CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, March 15, 2021

Restoring Democracy: General Srike the answer?

The enactment of H.R. 1, the misleadingly-named "For the People Act," means, the 74.2 million President Trump voters and other conservatives will never be able to vote themselves back into political office. If HR. 1 is allowed to stand, America’s vaunted two-party system of government will no longer exist. Ordinarily, the U.S. Supreme Court could be counted on to strike down such blatantly unconstitutional statutes; however, the Roberts Court might remain in hiding.

Okay. If the Republican Party cannot vote itself back into political office, are there any alternatives? Yes, extremists could try to shoot their way into political power. Unfortunately, that would end up with the same result as the Biden* Regency -- the end of representative democracy and, yet another, form of dictatorship.

History suggests another path; however, it would depend upon the willingness of the Middle Class and Working Class to work together under a reborn Republican Party -- minus those who are Republicans in name only (RINOs). Perhaps, a nation-wide General Strike?

Recall, during the nation-wide Chinese virus lockdown of last March, America learned certain industries -- such as long-haul trucking, electricity, food, and water -- are essential to modern life as we know it. We also learned we cannot live without the help of the working people Mike Rowe has long high-lighted in his "Dirty Jobs" TV series: Plumbers, electricians, sanitation workers, water providers, and construction workers, et al.

During the early days of Marxist-Socialism in the late 19th Century, the Socialists leadership (except for a few Anarchists) was fixated on the idea that political action (more seats in parliaments) would take them to power and to the ultimate elimination of private property and the destruction of Capitalism.

Further recall, the leaders of Marxist-Socialism were themselves mostly elites, good with the pen and tongue, but without working knowledge of the men and women whom they purported to lead out of their "lives of quiet desperation." (Keir Hardie, a Scottish socialist, was a notable exception.)

Back then, the labor unions representing the coal miners, foundry workers, fishermen, and seamen, did not believe political action would get them very far. Besides, unlike the Socialists, they were not much interested in the destruction of Capitalism. They just wanted better wages, better working conditions, fewer hours, and Sundays off. Instead of political action, the workers believed in direct-action in the form of industry-wide strikes. In fact, the threat of strikes and, in some cases, actual strikes were doing more to win concessions from the owners of the means of production than all the fine speeches made by the Marxist-Socialist elites.

In this country, a nation-wide work stoppage by the transportation, food, and logistics industries would put a laser focus on the unconstitutionality of H.R. 1. A non-violent work stoppage might have a better chance of restoring American Democracy than political action (which is lost under H.R. 1) or the violence that no sane person desires.

But then, what would the Working Class and the Middle Class demand in exchange for a return to work? Can America’s clock be set back to those halcyon, prosperous days before the Chinese virus hit? If so, how? We wonder. You decide.

Election disputed.

Suggested reading: "The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign that Saved the 2020 Election," by Molly Ball. Time Magazine, Feb. 3, 2021. History bonus: In 1907, Benito Mussolini (then age 24) attended the Socialist Congress in Stuttgart, Germany. Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler (age 18) was on welfare in Vienna, Austria.

©2021. William Hamilton.

Dr. Hamilton can be contacted at:

Email: william@central-view.com