How to Be a Democrat
Republicans are supposed to stand for conservatism. In my view, conservatism is a noble goal. Take the Federal Reserve Bank. America has over 12 major and I mean .. MAJOR locations in the United States that are designed for one purpose: to be within an overnight train ride between each other, to replenish money supplies. They're still operating. I estimate that over 200 million dollars can be saved by selling off some of their buildings, reconfiguring that system so that modern transport can be relied upon, etc. Thats a conservative point of view, but also the most rational point of view. Government, over time, has accreted several types of facilities and functions such as this.
However, America's greatest governmental strength is a largely incorruptible , and fairly effecient bureaucracy. Having been to India, I have seen the impact of a corrupt bureaucracy upon a civilization - it is a far-reaching problem for them, and one they are only just now addressing. America takes this for granted, and she shouldn't.
What drives that Bureaucracy are essentially, individuals who see their job in the US government as a noble thing. This is based on the idea that we are in fact, a government of the people, by the people and for the people. We see ourselves as a beacon of democracy. And before the Bush republicans, we were.
What ended up happening is that a bunch of people decided to sell the idea that its easier to listen to a small group of highly paid corporate reps. , they were basically saying that the function and role of lobbying is a noble institution. There was so much money tied up in the TV game , and other similiar but strikingly lame maneuvers people had to execute to get elected - that they passed themselves off as another institution. And the first people to buy it were the people who tell you that the USA is a Republic. Bush made all of his money getting payoffs from people like the Saudi Arabians, and oil investors - when his first company was getting off the ground. And so, he became a natural leader for this group of people.
But what we saw was that conservatism took the hit. The Bush republicans, with their closed door energy policy meetings - and their connections to lobbyists like Abramov, guided by Karl Rove and his roll-o-dex of big corporate donors and special purpose entities - proceeded, after their election - to outspend every other administration... are you ready for this ... combined .
So its easy to be a Democrat. The democrats realized that the way to run an efficient government was to connected it to the internet. In the process they returned to the ideas that the founding fathers built into our constitution. They're not pro-handgun control, or pro-this, or label that. They're just a bunch of people who understand how to make things work.
They play to win. They're connected. They look eclectic at first, but they're really only just that way because they are listening to us and paying attention. We're really that eclectic. Mr. Red, White, and Blue over there in the land of the conservative white man - is just as welcome as someone from San Fran waving a banner to save the earth.
Oh yeah. And if you're rich you pass through a phase where you go past all that "oh, I made my money and I want to keep it " bullshit and you start realizing that the reason you're making money is that society is working properly and your job would be replaced by someone working for 25.00 dollars a day from Hyderabad if it weren't.
I've lived around the really rich. As in ultra rich. Billionaires. I played every day in the Breakers club , in Palm Beach - when I was a kid. I can remember seeing the movies of Ronald Reagan played there even that far back .. "Breakfast with Bonzo" I think it was.
Old money understands how to make things work. And looking back on my experiences there, its amazing how cool those people are. They're not actually all wealthy, either. Thats their secret. Alot of them are flat broke. But they're fun.
Intergenerational Wealth is what I am all about. :-)
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