We all expected a tumultuous presidential campaign. But I was not prepared to see a Kennedy endorse a Republican, nor the Cheneys endorse a far-Left Democrat. I was equally unprepared for the embrace of Trumpian policies by the very Democrats who hate him with the fire of a thousand suns. The coup that toppled Joe Biden caught me by surprise, as did the coronation of an unelected nominee, Kamala Harris. Not to mention two foiled assassinations buried by the media. And we still have a month to go.
Is there any way to make sense of this?
Political parties change. The South voted solidly Democratic for 100 years after the Civil War. When the Democrats nominated radical George McGovern in 1972, the Confederacy did the unthinkable and seceded again, this time to the Republicans. Undeterred, the Left continued its long march through the universities, the media, and the administrative state, alienating its working-class base every step of the way in favor of more affluent voters. Today, according to the Brookings Institute, Democratic counties control 70 percent of the country’s wealth, with nary a laborer nor a Southerner in sight.
Likewise, Northern country club Republicans dominated their party since the days of Calvin Coolidge. They favored big business and small government. Donald Trump and his merry band of populists routed these bluebloods. Today, Republicans are overwhelmingly commoners. They control only 30 percent of the country’s wealth.
In a fairly short period of time, the two major parties have largely switched electorates. The realignment of classes explains a lot about this campaign. Wonder why RFK, Jr. threw in with Trump? Like the Kennedy’s before him, he relates to the proletariat, and there is only one party that cares for them. Wonder why the Cheneys backed Harris? They are a lot more comfortable with her A-list celebrities than the likes of Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock, who are just not their kind of people.
But why would Harris abandon her cherished socialist positions against fracking and border controls? Why adopt Trumpian ideas like tax-free tips?
The reality is these issues don’t matter to her true constituents — the nation’s well-off, well-educated, and well-connected elites. These high-end people pull down outsized salaries in Big Tech, Big Pharma, Big Media, Big Universities, Big Climate, Big Finance, Big Charity, and Big Government. Add in the military-industrial complex represented by the Cheneys and you have a formidable new alliance dedicated to the status quo. These are the best people, the ones who slip effortlessly through the revolving doors of business and government and universities. They capture entire federal agencies with user fees and the promise of riches in the private sector. They are masters of war who see in every crisis an opportunity to sell more weapons systems. They release their flying monkeys on social media to attack whoever stands in their way. They are the new Establishment and enjoy all the entitlements attendant to their position. Who cares about the tips of waitresses? Who cares about a few million immigrants, more or less? The revolving doors must continue to turn.
What they really don’t like is a lot of loose talk about reform. When J.D. Vance criticizes forever wars, when RFK Jr. takes on government corruption in the food and health industries, when Elon Musk guarantees free speech and promises to clean house in Washington, when the infernal Donald Trump battles the media and the surveillance state to a draw, the creatures of the swamp rise as one against this existential threat to their privilege.
Magic Studio
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