Fred Gransville

An ongoing existential political crisis is gripping the United States, demanding immediate attention. Americans are not just frustrated, disillusioned, and enraged with the dominant political parties' inability to deliver. The grievances are numerous; they cut across economic, social, and cultural spheres, yet all converge to one ultimate cause: alienation on the part of the political elite from the common plight of the American people.

Whether the rage is directed at Democratic leaders like Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, or Elissa Slotkin, or Republican leaders like Donald Trump and Mike Vance, and the elitism represented by figures like Elon Musk, there is a perception building that these people and their parties are not serving the public. Instead, they have constructed themselves into a regime that gives priority to globalist interests, corporate agendas, and oligarchic power centers ahead of the welfare of the people.

This existential threat is not merely about partisan disagreement but a growing perception of betrayal. Electorates feel increasingly betrayed, locked out, and disenfranchised by policy-making processes that shape their lives. Both have promised what they will not or cannot deliver, exacerbated economic inequality, advanced polarizing social agendas, and adopted policies that work in the interests of the few who are powerful. This disenchantment is evident in Democratic and Republican failures because each party has increasingly capitulated to corporate interests, evading issues that most immediately affect most Americans.

Democratic Failures: Harris, Biden, AOC, Slotkin, and the Party of Identity Politics

The Democratic Party, once lauded as the working class and progressive movement's standard-bearer, has shifted its focus from practical policy solutions to symbolic gestures and cultural warfare. This departure from its original role has led to a neglect of the economic realities of most Americans. Politicians like Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Slotkin, who have ascended to the party's highest echelons, exemplify this shift.

Kamala Harris once hailed as a pathbreaker for minorities and women in politics, devoted much of her campaign time to causes that many constituents view as secondary to their pressing economic issues. The ascendance of transgender rights and the promotion of LGBTQ+ issues, though unmistakably significant, have come to characterize Harris's public image.

She has consistently emphasized identity politics, particularly concerning "gender justice," yet did not seek to address the increasing costs of living, healthcare, shelter, and sustenance. Her service as California Attorney General and Vice President has also further established the impression that her efforts are more focused on signaling rather than being genuinely concerned with policies that serve the fiscal interests of the masses.

Under Biden-Harris's leadership, the Democratic Party had become increasingly removed from the struggles of the working class. Even as the party professes to stand for progressive reform, Biden-Harris's policy recommendations sound more responsive to elite social agendas than to the concrete needs of the middle and lower rungs. The supposed "non-issues" of culture wars are continually paraded out before the public eye, concealing the vital matters of through-the-roof healthcare expenditures, inflation, and the widening chasm between the affluent and the rest.

Joe Biden, the figurehead leader who campaigned as the antidote to Donald Trump's divisive rhetoric, has similarly not lived up to his promise. His administration has been unable to approve substantive economic reforms that would ease the pressure experienced by millions of Americans. Despite how much Biden's speech usually talks of unity and equity, his administration has not yet experienced policies that substantially relieve the population. This failure to live up to its promise has left many Americans feeling disappointed and disillusioned.

As much as figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders have championed progressive causes, their voices have become increasingly sidelined within the Democratic establishment. AOC's progressive stance on economic reforms and Sanders' calls for income redistribution and universal healthcare have been drowned out by the louder voices of corporate-backed politicians within the party. Despite their populist rhetoric, the Democratic Party has not offered meaningful solutions that break the stranglehold of corporate interests. Even Elizabeth Slotkin, who has portrayed herself as a moderate progressive, faces criticism for aligning with the corporate interests that increasingly define the party.

Republican Betrayal: Trump, Musk, and the Globalist Agenda

On the Republican side, Donald Trump's rocket-like rise was founded on promises of economic populism, national pride, and the smashing of globalist institutions perceived to be dismantling the American worker. Trump stood as the candidate who would "drain the swamp," revive American manufacturing, and place the commoner above all else. However, as president, Trump's policies consistently contradict these assurances. His term in office was characterized by tax cuts for the rich, deregulation that primarily benefited large business conglomerates, and foreign policy that seemed more attuned to the agendas of international business conglomerates and elites than to the agenda of American workers.

Trump's relationships with global elites, particularly the likes of Elon Musk, only continue to fuel suspicion that his term in office, like so many before it, was motivated by the agenda of the global elite. Musk, the billionaire with substantial financial and political connections, has emerged as the public face of the new corporate oligarchy. His vast fortune, much of which he has made from government subsidies and contracts, places him firmly in the globalist ideology that Trump initially vowed to challenge. But as Trump befriended figures like Musk, his campaign rhetoric of a nationalist, America-first agenda has grown ever more hollow. Trump's economic policies disproportionately enriched the wealthy at the expense of the working and middle classes to soak up the worst of rising inequality.

Elon Musk, an erstwhile futurist and entrepreneur icon, increasingly represents the growing dominance of transnational corporate billionaires over American political life. His enterprises, from Tesla to SpaceX, are inseparable from government subsidies, contracts, and investments. Musk's influence and wealth give him the resources to direct public policy that benefits his economic interests, most often at the expense of American workers. His association with Trump raised questions about whether the populist agenda championed by the President was anything short of bait for the interests of the global elite.

Trump's alignment with Musk betrays a more significant struggle of the Republican Party: a drift away from the interests of the working class to the globalist and corporate interests. Trump's commitments to reduce the cost of living, particularly in healthcare, food, and gasoline, are never fulfilled. Trump's presidency had and has policies favoring the elites over middle- and working-class Americans, who had to pay the price of growing inequality. Trump's failure to enact substantive economic reforms has betrayed many voters.

