Donald Trump Finally Comes Out of the Closet

The firing of Steve Bannon is in my opinion the most significant event to happen during the Trump administration thus far. Moreover, it will have massive reverberations across the U.S. political spectrum for years and years to come. I wasn’t planning on writing today, but this news is so incredibly significant I find myself with little choice.

Taking a step back, part of the reason I was immediately able to see through the Trump con was due to my upbringing in New York City. The guy was constantly in the news my entire life, so I had a pretty decent understanding of where he was really coming from and what makes him tick. The mindset of your typical NYC-based billionaire real estate developer is filled with all sorts of perspectives and priorities, but thoughts of populism are not amongst them.

Trump used populism to get elected, and then as soon as he won, immediately appointed some of the most destructive oligarchs imaginable to run his administration. The reason I warned about this incessantly at the time, is because I learned the lesson from the Obama administration. People = policy, and the people Trump was elevating were almost unanimously awful. Irrespective of what you think of Bannon, him being out means Wall Street and the military-industrial complex is now 100% in control of the Trump administration. Prepare for an escalation of imperial war around the world and an expansion of brutal oligarchy.

The removal of Bannon is the end of even a facade of populism. This is now the Goldman Sachs Presidency with a thin-skinned, unthinking authoritarian as a figurehead. Meanwhile, guess who’s still there in addition to the Goldman executives? Weed obsessed, civil asset forfeiture supporting Jefferson Sessions. The Trump administration just bacame ten times more dangerous than it was before. With the coup successful, Trump no longer needs to be impeached.

Here’s another prediction. Watch the corporate media start to lay off Trump a bit more going forward. Rather than hysterically demonize him for every little thing, corporate media will increasingly give him more of the benefit of the doubt. After all, a Presidency run by Goldman Sachs and generals is exactly what they like. Trump finally came out of the closet as the anti-populist oligarch he is, and the results won’t be pretty.

Corporate media got the scalp it wanted, so the hysterical criticisms of him will die down. This is not to say I think the media will become pro-Trump, it just means the obsessive and aggressive propaganda will be dialed back considerably. Trump is now inline, and he will be rewarded by the establishment for that. He will learn that the more he gets with the program, the easier his life will be and the more secure his power. He is merely being conditioned, and my forecast is that Trump will gladly embrace the worst parts of the establishment going forward. Why? Because Trump’s true worldview fits in way more with Goldman Sachs and the military-industrial complex than with populism. It always has. The whole thing was just an act to get elected. Firing Bannon is just Trump coming home to who he always was. A ruthless oligarch.

Now I’m going to make a few predictions about the political environment going forward. First, I think right-populism or the “new right,” is deeply damaged and this presents a huge opportunity for left-leaning populists if they are smart about it. Let’s begin by discussing why this is so problematic for the “new right.”

At this point, something has become undeniable. Trump voters who supported him based on the idea that he would bring forth an agenda of economic populism got played. I understand that many other people just voted for him as a middle finger to the system, but for the true believers who thought he had their backs, it’s now long past the time to pack up your bags. I don’t say this out of pleasure, I genuinely hoped he would push forth an agenda of economic populism, but now we know for certain this is never going to happen. That much is pretty undeniable.

Nevertheless, just because something is undeniable, doesn’t mean it won’t be denied. Too many people have invested way too much in Trump to admit they got played. Sure, there will be outrage for a few days and people will swear to be “off the Trump train,” but as soon as the next wedge social issue gets played up by the media, they’ll be right back onboard. I expect excuses from “new right” leaders to come within a few days, or weeks at the most. Remember, many people built up their entire careers and public profiles by cheerleading Trump into office. Most of these people are egomaniacs. What does an egomaniac do when confronted with information that they got something wrong? Do they publicly admit their error and give credit to those who voiced skepticism, or will they figure out a way to change the subject in order to maintain their relevance and position amongst their fans? I think you know the answer.

As such, right-populism is at a crossroads and this is what I expect to happen. The same people who so passionately convinced people to get on the “Trump train” will be far more concerned with maintaining as much of their social media status as possible, versus doing what’s right for the country. There are enough unthinking fans out there to allow this to happen. That said, the movement will be harmed immensely because enough intelligent people will see that many of these new right pundits aren’t who they say they are. The credibility gap will widen and widen, as it should. Trump was a fake and if you were so easily tricked by Trump, why should we trust you on any other subject?

