By Tim Bakamjian

For most of my life, I thought elections didn’t matter. Who became president, my U.S. Senator, House member or governor, made little difference. It had almost no effect on my livelihood, where I chose to live, what I said or did, or whom I associated with. Even though I followed politics, the subject rarely came up. I often didn’t know or care who, among my family and friends, was liberal or conservative. I couldn’t even spell libertarian, let alone define it. And I thought a socialist was someone who was outgoing, who liked to party.

2020 America is different. Elections DO matter this year, because the outcome has enormous consequences, both nationally and statewide. Vice President Mike Pence has said it’s not a choice between two people or parties, but between “two futures.” Will the U.S. take an even sharper turn toward socialism, or will we remain a relatively free market, capitalist country? Will we retain at least some constitutional limits on government power, or will we move toward even more centralized control, where a select few make decisions for everyone? Who wins November 3rd may provide these answers.

THE DIVIDE

The division in America has its origins in ideas that were formulated in the early 1900s. The overthrow of capitalism, as envisioned by German economist Karl Marx in the late 1800s, had failed. The proletariat, a/k/a the working class, had no interest in upending an economic system that raised their living standard. A different approach was necessary. Enter Italian Communist Party leader Antonio Gramsci in the early 1900’s, and later, German philosopher Herbert Marcuse and West German student leader Rudi Dutchke in the 1960’s.

Granscki originated and the latter two expanded upon the philosophy of cultural Marxism. Since Marxism wasn’t going to succeed economically by pitting the working class (proletariat) against the business owners and managers (bourgeoisie), new sets of grievances and oppressed classes needed to be manufactured. This “substitute proletariat’ pitted not just poor versus rich, but blacks against whites, women against men, illegals against legals, gays against straights, environmentalists versus “climate deniers,” Islam against Christianity, and more.

At the same time, cultural Marxists began infiltrating schools and indoctrinating students, a strategy the Democratic Socialists of America explicitly endorsed in 2018.

The result? A society exploding in division and chaos, and more than ready for radical reform. So up steps the American Left and key elements of the Democrat Party – elements that helped sow these divisions – to make everything “socially just.” If they can use these groups and their liberal sympathizers to compile a coalition of 51% of the electorate, they can regain complete power and vanquish the rest of America represented by Donald Trump, the Republican Party, conservatives, libertarians and all else who share the vision of America as originally formulated by our Founding Fathers.

IF THE DEMOCRATS WIN …

Expect massive changes if the Democrats win the presidency and both houses of Congress. Oklahomans won’t be immune from the effects. Be ready for the following:

Green New Deal - This $94 trillion dollar monstrosity, spread out over ten years, will cost every family up to $65,000 a year. Its goal is to eliminate the fossil fuel industry, which supplies 80% of U.S. energy. Oklahoma’s vital oil and gas industry will be decimated, thousands will lose their jobs, and prices for almost everything will skyrocket – all done to allegedly prevent climate change and radically reduce CO2 emissions. Meanwhile, carbon emissions during the Trump administration have declined 2.7%, meaning predictions of a climate change apocalypse have never materialized. As Alex Epstein, author of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, said, “the Green New Deal won’t protect us from an existential threat. It IS an existential threat.”

Tax Increases - Until Covid -19 hit, decreases in tax rates and elimination of more than 2,000 regulations fueled greater economic prosperity during the first three years of the Trump administration. Record low unemployment rates especially helped low income groups and minorities. Oklahoma’s rate dropped to 2.9% in March, 2020, and now sits at 5.7%, still among the nation’s lowest. If the Democrats win, expect those numbers to go up. They’ve pledged to eliminate Trump’s tax cuts, costing each family $2,000 to $4,000 a year. They’ve called for tax increases for those whose incomes exceed $400,000 a year, causing employers to take jobs and income overseas. Regulation and tax increases are the exact wrong prescription to reverse the Covid and lockdown caused recession we’re now experiencing.

