What We Could Learn From Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson had very different visions of America.  Hamilton wanted to create an economic powerhouse that would not threaten individual freedom.  Jefferson was skeptical of that prospect.  He favored an agrarian economy that would preserve individual freedom in a fragile democracy.  However, Hamilton supported Jefferson in his battle against Aaron Burr for the presidency.  He did so because he believed that Burr was a man without principle.  He was driven by unbounded personal ambition that could not be contained by principle.  Burr would exploit uninformed zealots to secure his power and authority.  Hamilton had to choose between two men with whom he had little agreement.  He chose Jefferson because he would preserve a fragile democracy.  Aaron Burr was a demagouge who was blinded by ambition and who cared little for the institutions that were created to preserve our democracy. 

We have elected a demagogue as our 45th president.  We will have to see whether the institutions that we have created to protect our democracy from a person like Aaron Burr will survive the test that Hamilton feared.  We have granted great power to a person who thinks only of himself.  The Republican Party will have to make a choice that Hamilton helped us to avoid.  The Republican Party can choose between harnessing his power to its advantage or preserving a still fragile democracy.

The Financial Times Sums Up Populism Run Amuck

The global society that has been pieced together over the last few decades may be coming to an end.  The world has changed faster than most people are prepared to change.  Populism, which is the denial of politics, is setting the stage for the tyranny of the majority.  The warning signs occurred early in Europe with the rise of populist parties, problems in the common market,  Britain's exit from the European Union and a flood of immigrants escaping from danger, but the election of a demagogue in the US may be the last straw.  The nation that many other nations have looked to for leadership has been infected with the populist disease.  The Financial Times describes the problems that we face along with a warning.  We may not be able to repair a broken system. 

Both Trump And Clinton Voters Believe What They Want To Believe

Many of us respond favorably to information which supports our prior belief system.  Of, course many also believe things for which there is little or no information to support a cherished belief.  The Economist sponsored a survey which asked both Trump and Clinton voters to indicate their belief or disbelief on a set of issues.  Trump voters tended to believe many things that are not true but many Clinton voters also tend to believe things that are consistent with their priors.  Trump voters, not surprisingly, were more likely to have stronger false beliefs.

Winston Churchill once said that there are many problems with Democracy.  Of course, misinformed voters is one of its major problems.  Most Americans have a poor understanding of the major issues that divide Trump and Clinton.  On the other hand, Churchill concluded that despite its problems, Democracy was better than the alternatives.  Enlightened monarchs and autocrats are a rare breed.  Ironically, digital technologies make it much easier for people to have access to information but they have also made it easier to spread false information.  The jury is still out on the future of Democracy in an era when responsible journalism is under attack, and the use of digital media to misinform the public has become more common.

Why Is Putin Very Popular In Russia Despite Bad Economy?

Bill Clinton famously said that "It is the economy stupid" to describe his successful political campaign.  The economy was bad and he was going to fix it.  That was a winning message and it is typically important to the popularity of political leaders.  That is not the case in Russia.  Vladimir Putin's popularity has reached levels that would make any political leader jealous.  The great majority of Russians approve of his performance despite slow economic growth and cuts in government spending on social programs.  Putin's popularity is based upon his performance as a geopolitical leader.  Russians approve of his adventures in Crimea and Ukraine as well as other things that he done to elevate Russia's role in an evolving new political order.  National pride is a powerful force and Putin has managed it very well.  His success is also based upon his control of the information that is available to the public.  If he were unable to control the Internet like other western leaders he would be less able to keep his supporters happy with a diet of national pride.  As someone once said, "Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels".  George Bush exploited the wave of patriotism that followed the 9/11 attack in New York to justify his invasion of Iraq.  The media supported him initially, but eventually turned on him when no weapons of mass destruction were found and his popular support eroded along with his poor performance in Iraq and the resulting upheaval in the Mid East.  His popularity plummeted because he could not control the news.  Donald Trump will continue to attack the established media in order to implement his very dangerous agenda which requires him to be less subject to the checks and balances in our democracy.   He understands that autocrats depend upon the control of information.  Real journalism is the enemy of autocracy.

One Of America's Top Conservative Journalists Is Critical Of Trump's AG Nominee

Jeff Sessions is a senator from Alabama who was an early supporter of Donald Trump during the GOP primaries.  He was rewarded by Trump with his nomination to head the US Justice Department.  George Will's conservative column in the Washington Post is syndicated in many small town newspapers in the US.  He describes one his reasons for opposing Trump's nominee for Attorney General.  Sessions served many years as a senator and has a lot of Republican friends in the Senate. However,  Sessions will face many other criticisms when his nomination is reviewed by the Senate.  It won't help him to have one of America's most influential conservatives against him.  This is only one of many battles that Trump will face against committed conservatives in his efforts to reshape the Republican Party.  Trump is more interested in accumulating power than he is in conservative ideology.

Best Analysis Of Presidential Elecion Results in US

The data in this article explain the results of the election better than others that I have read.  Clinton won most of the affluent suburbs that used to vote Republican by a wide margin.  Her margin over Trump among highly educated Americans with graduate degrees surpassed Obama's margin in the previous two elections.  Trump, however, got a higher percent of white working class voters than either McCain or Romney got against Obama.  That loss was most meaningful in competitive states that had been won by Obama.  Few expected Clinton to do well with less educated white voters in most of the Red states.  Clinton would have won the election if she had done as well as Obama with working class white voters in several battleground states.  She lost ground even with white voters who approved of Obama's policies. 

There are lots of graphs which break down the results in the election, but the main message is that Clinton did not succeed in reproducing the Obama Coalition that put him in office.  Clinton outperformed in areas that used to vote Republican.  Trump outperformed in areas that were once Democratic strongholds.  His messages were designed to do exactly that.  They were the messages that won the elections for Obama and lost the election for Clinton among industrial workers and coal miners.  Surprisingly, they also won the GOP primaries for Trump.  He won the primaries by delivering economic messages against free trade and globalization, and defending many of the popular Democratic social welfare programs like Social Security and Medicare that have been attacked by Republicans.  His messages against immigration and stronger protections against terrorism were also well timed.  They were amplified after each terrorist attack in Europe and the US.

This Was Not Just Another Presidential Election

This article reviews the people that Trump has nominated for key positions in his government.  They have a lot in common.  They all oppose the agency to which they have been nominated or its historical purpose.  This is more like a bloodless revolution than a presidential election.