Right-populism is now very much discredited, as its leader has been shown to be nothing more than a narcissistic con-man. This will not be an easy hole to dig out of, yet with some deep reflection, my hope is a new right populism can emerge that is more in tune with Rand Paul than Donald Trump. That’d be nice, but I have my doubts.

As such, an enormous opportunity has opened up for left-leaning economic populism. I already predicted this wave in a piece a few weeks ago titled,Politics of the Next 4 Years – Part 1 (Rise of the ‘Dirtbag Left’). Here’s some of what I wrote:

This faction of leftism is waging war against Clinton neoliberal frauds and Trump’s fake populism at the exact same time. Not an easy thing to do, but I think there’s a huge and growing unsatisfied demand for such a perspective.

A lot of you will discount the appeal of this movement because many of its most high-profile members are unabashed socialists. This is a big mistake. Remember, Donald Trump won the Presidency not because he was especially great or loved, but because his opponent was terrible, he talked in populist terms, and people just wanted to give a middle finger to the political establishment and corporate media. If that’s right, what’s to stop a movement from winning power if it promises to flip the bird to both Trump and Clinton while also making you laugh? Not much.

I think the “DirtBag Left” will catch the Trump team completely off guard over the next few years. The reason Trump’s prospects look pretty good right now for a second term is because there’s no real organized opposition to him. By real organized opposition, I mean a movement driven by actual ideas and passion that is also working on a plan to run a competitive candidate in 2020. The current “resistance” consists of Hillary donors, neocons, the corporate media and elements of the deep state. While Trump complains about this opposition constantly, he doesn’t realize how good he has it. The American public hates those factions more than they hate Trump, and nobody wants to vote for that discredited garbage in 2020.

If the genuine left is smart, it will take a step back and see this for the gigantic opening it is. Lots of Trump voters are now up for grabs, and if they can come up with a genuine message of economic populism that avoids the typical leftist pitfalls — such as supporting misguided young people dressing up like ninjas, carrying flags and hurling rocks at people trying to give a talk — the opportunity to create a populist movement of immense national significance is there. People across the country are craving it, but they want nothing to do with antifa, political correctness, or aggression against free speech. Noam Chomsky gets it, and I hope others heed his words.

As such, here’s what I would recommend to any burgeoning populist movement wanting to unite the country against oligarchy, as opposed to just becoming a leftist echo chamber. It is the exact same thing I suggested to Trump, but he obviously didn’t listen.

Election 2016 has been extremely bittersweet for me. On the positive side, through both the Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump grassroots movements, we have seen clear proof that a huge number of Americans accurately understand that the current system is totally rigged and simply not working for them. These people didn’t migrate toward these two candidates for some tweaks to the system here and there, their supporters want full scale paradigm level change.

As such, rather than dwelling on the differences between these two populist movements, let’s consider some of the areas where they overlap.

1. Trade — Opposition to NAFTA and current “trade” deals such as TPP, TTIP, and TISA have been central to both the Sanders and Trump campaigns.

2. War and militarism — Whether you believe Trump is sincere or not, opposition to Obama/Clinton interventionist overseas wars were key talking points for both Trump and Sanders.

3. The system is rigged — The painful acknowledgment that the U.S. economic system is a rigged scam that fails to reward hard work, and is more akin to a parasitic, predatory oligarchy with very limited social mobility, has been a key campaign theme for both Trump and Sanders. The economy is increasingly dominated by near-monoploy giants who relentlessly push for more power and more profits irrespective of the cost to society, whether that cost be war, poverty or social unrest.

4. Money in politics — The rigged economic system described above aggregates wealth into an increasingly small number of hands. Those hands then buy off politicians and rig the political process. A rigged economy and rigged political system perpetually feeds itself and endlessly grows at the expense of the public like a terminal cancer. Both Trump and Sanders emphasized this problem.

5. Rule of law is dead — Sanders focused on Wall Street bankers, while Trump focused on Hillary and her inner circle of cronies, but the overall point is the same. Rich and powerful oligarchs are above the law. We all know this, but Washington D.C. refuses to do anything about.

Populism isn’t dead in America, but right populism as it exists today is. I just hope the next iteration is a lot more genuine, and a lot more sane.

