Is America facing a new 1776 moment?
Vivek Ramaswamy certainly thinks so. Speaking to Shawn Ryan recently (in a two hour podcast that’s well worth taking the time to view in full), he described a new revolutionary fight for freedom, only instead of the battle lines being drawn up between commoners and the King and his court, it’s coming down to We The People v’s the Managerial Class.
Here’s what he said (slightly edited for clarity):
What we have today going on in the United States of America is a modern 1775 [sic] moment. That's where I think we are in the country. In the Old World, the way it worked was, there were a group of people who got together in the back of Palace Halls and determined what was right for the rest of society at large, because the Old World Vision — and it's absolutely a vision that's rearing its head again in this country today — is that We The People cannot be trusted to sort out our differences through free speech and open debate in a constitutional republic on how we fight climate change or racial Injustice. We The People, as individuals, cannot be trusted. It has to be decided in the back of Palace Halls by the enlightened Elite. We fought a revolution to say “hell no!” to that vision. That, yes, We The People in this constitutional republic decide how we self-govern, thank you very much.
Well, now that old monster is rearing its head again, except this time [the] back of Palace Halls [is more] like a three-letter government building in Washington DC. But you show up there and it isn't quite there. There’s no [...] smoking cigars. So then you say, maybe it’s the corner office of BlackRock and [...] their C-Suite on Park Avenue. Well, it’s not quite there either. It’s woven into a machine of a horizontal managerial class comprised of people in three letter agencies in government; comprised of the people who professionally sit on corporate boards; the associate deans of God-knows-what at universities; the ambassadors to some second-tier nation in Europe that was a donor to a political party. It’s the same managerial class that makes it very hard to identify because it pervades multiple institutions both within and outside of government. That’s what we're up against, and I think that's the moment we live in today.
The real divide in the country is not, in my estimation at least, between Republicans and Democrats and that’s why I very rarely talk about Republicans and Democrats — it rather bores me actually. I think the real divide is between the managerial class and the citizen.
Vivek is doing well in the polls — very well. He was a complete unknown when he entered the Republican primary race back in February, hitting the ground not so much running as at a slow amble. Entering at just 2.5%, that figure wilted to a mere 0.8% by late March. But then he appeared to hit his stride. He’s now polling at an average 10.1% as of August 28, just 4.8 points behind DeSantis who has been steadily sinking since the race began. Given the current trajectory the two are on, Ramaswamy should overtake DeSantis to be in second place behind Trump within the next couple of months.
Meanwhile, political old dogs like Mike Pence and Chris Christy have been left in the dust. Even Nikki Haley, though clawing her way back in, is polling half what she was back in late February.
The divide is obvious. Business-as-usual candidates like Pence, Haley, and even DeSantis, are not cutting through to the public. The American people already made it clear that they wanted real change seven years ago when they voted Trump in to Make America Great Again the first time around. What they’re still looking for is someone who can finally deliver on that promise.
Of course, it’ll likely be Trump. Trump is no mere candidate in this race. He’s become more than just a politician or public figure. He has become an avatar, the human embodiment of antiestablishmentarianism in candidate form. That’s why the Democrats have to take him down at all costs, and also why he’s currently enjoying a 40-odd point lead.
But to his credit, Ramaswamy understands that and is capitalising on it — hence his promises to pardon Trump and peaceful Jan 6 protestors if he’s elected to the White House and Trump is prosecuted. Thanks to his experience with industry-upsetting businesses in both the pharma and tech spheres (he was an early investor in Rumble, which is seeking to overthrow YouTube’s hegemony), he also understands from the inside what it takes to be subversive in the current socio-political climate. And (like Trump), for a multi-millionaire, he has a pretty decent grasp of the mood of the nation. Ramaswamy’s pitch to the voters, in essence, is: “I’m more Trump than Trump.” It’s a compelling offer.
Take a glance at his campaign website, and his clarity of vision beams through. The site is peppered with words and phrases like ‘TRUTH’ (in caps), ‘SHUT IT DOWN’ (also caps), and ‘America First 2.0’; it’s also peppered with emojis and colloquial language: a page debunking some of the attacks against him prominently features the clown emoji, and is designed to “[Address] the BS, baloney, lies, and planted trash 🗑️ peddled by insecure campaigns, Super PAC puppets, “listless vessels” of the political establishment, and fake establishment media.”
