Empowering the Billionaire Class

First of a quick apology.  I had surgery last week (nothing critical, just old-man stuff) and it has slowed down my “essaying”.  I’m recovering (hopefully ready for a track meet by mid-April).  And today, I’m sitting at the kitchen table, with a blank “sheet” and a flashing cursor.  So with all of that, let’s talk about power.

Lost  Ideals

One of the saddest parts of our “new era” of MAGA politics has been watching the veteran politicians, the women and men approaching my age.  I stood at the proverbial crossroads with them in the early 1980’s: go into politics and elective office, or not.  We were young operatives on both sides of the aisle.  Some made the choice to enter the “fray”. For all of the years since, while I might completely disagree with some of  their ideologies, I’ve respected that decision.

Here’s a bad joke:  “How can you tell a Republican legislator?  What they say to their friends is the opposite to what they say in public, or how they vote on the floor.”  Very few have stood up to the excesses of Trumpism, and fewer still remain in office after doing so.  At that crossroads back in the 80’s, I know they had dreams of really making America better.  Now their silence risks the loss of our Democratic Republic. That tells what’s in their heart.  They want employment, electoral victories, the power and prestige that office brings.  They are creatures of the material now, not the past we all dreamed of in political science classes of the 1970’s.

Profiles in Courage

There are few “profiles in courage” left on the Republican side of the United States Congress.  And many of those nearing my age are getting out, fully retiring from public life.  Sure, I don’t blame anyone for retiring when they can. But I bet if they felt that they could make a difference, many would stay.  Ten Senators (five from each party), and fifty-six Congressmen (twenty-one Democrats, thirty-five Republicans) are leaving their seats.  

As former Republican Congressman Adam Kinsinger pointed out in an essay, don’t expect any of the Republicans to become “lame duck – profiles in courage”.  They will silently continue to support the MAGA movement, to protect their future retirement plans.  As retired Republican Senator Lamar Alexander responded when asked why he didn’t vote to impeach Trump after the insurrection; “Who would I eat lunch with?”

I know a lot about real politics.  I hoped that the idealism that took my peers into politics (and myself into the classroom) could survive the Trump MAGA political base.  It didn’t for many of them (Adam Kinsinger, Liz Cheney, and even Tom Massie are the exceptions, and are decades younger than me).

It’s About Money

If money is power, then the billionaire class in American society ought to be pretty strong.  There are almost one thousand billionaires in the US.  And many of them have aligned themselves with Donald Trump, himself now (thanks to feeding at the US trough) a member of the club (201^st wealthiest man in America – Forbes).

But I think there’s a slim ideological difference between Trump, the eternal “grifter” as President, and the rest of the  billionaire class, represented by Vice President, JD Vance.  Trump is trying to stay rich, and make sure his family stays rich as well.  Jared Kushner just this week is polling our allies in the Middle East, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia. He’s trying to raise another five billion dollars for his own personal investment business (NYT).  Hard to say no to the US negotiator, when as the old saying goes:  “Teheran in flames, bombs on the way, film at eleven!!”.  

Trump really doesn’t seem to care about democracy, or the US Constitution, or his responsibility to the nation.  All of those seem to be a “means to an end” for him.  That “means” serves both his purpose of gathering more funds, and his ultimate goal (and the real reason he ran for President in 2024).  He wants a “get out of jail, free” card for life, and the Presidency is the only way to get one.  I guess you could say this is all Jack Smith’s fault (not really). 

Vice President from Ohio

While Trump’s motivations seem pretty clear, the question to ask is what’s the long term goal for the billionaire class that surrounds him.  Surely they want to protect their fortunes from any government actions (see Senator Elizabeth Warren’s plan the Ultra-Millionaire Tax).

But JD Vance represents a different attitude toward our American Democracy.  Vance is well known for the origin story he authored, Hillbilly Elegy.   He is a “hillbilly” (from Middletown, Ohio) who made good.  He made his millions (estimated worth – twelve million) in part from book sales and movie rights, and in part, by his service to billionaire Peter Thiel (Number 40 wealthiest American – Forbes).  Thiel made his fortune at PayPal. And is now leading Palantir, a company that develops data “integration” processes and whose main client is the US Government.

In fact they also want the government to “serve” their needs.  Their wealth buys them a louder voice than others. And they are using that voice (protected by the Supreme Court ruling in the Citizen’s United case, 2010) to alter American government.   Republican politicians of the past at least paid lip-service to the commitment of the American government to the “common man”.  Even Herbert Hoover campaigned on “A chicken in every pot, a car in every garage”.  These billionaire Republicans are making sure that America is a “safe place” for their own wealth.

Hillbillies  

Vance represents a change in America.  He went from “hillbilly” to millionaire, telling his story.  But his concern isn’t really about the “hillbillies” he left behind in Middletown.  He wants to make sure that that his new billionaire friends gain and maintain their fortunes. Here’s two quick examples.  First, the Big, Beautiful Bill’s primary impact was to cut taxes on the rich, and to cut benefits to the poor (American Center for Progress).  It’s the only major legislative accomplishment of this Republican controlled Congress.

Second, the “Safe Act” now in Congress has the net effect of suppressing the vote.  Without a doubt, fewer legal voters will be able to vote if this law manages to get through Congress.  Those fewer voters inevitably will be poorer, and more likely to vote Democratic.  And that gives the billionaire class even more power.  Not only can they use their money to try to “buy elections”, but they could then chose the electorate who are allowed to vote.

JD may not be all-in on the war in Iran, but he definitely is all-in on fewer people voting.  That’s particularly if they are poor, minority, or people of color.  Trump’s a thief, but his thieving will be done in three years.  But the billionaire class is here to stay.  And that’s the real long-term threat to American Democracy.