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In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

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55 thoughts on “Donald Trump Finally Comes Out of the Closet”

  1. Thank you Michael. It’s a hard lesson for many but a good one for the long term. The people who would back Sanders/Tulsi/Rand Paul need to form a new party because this system is not going to allow any of them to have a fair shot within the mechanisms of the 2 party duopoly. I lean more toward believing what Chris Hedges said with regard to the movement being on the outside for the next 4-8, maybe 10 years before significant headway in the political system is made. Trump overcame the rigging of the system twice. I know first hand that Sanders won 40+ states with at least 60% of the vote and 70-80% in at least 15 states as the primary carried on from the 2nd Super Tuesday. They literally had to delete millions of votes to keep the turnout down and results in Clinton’s win column where they could (April 19th primary in New York, 1.5 million votes were deleted in NYC districts over the course of 3 hours) The good news is that those people aren’t going away.

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    • I agree about the party duopoly; but until money in politics is reformed, there will never be any real change. And that does not seem like it may ever change, which makes me sad.

    • Tulsi, Paul etc. would all get the same treatment Trump is getting , don’t you get it, America’s problems cannot be solved by politicians, they have no power, the power lies elsewhere, with the oligarchs, the deep state whatever you want to call it. There is no going back to an American old political paradigm of the past or a new one of the future. The status quo will rule , will remain in power, for generations.

    • When Ruth Bader Ginsburg and even RINOs passed SCOTUS rule that 1,000,000 people = Corpo now is equivalent to a single Contribution entity to USA democracy, the USA was long gone. The Antifa inform me that symbols of white disturb them so I have a plan to turn our Sun ( Shines white light) into Darkness .Stay Tuned.

    • You’re missing the point if you think sanders is still in there. He turned out to be a crook and fake, didn’t you get the memo? Tulsi and maybe Rand Paul but I think he has fallen a bit faar from the tree myself. Tulsi Gabbard deserves to be next to a man of his father’s holding and integrity. There are no other candidates on the horizon though. Sanders is definitely a lost cause though. As fake as Trump.

  2. To be fair to Trump pulling out of the Paris Accord and TPP were good as is deporting violent gang members. Even if Trump had the best of intentions there is absolutely no way one man could fix the cesspool of Washington DC.

    The worst thing Trump did in regards to Bannon is he couldn’t give the guy any credit and said he “came on late”. As you said his skin is thin and his ego is out of control. Obamas’ ego was just as big BUT he disguised it better which in my opinion made Obama far more dangerous.

    In 2020 the communist party will run a rebound candidate. Someone so far left that will tick all the identity politic boxes (black, female, transgender). There will never again be an election the people vote on. All elections will be rigged if the outcome of the puppet masters is not reached. Trump shocked them but this mistake won’t happen again.

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    • Where is this “Communist party” and how can I join?
      On a serious note, the oligarchs will probably pick Kamala Harris to win in 2020, who is female and mixed race (half black?) and conventionally attractive, so liberals will be over the moon. The fact that she failed to prosecute the architects of the 08 crash and has a dismal civil rights record means nothing to them. They only respond to tokenism, just like their twins on the right.

    • Kamala Harris would be perfect candidate for them. They overlooked all of Hillary Clinton’s psychopathic tendencies and I doubt Kamala Harris is as rotten of a human being as Hillary ( but I might be wrong).

      The most important thing is someone who will push the “green agenda” to lead us into worldwide Agenda 21 totalitarian control. All in the name of “saving the planet”. The climate change hoax is the tool they’ll use to implement it. We have real environmental concerns but that’s been hijacked by this hoax. Apparently private property rights are a much bigger threat to the earth than GMOs, geo-engineeering,and glyphosate to name a few

  3. I really like Noam Chomsky and his ideas. He tells it like it is. Noam said that politics is way far right. Even the corporate democrats are right. He says everyone complains Bernie is way to far left. But 60 years ago when this country was still great, Bernie would have been center left.

    Anyway there are a few uncorupted politicians that are willing to fight for the majority. Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders are the two strongest. They have the guts to do what they think is right. And they both would make huge improvements to our country if we voted them and other supporting politicians into office.

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    • The events of the last election shows , proves that Sanders is a morally corrupt hack. More socialism will not solve America’s problems . No matter who gets appointed the deep state will rule and they will rule for ever in America.

    • Bernie and Noam thought Venezuela was a utopia. That worked out well huh?

      Humanity needs a drastic change away from all current systems that have failed. I agree with the framers of the US constitution that freedom is a god given right not something to be decided by corruptible mortals.

      What type of system might this be? Unfortunately I’m not that bright, but what I do know is that taking away private property rights and civil liberties is not the answer.

  4. As bad as things look, there are people fighting the good fight and doing the right thing. We need to get behind them, talk them up and push things forward in the right direction. With our help things can turn around. Bernie Sanders came super close to winning the presidency. If we keep pushing, we can push these idiots out the door and actually make America great again!!

