By SJ Otto
What can we say about Donald Trump? He is unstable, unpredictable and he can’t take criticism. One thing is for sure—never say: “what is the worst that can happen?” Because we will find that out and probably sooner than later. There were those who told me before the election: “I just can’t bring myself to vote for Hillary Clinton”/ “She lies, lies, lies!”/ “I’m going to vote for Jill Stein and the Greens.” Well folks…I hope you like having President Trump!? All those who didn’t vote for Hillary help Trump get elected.
On the Kansas State level for US congressional offices, nothing was that surprising. Pro-war, pro-imperialist US Representative Mike Pompeo, 4th district, easily beat out all his Democratic opponents, Daniel Giroux, who gave him a real challenge and an independent, Miranda Allen who split the opposition vote. They both still had too few votes together and either would have lost to Pompeo anyway. In the first district Roger Marshall, the far-far-far-far to the Right Republican won since there was no Democratic opposition. The Democrats have deserted the 1st district several years ago because the voters in that district are so hostile to the Democratic Party. Some of them like living in a one party state.
Most Kansans will only vote for a Republican and pay attention to little else. The vote for Republicans seems to be some kind of tradition. But the Kansas Republican Party is made up of some of the most corrupt and abusive politicians in the country. Over the years this local Republican Party has attracted all kinds of far right movements including the “religious right,” hard-core anti-abortion zelots, followers of the Koch brothers, David and Charles, (who champion pro-business, anti-worker and anti-evironmental causes) and all kinds of pro-military and pro-imperialists. As Thomas Frank tells us in his book “What's the Matter with Kansas?” most Kansans are voting against their self interest by supporting a party that actually works against the rights of working people. Why the people here have so much faith in such a negative anti-worker party has got to be one of the major mystories of today’s modern world.
That “faith-in-the-Republicans” may be why such good candiates as Keith Humphrey lost and why Ty Masterson, the far-far-far-far to the right Governor Sam Brownback clone got re-elected, even though his constituents hate Brownback.
One of the creepyiest of all far-far-far-far right-wing Republicans, Michael O'Donnell won a seat away from Democrat incumbantTim Norton on the Sedgwick County Commission. O’Donnel is one of the most corrupt and greedy political hacks in Kansas politics today. And yet he was able to beat a moderate politician. The voters just recently booted far-far-far-far to the right Karl Peterjohn off of the commission. Some voters are finally getting tired of the far-far-far-far to the right silliness of such politicians.
Amazingly enough TheWichita Eagle reported that the Democratic Party did make some gains against the heavily Republican Senate and House.
Some of that pro-Republican stupidity and silliness is spreading across the country and has been for some time. Anti-worker Republicans seem good at panning themselves off as populists and their party is being presented as if it is actually pro-worker. So for now the American public are locked into believing a pipe-dream—that Republicans work for their own good—and the idea that a $billionaire can somehow share the good fortunes of his own with that his constituents. But history has shown that $billionaires care about themselves and other $billionaires. That means that the majority of people in this country will be as bad off four years from now as they are today. It seems as if most people in the US just can’t learn from their past mistakes.
