If you think the presidency has been stolen from you and democracy is dead, do you retreat or do you fight? What will sustain you through the battles ahead? Truth? Justice? Or vengeance? Race for the White House s1e5: Andrew Jackson v John Quincy Adams
It’s only been fifty years since the Revolution and America is about to select its sixth president. There’s a new contender in the race: he comes all the way to Washington from Tennessee. He may be an outsider but he has the people’s vote. His name: General Andrew Jackson. General Jackson is a national hero. Jackson’s rival has a perfect presidential resume. His name: John Quincy Adams. ibid.
The votes are counted and the man from Tennessee surprises everyone. But not enough to win an absolute majority. Instead, Congress will choose America’s next president. ibid.
John Quincy Adams becomes the sixth president of the United States. ibid.
Once more Jackson will face Adams for the presidency but this time [Martin] van Buren is on board. ibid.
Four years after his first bitter loss, Andrew Jackson is now elected as America’s seventh president. ibid.
You’re under attack labelled a draft dodger, a womaniser. Your presidential campaign is collapsing. Dreams of the White House recede. Who can you trust? Friends? Family? Strategists? When you’re on the edge of the political abyss, how do you fight back? Race for the White House s1e6: Bill Clinton v George H W Bush
Bush Betrayed Our Trust: He Raised Our Taxes. ibid. television advert
Bush drags behind Clinton by more than twenty points. The Republican convention is his chance to scramble back. ibid.
In 2018, record numbers of women, people of colour and political outsiders set out to transform Congress. Many established Democrats face primary election challenges from other Democrats running for the first time. Knock Down the House, Netflix 2019
Joe Biden is going to be travelling right across the United States as a cloud of ash pumped out of a crematorium chimney. Frankie Boyle’s New World Order e3, BBC 2019
ABC News Washington Post Poll 30th September 2007: Clinton 53%; Obama 20%; Edwards 13%. The 2000s: The Platinum Age of Television VII, 2018
Democrats disenfranchise each other. Greg Palast, interview The Keiser Report August 2020
Kirk: Tell me about these Democrats, Spock.
Spoke: Captain, they are an illogical group of self-absorbed, under-educated, free-loaders who think everyone should think like them. They haven’t been this enraged since President Lincoln freed the slaves. is a cunt online cartoon 13th September 2020, post The Undemocratic Party
I think the Democratic Party could stand a liberal George Wallace — someone who’s not afraid to stand up and offend people, someone who wouldn’t pander but would say what the American people know in their gut is right. Joe Biden, cited Philadelphia Enquirer 12 October 1975, Washington Examiner 7 February 2019
But the Democrats’ optimism was to be short-lived. In November 1992 Clinton was triumphantly elected president. But within weeks his administration discovered that the budget deficit was far greater than they had anticipated. At a meeting at the White House in January 1993 the head of the Federal Reserve told them that the deficit was nearly $300 billion. There was no way they could borrow any more without panicking the markets and causing a crisis. The only way to pay for the proposed tax cuts would be to cut government spending not just on defence but on welfare. Clinton was faced with a choice between the old politics and the new, and he chose the new. Adam Curtis, The Century of the Self IV: Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering, BBC 2002
In August 1996 Clinton signed a bill which ended the system of guaranteed help for the poor and unemployed. ibid.
The United States has only one party – the property party. It’s the party of big corporations, the party of money. It has two right wings; one is Democrat and the other is Republican. Gore Vidal
What is more dangerous? This virus or the Democrats? Borat Subsequent MovieFilm 2020 starring Sacha Baron Cohen & Maria Bakalova & Dani Popescu & Tom Hanks & Manuel Vieru & Miroslav Tolj & Alin Popa & Ion Gheroghe & Nicolae Gheorghe et al, director Jason Woliner, Borat to rednecks
The Democratic Party may as well join them … A party that blocks movement to the left, passively accepts movement to the right, and sometimes even embraces conservatism outright. How the United States Ended Up With Two Right-Wing Parties, Youtube 13.50, Second Thought 2021
American politics leans heavily to the right … minor aesthetic differences. ibid.
They are not fighting like hell for the little guy, they are getting in his way. ibid.
The Democrats of today begin looking a lot like yesterday’s Republicans. ibid.
What the fuck is going on? In simple terms the Democratic Party is literally funding far-right politicians. Not just the opposition, not just any Republican, but the extreme wing of the GOP. Why Are Democrats Funding the Far Right? Youtube 16.01, Second Thought 2022
These are actually two sides of the same political strategy coin.
Democrats are hoping that by making a bunch of far-right nutjobs win GOP primaries … moderate Republicans will by outraged and vote for a more centrist blue candidate … solidly left-wing voters will be similarly outraged and vote for the lesser of two evils out of necessity. ibid.