    And a huge big thanks to Mike for Liberty Blitzkrieg because he is making a huge positive impact and a part of the solution.

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  5. I used to diagnose complicated mechanical, electrical and control systems for a leaving. Often I tore these things completely apart and rebuilt them working much better than ever before.

    The first step in fixing or rebuilding something is identifying the problems. I consider Mike who runs this blog to be one of the best ever at identifying political problems. Our first step to make America great again!!

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    • I’m impressed that Michael Krieger is a highly skeptical New Yorker. It used to be New Yorkers were always bold and forthright. Not sure if that still stands, but at least Krieger fits the bill.

      At the same time, I wonder if Michael has been thoroughly studying the China/Russia/Asian/Bric New Silk Road construction. It will NOT be using the US hegemonic power: the US DOLLAR.

      A great worldwide journalist, Pepe Escobar, has been writing about this development for some time. RT.com, Asian Times.

      You’ll notice, this was on the mind of Bannon 1-2 days before he was ousted. Paraphrase: “It’s all about China.”
      I suspect financial/military elites in the US are very well versed on the subject as they see the New Silk Road/Shanghai Cooperative, Eurasia Project as the first genuine threat to US hegemony.

  6. I was once a Democrat, then I learned economics. I could never really support the Republicans, with few exceptions, like Ron & Rand Paul (the father 100%, son about 75%) and Justin Amash 100%; possibly a few others in smaller percentages as they are more reasonable, more middle of the road, Libertarian Republicans. The two parties are so viciously divided now, I wonder if there is going to be any compromises ever. These weasels, the Establishment GOP types (who many should have been term-limited out decades ago) have whined about repeal & replace for 7 years and still could not get that accomplished. 8 months into this year and still have what I just read as the lowest productivity in recent history of Congress. Criminal shame.

    And here’s where this whole notion of the Left/Democrats trying to woo right or even center-right voters that I disagree with — “Lots of Trump voters are now up for grabs, and if they can come up with a genuine message of economic populism that avoids the typical leftist pitfalls — such as supporting misguided young people dressing up like ninjas, carrying flags and hurling rocks at people trying to give a talk — the opportunity to create a populist movement of immense national significance is there.” — they are not whatsoever willing to make any compromises, ever. They want 100% acceptance to every fringe element; trans, antifa, etc. Meanwhile, many of the biggest stories you hear about represent only a fraction of the actual population, but somehow once a week Left leaning media are blasting another hero story about a man giving birth to a child; these people are less than 1% of the world population. There is zero compromise with the Left – not to say that the right, particularly the GOP Establishment group is willing to compromise on what they really want, which Mike you have been showing everyone since you started blogged even before this site. The only caveat to compromise I see are those reasonable Republicans, the center leaning ones, like the Paul’s, Amash, Massie even, those that fight for civil liberties and reasonable, fiscal spending, not screaming about dead babies from Planned Parenthood – oh, yea, because their measly $1B budget is such a crime when trillions are frittered away by the Fed? And less that 3% of that annual budget goes towards abortions, but the crazed Right must defund it. Sheesh.

    Neither side has any willingness to meet anywhere in the middle. I hope for the best, but the cracks have been made, the country is completely torn, and reason and logic have flown out the window and seem to never return. I am not sure what may be the event that can possibly bring our nation together again. Certainly not these typical Establishment GOP/DEM politicians, constantly fighting, fanning the flames, completely ignoring how bankrupt the country is quickly going. Perhaps it will be a Sanders/Paul moment of the future. It cannot be a phony Trump populist, Hillary, or Liz Warren, a screaming hypocrite of the nth degree, who will most certainly never settle in the middle. I will hope for a great change where we can all move back to having calm, orderly disagreements. Peaceful protests. A willingness to at the very least, listen to the other side of opposing views. But I do not see any change coming for many years at this point.

    Thank you as always Mike for sharing your thoughts and keeping those loyal followers abreast of your viewpoints. I will continue to be the optimist for great change to come… but it is getting harder to hold onto that hope at this point. Best regards to all who read Mike’s posts and the commenters. This small minority I am sure are the kinds of reasonable thinkers our nations requires for a lasting future.

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  7. I really liked Bannon, he truly understood the plight of the forgotten man, Nationalism, and the Globalist agenda, I think Trump made a bad decision in removing him from his cabinet.

