Kansas is NOT a democracy—it is an oligarchy! Let’s treat it as such

Kansas is not a democracy. It is an oligarchy. In these modern times I see little reason to work within a system that has completely broken down. The system is horrendously broke and it is beyond a simple fix. Instead we need to find ways to defend the lower classes. Since I’m not wealthy I consider myself a member of the lower classes.

The people who have taken control of Kansas’ electoral system have perfected ways of manipulating the elections to make sure that the candidates of the wealthiest classes win almost every election. The Koch Brothers and their various front groups have joined together with reactionary forces in this society to break down every chance that the poorer classes would have to influence elections, and for that matter to have any real control over their destiny. And without having any control over our destiny there is no democracy. In Kansas the Republican Party has inched its way to the far-far far right.  The far-far far rightwing of Kansas have crushed the political power of unions. They have cut down on minority voting using the so called “voter ID laws.” They have left nothing to chance.

Another plus for them is the two-party system. Next to a one-party state, two-party states are the most restrictive. There is NO room for minority dissent since it is winner take all. No minority parties can be elected to defend the rights of the lower classes.

The Kansas news media has also contributed to this far-far far right-wing process by giving amble coverage from those who manipulate the facts to promote distinctly regressive ideas, such as “no global warming” or there is “no such thing as evolution.” They play into the prejudices and ignorance of the Kansas voters, reinforcing such backward beliefs. The worst is the belief that most people on public assistance are nothing more than lazy people who don’t want to work. And of course they are getting all kinds of “free stuff” that they haven’t earned.

The people being elected have all kinds of institutions that train them how to cheat on elections. They have the money to out-spend, on advertising, against their opponents and for their front candidates whose job is to serve the businesses that elect them.

The Democratic Party has jettisoned its progressive wing for a strategy that has allowed them to become a useless party that stands for nothing and has nothing to offer the voters. The real winner in these elections is corruption. 

When the policies of the far right fail, they go even further to the right. The trend has continued for the last 30 years and the poor, working poor and the hard core of the working class pay the price. Public institutions, such as schools, are deliberately being destroyed. Every election is bound to make it harder and harder for the poorer people in the state to get the education they need to understand the system they are subjugated to.

More and more, Kansas Democracy is dying. Truth is it is already dead. There is no reason for us to pretend we are living in a democracy. We are living in an oligarchy and progressives as well as the lower classes are being pushed out of the system altogether.

What is to be done? 

So what is the point of trying to use politicians to promote progressive change?  Instead of treating these elected officials as if they have actually earned the people’s trust we should be all out against them. We can organize pickets against them. We can find ways to slow down or even shut down the system as we did with the Occupy Movement. We can push for changes that get money out of these elections. The worst thing to do is try to compromise or work with these petty tyrants. They wage class war against us and we need some kind of rebellion that stops or cripples what they are doing. What these people don’t need or deserve is to be respected as regular politicians. They need to be continuously confronted and exposed.

Black people in the 1960s didn’t sit around and wait for the majority of white people to vote in their rights. They took to the streets and confronted their opponents. They pushed for those changes and demanded them. Laws to protect their rights came AFTER they fought for them in the streets.

The Kansas Congress people we have today or just yes-men—cheap crooks in three-piece suites. They weren’t elected to serve the people there were elected to serve their corporate masters. They are not real politicians. They are just petty tyrants on someone’s string. We need to confront them, ridicule them and expose them for the snake oil sales men they really are.

 -សតិវ​អតុ