He has a plan to close down whole federal programs like the FBI and the Department of Education, and handy infographics to explain exactly how he would do this.
He has a 10 point list of “Truths”
And he has a 25 point list of “Policy Commitments to Take America First further than Trump,” because “America First didn’t start in 2016. It started in 1776. That requires moral authority, not just vengeance and grievance.”
The list includes: banning under 16s from using social media; cutting all federal funding to cities which fail to tackle violent crime; cutting the number of regulators by more than 75% (the policy is called ‘Reagan 2.0’); holding China accountable for Covid; shutting down the FBI, IRS and other government departments entirely; publishing the Epstein client list; and more.
This is not a political manifesto, it is a Grand Vision for America, presented in an easily accessible format, designed to cut through to people — including those who aren’t all that political. And it’s working. In the Republican Primary debate in August, all the political establishment candidates were lining up to take shots at Ramaswamy, the complete unknown outsider. But the viewers called him as the winner anyway.
Britain’s ‘Managed Decline’
Brexit was supposed to be Britain’s Trump, or, if you prefer, Britain’s 1776 moment.
Months before our American cousins voted for freedom from establishment rule by putting their mark next to Trump’s name — in the face of being called ‘deplorables’ by the ever-delightful Hillary Clinton — we Britons had held a quiet revolution of our own, ignoring accusations of racism, xenophobia, and small-mindedness to vote OUT.
But there the paths diverged. While Trump was duly installed in the White House and had a good four year run at reinserting some sanity into the system, Brexit was challenged in courts, kicked down the road, and finally completely neutered by the managerial class in Whitehall.
Like Trump’s presidential campaign, Brexit was won on the promise of returning Britain to greatness. It was a clear refutation of the ‘managed decline’ that has been at the heart of British policy-making, both foreign and domestic, by nearly all British governments since the end of World War II. And nowhere was the policy more evident than on the question of EU membership.
The creed of managed decline states: Britain’s best days (her days of Empire) lie far behind her. Whereas once we were Great, we should now know and take our place in the world as one of many European partners in a pan-European superstate, run by the Managerial Expert Class in Brussels and Strasbourg. We simply can’t expect to strike out on our own anymore. We must be sensible, orderly, and modest in thought, word, and deed. It is a creed cherished by our civil service (Britain’s own Deep State), and it must be chanted, like a Latin Mass, by any Prime Minister who wants to stay in office.
This is what happens to Prime Ministers who refuse to adhere to the creed:
The photo, arguably the most iconic British political photo ever taken, was snapped as Thatcher left Downing Street for the last time, on November 28, 1990. Just a month earlier she had delivered a defiant speech on the floor of the House of Commons — the speech that sparked the coup to depose her, orchestrated by Brussels loyalist Geoffrey Howe.
“The President of the Commission, Mr. Delors, said at a press conference the other day that he wanted the European Parliament to be the democratic body of the Community, he wanted the Commission to be the Executive and he wanted the Council of Ministers to be the Senate. No. No. No.” Thatcher boomed, to a room fall of jeers and mayhem.
It would be another 26 years before the British people finally also had the opportunity to say “No, No, No,” but say it we did. We wanted out. The British people don’t believe in managed decline, which only makes us poorer and less free. We have no interest in being ruled by a faceless Managerial Class Deep State, whether it’s from Brussels or Strasbourg or Whitehall, or even Berlin or Biden’s Washington.
But unlike the American system, the British system of Parliamentary democracy leaves no space for outsiders to sweep in and reform. There is no equivalent of a Presidential election, and therefore no opportunity for a lone voice to cry out in the wilderness and make their case to the people. The best we can hope for is a politician already within the system willing to stand up to the managerial class. And the truth is, we have had them. They just haven’t succeeded.
In May, the Bruges Group, an anti-EU think tank, published a blog laying it out:
Historically, Theresa May represents the real Conservative party. Not the grass roots, councillors, members and supporters, but the controlling elite. For most of the last hundred years Tory voters have been following a non existent Disraelian dream, a false flag. Churchill and Thatcher were blips in a history of globalist corporate group thinking and contempt for ‘ordinary’ people. Macmillan, Heath, Major, Cameron and May [and now Sunak], represented the patrician management elite. All were marked by a lack of patriotism, disbelief in an independent future and managed decline as a policy choice. Of course, it’s not what they said or talked about, but it’s what they believed. The people saw and heard what they wanted to hear because it was wrapped in the Union flag.