Medicare for All - The Democrat’s twin towers of massive government overreach are the Green New Deal and this one, Medicare for All. At a cost of $3 trillion dollars a year, this program would make government the sole provider of healthcare. If it passes, Oklahomans should expect longer wait times, lower quality of care, less healthcare innovation, high death rates for serious illnesses, higher taxes, and overall slower economic growth. All that has happened in Great Britain and Canada, so expect something approaching it if the Democrats sweep.

Consolidation of Power - A Democratic election day trifecta could mean radical left wing rule forever. They’d make Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. states, adding four more Democratic senators. They’d remove the long-standing Senate filibuster rule, enabling any legislation to pass with only 50 votes. They’d grant citizenship and provide healthcare coverage to up to 20 million immigrants, who will return the favor by helping flip such red or purple states as Texas, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina in future elections. They’ll seek to abolish the electoral college, which would allow a few large blue-state cities to control national elections, while leaving smaller flyover states such as Oklahoma powerless bystanders. They would nominate and confirm enough progressive judges to the Supreme Court to their current foursome to achieve a veto proof super-majority of court activists masquerading as judges. If brought to fruition, this distortion of the separation of powers doctrine would make brilliant dissents from the likes of new justice Amy Coney Barrett become decorative ornaments in the dustbin of history.

When asked what type of government he and other Founding Fathers devised, Benjamin Franklin replied, “a Republic madam, if you can keep it.” If you think these blatant abuses of power conform to their well-crafted arrangement, I have a bridge that’s available for your purchase.

Change Zoning Rules - The Democrats think that America’s suburbs don’t have enough minority ownership of houses. Therefore, they might impose changes to local zoning laws to allow much more affordable housing. That means construction of multi-family low income apartment buildings that tower over single family homes in suburbia. Well-kept neighborhoods of $200,000 properties in Moore, Edmond, Broken Arrow or Jenks might get new neighbors, whose abhorrence of criminal behavior doesn’t match that of the homeowners.

The Democratic Party platform and the Bernie-Biden manifesto favor these changes, even though statistics show that minorities have steadily moved into the suburbs on their own. In fact, 52% of African-Americans in the nation’s top 100 metro areas live in the suburbs of these regions. Don’t tell the Democrats that. They rarely let facts interfere with their narrative.

A Few More - Progressive victory on November 3rd could have many more tragic consequences. A national abortion bill would supersede any restrictive state laws or judicial actions and require taxpayers to foot the bill. The Equality Act would force churches to open their sex- specific facilities, such as bathrooms, to members of the opposite sex. The Christian bakers and florists would be forced to use their artistic skills to accommodate same-sex couples attempting to marry. “If taken literally, the Act could mean the end of separate men’s and women’s sports,” says noted conservative Ben Shapiro.

The AR-15 rifle could be banned, even though it accounts for 20% of all gun sales, is rarely responsible for gun violence, and whose Clinton-era restriction had no effect on violent crime rates. A $15 minimum wage would increase unemployment, and cause even more restaurants to close. Initiatives favoring school choice , which some call our era’s biggest civil rights issue, would be suppressed. That would force many low-income and minority students to attend their failing neighborhood schools. The Barr/Durham investigation of Deep State crimes under the Obama-Clinton administration would be shut down, never to be seen or heard from again. Finally, 60,000 wind turbines would be built nationwide. “Try sleeping with that near you,” says author and talk show host Mark Levin.

IN CONCLUSION …

When economic Marxism failed more than 100 years ago, progressives invented cultural Marxism as a back door means to fundamentally transform America. If they win big on November 3rd, they can finish the job, moving us closer to tyranny. America will change for the worse, and sadly, so will Oklahoma.

Tim Bakamjian is an independent real estate broker and investor living in Tulsa. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kenyon College in Ohio and a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Tulsa. He’s married with one grown child. Political and economic issues have been a life-long interest. He may be contacted at: tbakamjian@gmail.com