Mike Vance: A Paragon of Republican Opportunism

Mike Vance, a rising star in the Republican Party, is another example of how the GOP has become more entrenched in corporate interests than the people of America. Like Trump, Vance campaigned as an outsider who would shake up the establishment and serve the common good. But in office, Vance's actions have been betraying a chilling pattern of serving the interests of multinationals over his constituents. Vance's policies, particularly on trade and taxes, have most lucratively benefited transnational corporations, increasing inequality and contributing to the hollowing out of the American middle class.

Vance's political trajectory is familiar to so many other Republican politicians who, having sworn to shake up the applecart, have become entrenched in the very machinery that they had earlier claimed to bring down. His alignment with the corporate oligarchs and his refusal to support policies that would benefit working Americans have made him a symbol of the broader collapse of the Republican Party. The GOP, which has long been the party of free markets and individual freedom, has become increasingly a vehicle to an end for corporate agendas and globalist designs.

The Globalist Agenda: Threatening American Sovereignty and Democracy

Central to both parties' lack of popularity is the widening hegemony of globalism—a philosophy in which multinational conglomerates, foreign nations, and international elites wield more power than nation-states. The predominance of globalist power elites has eroded national sovereignty, democratic institutions, and economic inequality. The Democratic and Republican parties, to a certain degree, have abetted this globalist enterprise, prioritizing the interests of foreign powers and corporations above the American people.

The globalism adopted by Trump and Biden and their parties indicates a trend of reduced state sovereignty and increased corporate domination. The policies advocated by both leaders tend to benefit transnational corporations at large, especially those that profit from international trade agreements, subsidies, and tax advantages. The outcome has been a system that over-compensates the wealthy elite while most Americans struggle with the bitter realities of economic hardship.

These economic and political elites who control the globalist agenda are not remote, faceless corporations or foreign governments but figures like Musk, who have used their power and wealth to shape policy in their interests. In positions of economic superiority, these elites have dominated political systems for their agendas, ensuring policies instituted by Republican and Democratic leaders serve their continued control.

A System of Authoritarianism and Control

The ascent of authoritarianism in both the dominant parties has helped further disenfranchise the electorate. Within the Democratic Party, the shift toward identity politics and culture has been accompanied by a new authoritarian tendency. The party's embrace of censorship, political correctness, and cancel culture indicates a broader trend toward restricting free speech and civil liberties. The party's fixation on controlling narratives and silencing opposition has fostered a culture where only chosen voices are heard, still widening the political elites' gap from regular citizens.

Within the Republican ranks, populism has often been used as a smokescreen for authoritarianism. Trump's political discourse, appearing to be antithetical to the political class, has frequently echoed the tone of authoritarian regimes. His attacks on the press, the courts, and democratic institutions have rung warning bells about democratic norms disintegrating. Trump's willingness to twist or circumvent established norms to hold onto power has inspired comparisons to global autocrats that have sent shivers down people's spines.

Together, these trends point to a growing governance crisis in America. The political elite in both parties have become increasingly fixated on maintaining power and advocating for the interests of the elite instead of reacting to the needs of the people. The rise of globalism, the corporate consolidation of power, and the rise of authoritarian elements within the parties have left many voters disaffected and disenfranchised.

An Awakening to the Elite and the Fractured System

Enough. America's anger bubbling beneath the surface is not an attitude—it's a fire that waits to reduce the old system to ash. The Republicans and the Democrats both have traded their souls to the elite globalists, more concerned with power, capital, and the existing order than with the American people. The political class no longer speaks for us, and they know it. They've offered us nothing but lies, empty promises, and empty euphemisms while the rest of us are drowning in crushing wealth inequality, decaying roads and bridges, and corporate greed. Still, they are wanting to take more from us, as they grouchily exhort us “for wanting free stuff.” All of them want free stuff. That is why they are all Oligarchs.

The revolution is here, and it's no longer a question of asking for change nicely. It's a question of making the system illegible. People are tired of seeing their hard-earned money spent on indulging the fantasies of tech billionaires more interested in their billionaire egos than in the plight of ordinary Americans. From keying Tesla paint jobs to throwing Molotov cocktails into Tesla showrooms, the rebellion is underway, and it's just the start. The anger, long suppressed, is now pouring into the streets. Town squares are filled with furious citizens as Republican leadership trembles in fear, too intimidated to confront the blaze they have helped create.

This is no longer about abstractions of policy differences. This is a battle for survival. The corporate oligarchs have hijacked our economy, and the two-party system that has theoretically spoken for us is corrupt from top to bottom. Their agenda is clear—power, profit, and silence the masses.

We are finished being ignored. The American people speak out at the ballot box or in the streets. The globalist grip on this country is loosening, and they do not like it. The course of America will be determined by whether the people get up and say no to this strangulating grip. It's time to take back what's ours, issue genuine demands for accountability, and dismantle the systems of corruption that have sold us out. Change is now, and we will not be silenced.

In other cities, the rage at these broken promises has manifested in more open and inflammatory acts of defiance. Crowds that had been embracing the technological marvel that promised to remake the future are now defiant against them. In a surreal spectacle, sea waves of individuals are seen abandoning their now-beloved Teslas, parked in clumps like discarded fragments of a shattered dream. Some others have gone beyond that, spray-painting the stylish cars that used to symbolize advancement and wealth, throwing items at the classic cars, smashing windows, and marking them with graffiti containing slogans of betrayal and disillusionment. 

The then-glowing electric vehicles, which had signified a clean energy and technologically advanced future, now symbolize the divergence between the hype of the rich and the hard truth endured by the multitude that had pinned its hopes on them. On the streets, they are a chilling reminder of how far the gap has grown between people and the political leaders who promised them change but came back with more of the same. The status symbols of yesterday are now Model X: 5,390 pound Model 3: 3,582 pound paperweights. 

Voter Discontent: The Failure of the Oligarchic Duopoly System