The witch-hunt that led to Johnson’s ousting was based on fear. Fear that he might actually deliver a full Brexit, rather than the tentative one forced by a Remain dominated parliament. His supposed crimes were no worse than those of Starmer or Kinnock, (to mention just two), but orchestrated by the conservative party elite it succeeded. It was vicious and designed to destroy his political future. When members elected Liz Truss, the elite and its blob friends were apoplectic. Truss was Johnson on steroids. A patriotic disciple of low tax, light touch regulation and growth. She not only believed in us, but set out at breakneck speed to alter course and provide us with the benefits of Brexit. What is certain is that the Civil Service, the wider Blob, Bank of England and the party elite made sure she would fail. It can be argued that she went too fast, but the aforementioned did not lift a finger to help.
Thatcher, Johnson and Truss were brought down because they were patriotic. Because they believed in the UK, its people and an independent future with the world as its oyster. Just as Thatcher was replaced by the men in ‘Grey Suits’ so were Johnson/Truss. Rishi Sunak and his henchman Hunt. Both had been rejected in elections. Nevertheless, as the continuity globalist ‘managed decline’ candidates, they were foisted on the country. In a few short months Sunak has abandoned Northern Ireland and bent the knee to the EU. Together with Hunt, he’s raised taxes to a level last seen under Hard Left Healey. Certainly, their actions seem deliberately intended to lead to terminal decline and eventually rejoining the EU. Emboldened, the unholy alliance of Civil Service, Blob and the Tory elite are now targeting Brexiteer ministers. There is no doubt that those who assume the right to rule, to deny democracy, feel comfortable with the EU system. Rule by a Politburo is their preferred option.
And so the same thing has happened to the people as happened to Thatcher: we have been knifed in the back. Migrants still pour across The Channel in small boats, a sort of Reverse-Dunkirk; British fishermen are still being chased off British waters by the French and Spanish; regulations still hobble small businesses and farmers; and worst of all, our politicians are going even harder and faster on their crazy Net Zero crusade than our European neighbours are.
The Bruges Group blog ends with a call to abandon the Conservative party and instead flock to others that do support real democracy and change:
The few Tory MPs who believe in the UK and democracy are busy talking and holding conferences. It’s a waste of time. […] rather than seeking to reform the unreformable we must have the courage to back the new. Both Reform and the SPD are Brexit supporting parties that believe in the UK and its people. Those who respect democracy must have the courage to overthrow the established order. […] Changing the political face of this country is vital if we are to enjoy a democratic future.
That may be so, but are the outsider parties really up to the job?
The Outsiders
Reform and Reclaim — the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of British party politics — are arguably the two outsiders making the loudest noise, the latter thanks to Laurence Fox’s gallant efforts at stirring up dissent by posting pride flag swastikas on Twitter/X (he also gets an honourable mention for rolling cigarettes and smoking them mid-televised debate, a move which lies well within the finest traditions of British upper middle class insolence).
Policy-wise, they’re not all that dissimilar to the upstarts across the pond. Take Ramaswamy’s promise to “Oppose CBDCs: fight all plans for digital currency, a dangerous scheme for government control over our bank accounts;” one of his 25 policy-points in ‘America First 2.0’. It’s there in the Reform manifesto too: “Reform UK will also oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and all attempts to turn Britain into a cashless society,” yet it’s buried within a densely worded manifesto document where voters are unlikely to ever find it. Like Ramaswamy, the party is currently polling around 9%, putting it on level pegging with the Green Party; unlike Ramaswamy, there’s no upward trajectory that looks set to take them higher (so far).
Reclaim does better with its online presence. Its website contains a succinct manifesto:
It also contains a list of well-presented and thought out policy points, including cutting funding to “Organisations, agencies or sporting bodies that prioritise trans rights” over women’s rights; the immediate end to “hiring expensive Diversity and Inclusion officers in government departments and state institutions”; “The College of Policing will be disbanded and its assets sold,” and so forth.