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  8. Most of these alt left and alt right militant groups are fringe elements that just like to fight. I think they join and go to these rally’s because they enjoy being destructive. They are never constructive. Hillary supporters influenced and praised by the cooperate media are not real democrats either. Mike calls them corporate Democrats.

    Listen to Jimmy Dore or read some Dean Henderson. Economists Steve Keen and Michael Hudson. FDR was a great president and the programs he created were great but the oligarch controlled corporate democrats and republicans destroyed most of what he accomplished. These are the productive class that support productivity in America. Mostly called Progressive Democrats. We supported and campaigned for Bernie Sanders.

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  9. The 800 pound gorilla sitting in the room is that you can take this entire post by Michael and replace Obama for Trump and it’s still the exact same story line, only one ran as a Republican, and the other one ran as a Democrat.

    Whether it’s “Change We Can All Believe In” or “Make America Great Again”, it’s just a con that would make P.T. Barnum proud.

    Either way “Always follow the money” applied to both of them.

    “Change We Can All Believe In” = Geithner

    and

    “Make America Great Again” = Mnuchin

    The people who voted to elect both con men have no one but themselves to blame.

    We’ve got 8 more years of this turmoil before the establishment finally loses its grip.Once that occurs there will be a Constitutional Convention called by the States and a long overdue rewrite/update of the Constitution to bring it to the modern era.

    Reply
    • Have you noticed that the GDP is approaching 4%? Obama was the only president is our history who never reached 3%. Have you noticed the influx of illegal immigrants heading to Canada? Perhaps you haven’t noticed some attempt to address the MS-13 gang problem; and don’t forget about the help our veterans are getting. There’s much more to list, but my guess is you’ve been watching too much CNN “fake news.”

  10. I have to admit, I voted for Trump for one reason. It was protection of the Second Amendment. Judge Gorsuch was the best I could have hoped for.

    This country lost its way a long time ago. The federal government was never supposed to get this powerful. The founding fathers intended to have the states more involved and to allow different solutions and process to compete in a peaceful manner.

    The book “American Nations” points out how yankeedom ruined that. The point for me is that the constant wish for top-down forced solutions for the whole country is doomed to failure.

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    • I did too. Gorsuch was an excellent pick. Like you, I looked at the big picture and didn’t even come close to considering socialist corrupt Bernie Sanders.

  11. I think that it is time to move on from identifying the problem with America and move on to finding solutions. I have registered a new Domain Name called OurAmericanMoney.com. The biggest problem is we need to get the oligarch money out of politics. The biggest source of the Oligarchs money is the interest we pay to the FED. I believe we need to end the FED. The easiest way is to start printing money from the Treasury and buy the bonds back. When two year and 5 year notes expire instead of the fed printing the money and buying them at interest, the Treasury can priint the money and buy them interest free. This reduces our interest payments to the fed and at the same time weakens Oligarch power. Eventually our Treasury can buy all the notes and then we can just end the fed. This can be done interest free. This will create more money for spending on important things rather then interest to the Oligarchs or use the extra money to reduce taxes. Income tax and the FED were introduced around the same time. There is a reason for that.

    So I was thinking of starting a blog dedicated to discussing solutions and steps to get from point a to point b and c. Currently the politicians have shut down all money being printed directly from our Treasury. It has been decades since we last printed money. We don’t need crypto currency. We need our money back!!! Jackson threw out the central bankers from our country back in the early 1800’s. We can do it again!!

    What do you think?

    OurAmericanMoney.com

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  12. First, I don’t know why people bring up Bernie Sanders and have a positive view of his supporters. That guy has come off as a full on socialist (though I have a feeling he might be a fake like president pumpkin) and would be a disaster if he were able to implement the stuff he says, although he never would be allowed to if he somehow does believe in it as the powers that be would never allow socialism which is a good thing. I don’t know how often socialism needs to fail before people get a clue and realize it is a horrible system.

    Rand and Tulsi do seem like they are fairly genuine yet they’d never be able to show that as they’d just be destroyed in the media and by the system, just like president pumpkin has been as he’s tried to pretend he is for the people. Pumpkin has been the example from the elites/deep state for all future candidates to get in line or else.

    The problem is the system is completely screwed and no politician is going to magically come along and fix that. It need an entire overhaul and the only way that could ever come about is if the masses finally got off their asses instead of spending time on social media and the like and then joined together rather than bickering with each other and changed it. Fat chance that will ever happen.

