democratic

IMHO:mad:

[libodem]

23. This should be a poll

YES

[mmonk]

24. They already have. That's why we need someone in office

to fight for us and return this country to we the people.