The great sleeping giant of the US has awakened, taken a hard look at what’s become of the nation, and roared a thunderous “NO!” What occurred on Tuesday was not – as some are saying – the inevitable midterm swing of the pendulum against the party in power. Texas hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1988. The last time Kansas elected a Democratic senator was 1932.
Nor was it just the economy. Americans are unhappy with high prices, to be sure, but inflation isn’t out of control. The country is not in a depression or recession.
Unemployment remains quite low. Nor, finally, was it all due to Donald Trump. Despite Trump’s repeated efforts to get voters to “pretend” he was on the ballot, he was not.
Most Republican candidates barely mentioned him and many Democratic candidates stressed local or statewide issues rather than fixate on him. Something much larger is responsible for what occurred: anti-establishment populism. It’s burst forth against the mammoth corporations that have scored record profits while most Americans have had to pay more.
Against the mega donors and super Pacs that have flooded US politics with more campaign money – legalized bribes – than ever before. And against the big tech billionaires who have become the most powerful force in the US economy and society – as well as Trump’s and the Republican party’s most visible backers. The irony is that anti-establishment anger propelled Trump into the presidency in 2016 and again in 2024.
Many Americans had found his politically incorrect rants and “America first” nativism to reflect their own anger at being disrespected and left behind. But during his second term, Trump has morphed into the very establishment he had railed against. He gave tax cuts and subsidies to tech billionaires.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