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    • Agreed . Also the electoral system needs overhauling and that will not happen either , in fact I think after this scare with Trump winning , the establishment will make sure that they have the elections rigged beyond doubt next time, maybe giving the responsibility for overseeing the ballot to the NSA or some other agency. I am Australian , what amazes us is how after an election in the US the president then appoints all the people who will run and form policy. That is a disaster for democracy. Only elected folks should be running the country and making policy , Jared and Ivanka were not elected, neither were Tillerson and all the other generals. In our system all the positions around the Prime Minister must be filled with other sitting members, that is people who have been elected. So you elect the President but he can and does continually fill his office with all these unelected folks who represent the oligarchs , it is insane. The fact is though that only millions of people in the streets right across America demanding deep , deep change would have any effect, but even that would not be effective if the military/intelligence/lobbyist complex remains in place. Unity and political awareness are what is missing. Let’s face it , the people of the West , the majority are still not politically engaged. Where are the huge rallies we see in developing countries, like the huge crowds we saw in the ” colour revolutions ” in countries like Egypt? People just are not committed to their own freedom and survival. Also diversity of multiculturalism has destroyed our unity just as it was designed to do. To boot,people are now so intellectually shallow and superficial after worshipping materialism for so many generations as well as being dumbed down through an education system specifically designed to do that, that they are easily divided , recent events illustrate this perfectly. Only countries that are not ethnically and religiously diversified will survive the tactics of the oligarchs in this century. Basically all the Western countries are toast, only some of the Eastern European countries will survive as intact white Christian societies having some control over their affairs , the Russians and the Poles understand this. When I speak like this people immediately say my comments are racist , maybe they are , but are they true? Look around the world , the face of Europe in the not so distant future is Islamic !! …..and the people are still willing to let this happen. They have had a chance to change their future in France recently but they clung to the status quo . In fifty years or so the great alliance of European countries that banded together to produce the societies that we have treasured and formerly thrived under will be no longer be European!! They will be strife ridden, economic basket cases , what a future for our descendants to inherit. Basically the Western World is committing suicide and it is terminal and unstoppable. Folks say I am negative but I say I am a realist, this is what is happening , look around you and tell me that it is not so.

    • I get that socialism is the favorite bogeyman, of, well pretty much everyone- neolibs, neocons, conservatives, etc. But first you all should know the definition.

      No, Sanders was not a “full on socialist”, not even close. He agrees with & champions regulated capitalism. He does not call for the abolition of currency or democratic control of the means of production, which are central tenets of socialism.

      In fact, far from being “a disaster”, his policies have been implemented in almost every other civilized part of the world. Universal health care, tuition free education and a reasonable military budget are a resounding success.

      And they outpace us in every metric of happiness, health, low crime, low carbon foot print and also, ya know, not bombing the hell out of every country that dare disagree.

      The infant mortality rate in the US is on par with 3rd world countries. This is because America is extremely far right, even the so called “Democrats”, and refuses to care for its own people.

      A simple Google search will confirm what I’ve stated as empirical fact.

  13. Hi Peace, I said Trump and Obama are con men. That doesn’t mean that every single thing they have done or will do, I have, or will, disagree with.

    What I know is that both of them immediately sold out to the money masters as soon as they got into office. Even though both of them promised repeatedly that they would not do so if they were elected.

    That makes them con artists. But it also ensures that a lot of good hard working folks get hurt in a lot of different ways. Which makes both of them far more than just con men. What that makes them, is far worse.

    BTW, I don’t watch much of anything that calls itself news on television.

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  14. I don’t think Trump supporters are now free agents. They’re angry at Trump, but they blame Democrats and will do so for the foreseeable future.

    And Bernie’s unfortunate attacks on free speech and on Trump for being honest about C-ville & Antifa mean that he has likely burned that bridge as well.

    I completely agree, however, that we now have President Eunuch, who will Make America Prostrate Again.

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  15. “In fact, far from being “a disaster”, his policies have been implemented in almost every other civilized part of the world. Universal health care, tuition free education and a reasonable military budget are a resounding success.”

    In what countries has it been a “resounding success”?

    I’m assuming you’re talking about primarily European countries.I do business with quite a few and I can tell you that tax free havens like Monaco and Lichtenstein have benefited greatly from socialism in other European countries. Which is exactly what would happen in the US.

    It just doesn’t work on a sustained basis because it penalizes innovation and achievement and rewards sloth.

    That’s not to infer that capitalism is perfect. The US has become a great example of how capitalism can morph into crony capitalism over time if the regulations are not enforced because the regulators are captured.

    As Ron Paul has said; “We don’t need more regulations. We need the regulations we already have to be enforced”.