Yet Fox reaped just 2% of the vote in the recent Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, losing his deposit.
Partly this is down to the way British politics works. As I said above, there is no equivalent of the Presidential election, in which each candidate can make a clear case directly to the voter. Partly, however, it’s also down to the failure of the British upstarts to present a Grand Vision for Britain so far.
Too often, Fox, Tice and others get drawn into what they wouldn’t do rather than what they would: we wouldn’t have ULEZ, we wouldn’t go hard on Net Zero, we wouldn’t have police officers dancing around in make-up and high heels. The messaging is reactive. It makes them seem curmudgeonly. And while this is partly an outcome of being invited onto the news channels to talk about those issues, it’s also down to a lack of nous when it comes to the use of social media.
Fox has a platform on X. Why isn’t he using it to present an exciting vision of what Britain could be under his leadership? He also — like Trump and Ramaswamy — has personal wealth and private connections. Why isn’t he using some of his money to hire American videographers to make him some snazzy presentations?
The truth is, like Britain’s managerial class, Britain’s political outsiders have also succumbed to the mantra of ‘managed decline’. They have bought into the lie that a small party can never crack open the gates and storm Parliament. And yes, I know the arguments — First Past the Post makes it difficult; American politics has more money in it, allowing American politicians to stage larger campaigns; British people aren’t really up for razzmatazz. But is getting a majority in Parliament really any more difficult than getting a majority in the Electoral College? Is it really beyond British political figures to raise money in the digital age? Are British people really so complacent?
It could be done. It would take a strong figure with a clear vision, but it is possible to do what Trump and Ramaswamy have done: go on podcasts, raise a profile, raise funds, get people fired up, present a Grand Vision. Britain’s problem isn’t first past the post or lack of money, it’s a lack of any serious people with wealth, sufficient willpower, and a good team of people surrounding them who believe it can be done.
The upshot is this: For all the problems America currently faces, it at least has the potential to vote its way back out of them. In Trump and Ramaswamy, We The People have two potential champions who can defeat the Deep State and implement real, meaningful change for the better.
Compare and contrast with the UK, where the citizens of London are already resorting to criminal damage — with the full, public support of senior MPs — to fight draconian government over-reach (and yes, smashing up ULEZ cameras is criminal damage of public property, no matter how illegal Khan’s money-grabbing Low Emission’s Zone is). I’m told that some comedian on the radio joked about Home Secretary “Suella Braverman’s plan to criminalise everyone in the country”. Ha ha. That is what they’re doing, though: making criminals out of ordinary citizens who want nothing more than to be left alone to make a living for themselves and their families. Good things don’t happen next, when a government does that. If we can’t vote our way out of it, it’ll only get worse from here.
Ramaswamy belongs in the showmanship tradition of P T Barnum , as does Donald Trump. Barnum was of course wrong - there are thousands of suckers born every minute.
This site describes what Vivek and the Republications will do the common man when/if they gain the power to do so http://www.project2025.org
As for the points of his manifesto the Black Adder summed up its contents with his immortal words - Utter Crapp!
Meanwhile if you really do your homework you will find that the old political and cultural order (such as it was) is now well and truly dead. The appearance of the orange-haired monstrosity is in-your face proof of such.
This is the "ground zero" moment of human history, but not merely referring to an empty pit in New York. The whole world is at ground zero now. The entire basis for positive human civilization has been totally destroyed.
The modern everyman of consumer society is a propagandized individual, participating in a "culture" of illusions and, effectively, self-destructing.
At present, a "culture" of total war, a "culture" of death is ruling, while the people are engrossed in mindless consumerism and thus being stupefied.
The entire pattern and trend of current human culture and everything relating to the current domain of whats-in-it-for-me consumer politics, social egoity, competitive social systems, tribalistic national systems, un-regulated economics, and conventional religiosity is about death.
I think UK politicians don't have the imagination for anything better. Our revolution happened about 700 years ago. There has not been a political shift since that shook the country to it's core. Everything since has been drip, drip.
All who seek to change things on a political level at present have not come from working or lower middle class. They have never engaged or understood the common man. Their vision is only based on political changes. Brexit is the exception. If change and an uprising didn't happen in 2016 I fear no politician has the strength of mind to achieve it. They are all still playing in parliament's sandpit.