When a man as uncouth and reckless as Trump becomes president by running against the nation’s elites, it’s a strong signal that the elites are the problem. We’re talking here about the elites of both parties. Think of those who gave the country Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee—a woman who sought to avoid accountability as secretary of state by employing a private email server, contrary to propriety and good sense; who attached herself to a vast nonprofit “good works” institution that actually was a corrupt political machine designed to get the Clintons back into the White House while making them rich; who ran for president, and almost won, without addressing the fundamental problems of the nation and while denigrating large numbers of frustrated and beleaguered Americans as “deplorables.” The unseemliness in all this was out in plain sight for everyone to see, and yet Democratic elites blithely went about the task of awarding her the nomination, even to the point of employing underhanded techniques to thwart an upstart challenger who was connecting more effectively with Democratic voters.
This is the seminal issue. Neither Party is responding to the people. Both Parties control who gets power to the microphone, who gets nominated, who gets fiscal support, and to a great degree by virtue of that, who gets elected to any position in partisan politics, from local government to the White House. Aside from tenuously preserving an illusion of representative government by providing 'choices', the Country Club mentality is present on both sides of the aisle, and daily growing richer while the nation languishes.
One good thing which may come out of this is the exposure of that mentality, especially as the GOP and minions are actively thwarting the intent, if not the agenda of the Trump White House. Recent interdiction by Tillerson signing what amounts to approval of the Paris Environmental accords negates placing an EPA chief who decried the entire 'Climate Change' agenda. Building pipelines is moot if drilling is halted, and the Congress allowing the Methane Rule stuffed through by the last administration will stymie attempts to produce resources on Federal Land--over half of the land west of the Mississippi.
The infighting will continue, until the midterms, when hopefully primary challengers can unseat McCain, Graham, and Collins, and still keep those seats on the Right side of the aisle, but I'm not holding my breath. Both parties need a trip to the woodshed.
