I think there is a specific underlying angst being expressed in the American political psyche that explains a lot of what is going on currently with Republicans and Democrats rejecting the moderate center simultaneously. I offer the following hypothesis: The great unwashed American electorate is experiencing a fear of abandonment and acting on that fear. We have been overlooked and forgotten and taken for granted and we are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.
Speaking for myself, this fear had its genesis back in the Bush administration when our country showed itself to be inexplicably incapable of getting water and supplies to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. We watched people scream and cry and beg for assistance on TV. The media was there reporting — Geraldo was there and Shep and Anderson were there, so where was the Red Cross and the National Guard? Harry Connick Jr. and Sean Penn made it in. Where were the rescuers providing food and blankets and diapers? Why did our own country look like a Save the Children ad? WTF was going on?
So f that shit. Katrina was as big a catalyst for voting out Republicans in 2008 as the Iraq War, IMO. We were going to install a new sheriff. New recruits were going to man the forts and make America safe again. Americans were not going to be left high and dry or low and wet ever again.
Except then we were. This time we were left howling with outrage and pain as our homes were taken and foreclosed, the equity making up middle class wealth evaporated, our pensions were depleted and destroyed, and our jobs taken away. We watched in disbelief once again as the people and corporations who were responsible for our pain and loss were not only not punished for their egregious crimes, they were left in place to continue to prosper while their crooked companies were re-capitalized and they continued to make their gargantuan salaries and bonuses. Our leaders told us it was unfortunate that so many unethical things occurred, but sorry, nothing illegal, nothing to see here. It turns out that not only can you be too big to fail, you can be too big to jail. Once again — no cavalry riding in to round up the bad guys. If anything the bad guys are even better off than when they started. Another WTF moment for the American public.
What’s up with the obsession of the right with Benghazi? It’s clear to me that It’s another example of people perceiving that the good guys were left to fend for themselves while those in charge did nothing to help. Some Americans wonder how it’s possible there weren’t any American forces anywhere that couldn’t have assisted? This is not the movie script we are used to watching. We’re the greatest power on earth and spend gazillions of dollars but couldn’t muster up any meaningful help? That’s the disconnect. And again, the rage is at the feeling of abandonment and no cavalry showing up. At least that’s my interpretation.
Let’s turn to Cliven Bundy and that whole fiasco and the current stand-off in Oregon. What is not happening is as least as important as what is happening. What is not happening is that yet again no one at any level seems concerned about restoring order or the rule of law. Armed right wing resistance takes over a federal facility and the result is a collective yawn on the part of the feds. Like ignoring Wall Street’s offenses, this seems like evidence of a two-tiered justice system where angry armed white guys get a pass while unarmed POC get gunned down in the streets.
I think the creative folks have their fingers on the pulse of America, albeit slightly late. Abandonment is the subtext of both The Big Short and the upcoming 13 Hours which could both have the subtitle “Watch Our Government Fall Short”.
Why is it any surprise that the American public is starting to finally get the message that is being sent by these instances and countless others, both small and large? Our government doesn’t care about us AND it is dysfunctional AND it abrogates it’s inherent duties of fiduciary responsibility, justice, and defense. Those candidates that are representative of The Same Old Shit are being rejected by vast swaths of voters. We had the Hope part of the equation and now we’re demanding the Change component.
The status quo isn’t working for us — it is killing us and starving us. Those on the right see Donald Trump as their new commander of the cavalry and those on the left see Bernie Sanders as theirs. Donald wants to kick some xenophobic racist ass as his solution and Bernie wants to give us all healthcare and living wages. We are actually battling for the collective soul and future of the nation. What we seem to be collectively rejecting is “More of the Same”.
Just my opinion, of course.