Ada Fisher: The dynamic of the Donald and the dollars

Published 12:04 am Monday, February 1, 2016

Lingering in the psyche of the American public seemingly unappreciated by both political parties and particularly the media is the fact that the public has begun to understand they have been duped by those manipulating them for press/advertising and political/lobbying control of their dollars.

The rise of Donald J. Trump has released the genie in the bottle who may be hard to rein back in.  The Republican Party’s coalition of Tea Partyers, Libertarians and conservatives seems less concerned about examining the historical records of candidates than just “throwing the bums out.”  Meanwhile the Democratic Party too late appreciates that the expected standard bearer has knowingly broken the laws on national security in her email scandal and her opponent, with the support of the young and misinformed, willingly advocates that we ditch our democratic republic for a full fledged progressive agenda of socialism.

Trump has become the seeming untouchable of politics, being able to say anything and do much of what he wants without significant challenge or a bump in the polls any way but up. This is from his appreciation that the political process in and of itself has become so bastardized that even seemingly rational people in their disgust are willing to consider any and all possibilities on the table.

Unfortunately, the Trump dynamic could allow the rich to truly rule and push out other worthy presidential successors if they can’t self-finance their races. Witness the possibility of a Michael Bloomberg presidential run as an independent. Will we still be a nation where anyone can become president or will we continue in being a lucrative playing field for the rich and well connected?

Money could allow dispensing with the pull of political parties as well as relegate the media to fawning for recognition for the star on center stage. The envy of the rich which Barack Obama taps, whenever he is in trouble and needs support, becomes an underlying rallying point.  The desire to relinquish bloodline dynasties from Kennedys, Clintons and Bushes no matter their previous pulls and connections has its allure for people wanting a new hero to speak to them and address their pain.

The Trump campaign is making its own rules on the fly disregarding the pledge that each Republican candidate was to make, i.e. participating in only sanctioned debates if he/she were to get their nomination.  The presidency is already the millionaire’s club. Will it become the billionaire’s club, where the political dynamics of a two-party system is upended because accountability is subterfuged in too many instances? And the Democrats continue to expand the amount of taxes the few who still have jobs must pay to cover promises that we can’t keep without taking everything that working people make and have earned.

“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money,” Alexis de Tocqueville said. Such is also true of our presidential candidates on either side of the aisle. Civics is something we must teach and understand, for the biggest threat to our way of life isn’t guns, Islam or racism but ignorance of this democratic Republic’s Constitution which focuses on individual liberty and freedom.

 Dr. Ada M. Fisher is the NC Republican National Committee Woman and former member of the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education. Email: DrFisher@DrAdaMFisher.org