    But the real base problem is societal decay. It doesn’t matter what system is put into place if greed and avarice are endemic. The wealthiest people in China are all Mao’s relatives and in the Peoples Republic corruption among public officials is the rule rather than the exception.

    Until white collar criminals are treated the same as blue collar criminals and they are all put into the same prisons, that’s not going to change.

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    • I love that Ron Paul quote, and I also look forward to your comments, Genaro, even when I disagree.

      “Rewards sloth” is a meaningless statement, unsupported by facts. Scandinavia, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria all are thriving and unemployment is very low. Penalizes innovation is also clearly false, since Germany has some of the most advanced healthcare in the world.
      And as I stated previously, they are far, far better off then us in almost every aspect.

      Will socialism or social democracy bring about utopia? Of course not. As you said, as long as there’s unbridled greed, things will go south. Will it be an improvement in the lives of everyday Americans? You bet your ass.

    • Only one tiny problem Born Villain , The US is already in debt beyond it’s ability to ever pay back, so how will all this ‘free stuff” be paid for? I suggest that before you look at the link you might want to sit down and just look through a tiny slit between your fingers first , then slowly let the entire picture and the truth be revealed.

    • Jumping in here, the US is in the message it’s in because of its subsidy of the “Establishment” ( sickeningly super rich and bloated military) but such obvious stats are beyond most Americans it seems.

  16. You’ve missed the boat with this article, Bannon is not out of the WH. Only his office has changed sites, and not tied to the WH allows him to make up all sorts of lies to pound the GOP leadership when they stop Trump from doing anything questionable. He is in charge of a media source now, he can sling mud across this nation. This administration is much more dangerous with this move in place.

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  17. This political system is fatally flawed and calcified in uber hard material. Its too late folks. It will never change not from grass roots outside in nor from a couple legitimate representatives inside out . It requires a radical tech driven makeover. What bitcoin etc is to the $ system we need a tech driven totally disruptive mechanism to end run the existing process. The shit is too deep ; nothing will change in a meaningful way ..What James Baldwin feared “moral apathy ” has now morphed into an even more dangerous beast where $ Trumps everything.Where we can affect change is in ourselves , our circle of friends and our community. Maybe the younger gen will be shocked out of their stupor and realize what’s at stake but I’m not optimistic. Great writing Michael and thank you for your many spot on observations and commentary.

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  18. Michael, you made good points about Trump, but you are wrong about the Left. They are the ones finished. There is no “populist left'” waiting to replace Trump. There is no middle ground. There is no middle ground allowed. Hence, there is no alternative to Trump. With their embrace of Identity Politics, they have ceased to be an ideology of ideas and become an ideology of hate. Do you really believe that after Trump supporters have been called deplorables, Nazis, racists, and now rapists (Michael Moore), that they will align themselves with the left?

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    • I believe that anyone who credibly offers genuine economic populism, while avoiding the pitfalls I mentioned can win in a landslide in a general election, yes.

      Whether we get that choice is another matter entirely.

  19. Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face, there will be a well-heeled Western liberal to a explain that the face does, after all, enjoy free healthcare and 100% literacy.

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  20. The good news about trump is that he found the formulae to bypass the system . He was greatly aided by the weakness of the HC candidacy but nonetheless “shocked ” 95 % or more of the political pundits etc. So there is a way to end run.Unfortunately the DNC has no interest in busting the status quo and the majority of their flock by in to their rhetoric. They will not be part of any solution.It is possible that a true leader will emerge, a non politician via web/social media and be capable of winning the popular vote. Thats not a solution its the first step of many to dismantle this thing. But tech and brilliant minds can map out the pathways needed. They need a really good algorithm that understands all the pieces and sequence needed for this to change. And they will need a army to protect them……..

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    • Bibi Netanyahu is, as I type, in SOCHI talking with President Putin of the Russian Federation. The Golan Heights which Israel is illegally occupying has a massive reserve of fossil fuels which was discovered two years ago. This land on the Gloan Heights belongs legally to Syria and of course Russia supports Syrian sovreignity. I agree the pecuniary interests are ZIONIST led and use NAZI methodology. We must clear in saying that the ZIONIST philosophy is NOT SHARED by the Jewish global diaspora. The KRMINAL KABAL is made up of factions of the CIA, the USA DEEP STATE, and aligned with several criminal global groups dealing in narcotics, arms and munitions, people trafficking, the sale of body parts and the trading of antiquities stolen from N Africa and the Mid East. To facilitate this trade several Western based private mercenary companies are deployed. The enterprise is global and often uses USA and NATO assets. The USA security services manage the operations.

  21. We will know how right you are Monday night after Trump’s speech on Afghanistan. If he proposes pulling out after 20 years of wasted lives and money, he will do a lot to bring back his base and quiet the left. We can hope. My fingers are crossed.

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    • Anyone who doubts what the speech tonight will entail isn’t going to get it even when he increases troop levels. It is over. Trump has either removed the cloak or gone over to the dark side.

  22. Rather people in “the western world” realize it or not, they are all in serious trouble. What is happening might seem to be haphazard, even comical, but it is no joke. There is a madness behind everything that is happening today, all of it bad. I keep waiting for the three claps of thunder on a bright cloudless day, a signal to tell us the war is on, will we get such a warning? It is for sure, when the card won’t work, the refrigerator goes off and the water stops flowing from the faucet, the killing will begin. Call it a race war, a civil war, a third world war, call it what you chose to call it, it will be: the Banker King’s war, the last war, the final culling of the masses. Like in the long gone past, when people killed to drink, when people killed to eat, when people killed to keep from being killed, it will be a million B.C.E. all over again. Be afraid, be very afraid, trust no one and don’t expect any help from anything you might call a god.

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  23. Gentlemen;
    You all keep thinking inside the box when new ideas are needed.
    Basically, we need a new political system to overcome our present crisis
    Why not adopt the Swiss model which democratically elects a Central Committee which for 4 years rules by decree. I have a long article which proposes such a solution. email me for a copy.
    Our present system is heading toward dictatorship.

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  24. I’ve read some pathetic tripe in my day, but this whining bloviation of butt hurt takes top spot.

    You “anti-Trump” douchebags are a laugh riot.

    Please, do keep on. You are certainly going out of your way to guarantee his re-election in ’20, and then we’ll get 8 years of Pence.

    Who knows? By then we might be ready for 8 years of Ivanka.

    The Left is dead. The Establishment is dead.

    Trump has played you all, and he will continue to do so.

    #MAGA!

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  25. This is a very intuitive article but also rather naive at this stage of the game.

    During the run up to the election I predicted that no matter who seized the brass ring, be it Clinton, Trump or a very unlikely Sanders (seen as Clinton’s sheep dog rounding up votes) for us to expect more of the same only more so. Candidates coming from within the plutocratic Washington system, and yes Trump is a member rubbing shoulders with all of them, are of that system and beholden to that system and can be destroyed by that system should they attempt a double cross for some unknown reason. Krieger gets this. The prime examples are the Kennedy brothers, John and Robert, Martin L.King and Nixon, all of which pissed off the ruling plutocrats on enough issues to where they were all deemed a threat, even if minimally, or larger in King’s case. The plutocracy bucks no insubordination whatsoever that could lead to a greater challenge to their positions of wealth and especially power by any figure, especially if leading a populous movement. So even an outsider, rising as King did from the people, rising in opposition to the Washington clique will come up against its many headed hydrant operated by the plutocracy, operating on many fronts and at all levels simultaneously wherever they can have influence, psychologically, in subterfuge or overtly.

    Krieger’s earlier articles expressing this sentiment juxtaposed against this one seems to show a confusion in the mind on what a solution to this ever growingly oppressive fascist plutocracy would look like. His proffered solution was/is to build community along with the naturally evolving consciousness that would follow from this effort. Different communities for differing folks would evolve while the threat of plutocratic interference to such would be ever present. This is the only non violent way that I can see going forward and the struggle would be immense and the sacrifices many in turning one’s back on the main stream with all of its monetary inducements to remain within the system, grants, other monies and legislation for compliance. The other option is a blood soaked rebellion on the order of the American, French and Russian revolutions, with the outcome of success or of what system would emerge being very troublesome.

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  26. While I certainly didn’t agree with all of Bannon’s views, I did see him as a useful foil against the corporatocracy.

    I also agree with your views and predictions. With Bannon out, all illusions of
    Billionaire and son-of-a-MultiMillionaire Trump’s populist leanings went out the window.

    The plus side is that when the populist left movement notices the media’s and Democratic party’s inevitable softening on Trump’s administration, they may revolt and break out on their own, just as the Tea Party did. They need a leader, however, and the media is too pervasive to allow an outsider to rise up (Trump, of course, was never really an outsider, nor is any billionaire by definition). Instead, the new leader must already have a platform and a voice, which makes an existing Democrat politician (senator, governor, congressman, etc) the best hope for elft populism.

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