Fighting the Oligarchy

Thousands of people gathered in the epicenter of Denver, Colorado on a cloudy Friday afternoon, anxiously waiting to hear a speech centered on how we can fight against the new administration taking shape in Washington D.C. A speech delivered by some of the few politicians brave enough to speak on it; the ageless Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and his young protégé, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Their message was loud and clear for anyone willing to listen: we must come together and organize to fight back against the oligarchy forming at our highest levels of government. Their words represented a rallying cry for the restless who are fed are up with watching the wrecking ball that is Elon Musk careening from one government agency to the next. It was a rally to let the people voice their frustration and anger, while listening to a message that still offers hope, even in these bleak and dismal days.

The message seemed to resonate, as the crowd of 34,000 interjected frequently with a chorus of cheers and raucous applause at any mention of fighting back. They also wasted no time to show their displeasure at the mention of Trump or Musk, as the boos came down even faster and louder than the cheers. What was clear is that these people felt unheard, unseen, and unrepresented by the politicians and their “advisors” in Washington. The shear anger and frustration in the crowd was palpable, feeding off the energy disseminating from the stage at the center. Bernie and AOC’s words brought these people together, if only for an afternoon, to share a common cause; we the citizens of America, will not back down and fold in the face of oppression by the billionaire class.

Among the crowd were people from all walks of life; some of whom you might not have thought would be at a Bernie/AOC rally had you judged them by their looks. From older white men in trucker hats to young women with dyed hair and everyone in between, demographics across America seemed to be represented quite well. Despite this demographic diversity the feeling was mutual throughout the audience, a disgust with the state of the government and a longing for anybody to come long and provide some sense of hope; that day it was Bernie and AOC. What was also apparent was the deep disappointment at the inaction of the current leaders of the democrat party, notably Chuck Schumer. Bernie has no love left for the democrat establishment and that sentiment seemed to be reflected by his audience at magnitude. These people are desperate for a real leader who can offer something more than taking the high road as the opposition continually goes lower. They want a fighter, and that is exactly why they came out to rally for Bernie and AOC.

Senator Sanders made a note to mention that when he had started warning of an oligarchy forming in America in 2016 not many people understood what he meant. Well now that we have the most blatantly corrupt oligarchy taking shape in Washington people seem to understand what he means just fine. He knew the writing was on the wall after the Supreme Court decision came down in Citizens United of 2010. That decision opened the door for billionaires to flood our elections with their wealth and influence by funneling it through their companies and political action committees. Fast forward to 2024 and we all saw the fruits of that decision come to bear; the richest man to ever live on this Earth poured over $250 million dollars of his own personal wealth into electing his preferred candidate. He even enticed voters by offering million-dollar lottery style sweepstakes in swing states. These actions are the anti- thesis of democracy. Democracy by definition is the will of the people; where all people are given equal say regardless of wealth or social status.

One stark difference is that most oligarchs operate in the shadows behind their puppet politicians, so as not to draw attention themselves. Here in America it is quite the opposite, this oligarchy has many faces, all seeming to have a knack for finding the spotlight. Elon Musk is of course the largest presence of them all, but that should not discount how much of a robber baron circus the President’s cabinet has become. Trump appointed 13 individual billionaires to his cabinet or high level roles in the administration. I’d list them here, but to give the details of each of these corrupt individuals and how they amassed their vast wealth would take longer than I have the stomach for. To cut it short, most of these people came from wealthy and influential families with ties to Trump going back decades, and if merit was measured in money donated to Trump’s campaign, then by all means these people have a lot of so called “merit.”

Of course, an oligarchy would not be truly complete without the scratching of each other’s backs, and that seems to be just getting started. Already Trump has hosted a Tesla commercial at the White House while Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has been appearing on CNBC to tell their viewers to buy Tesla’s stock. Lutnick’s old firm, Cantor Fitzgerald which is now run by his 27-year-old son, has raised their price target for Tesla’s stock to an unattainable level, all in the face of sagging sales and an avalanche of bad publicity. Yet this does not even begin to scratch the surface of the corruption taking place at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue. Now there are whispers that Trump is looking to redirect NASA funding to private space exploration companies, and it just so happens that Elon Musk and fellow inauguration attendee Jeff Bezos have their own space exploration companies that would stand to benefit. The simple truth is that DOGE is not about making the government more efficient, but rather finding ways to redirect tax dollars to line the pockets of the richest men on Earth and their friends.

The conflicts of interest and blatantly corrupt funneling of money to the billionaire donor class is only going to get worse as the courts attempt to keep up. Trump’s crypto coin scams, partnerships with shady businessmen, and pardons of violent criminals, serial

fraudsters, and liars provide all the indication we need to know who he is really fighting for. The individual offenses would again take too long to list, as new conflicts of interest and corrupt practices seem to be coming to light every week, but we cannot look away and ignore it no matter how tempting that may be, we must pay attention and call it out when we see it, and do everything we can to stop our country from sliding further into the grip of the few.

Back in Denver, through the noise of cheers and in the midst of a fiery speech, AOC called out to the crowd to make a plea; telling the thousands of attendees to turn to the person next to them and take a moment to introduce themselves to someone they did not know before the rally. While the exercise was a little awkward and felt a bit like a first day of school ice breaker, the point she was making was clear. We cannot fight this oligarchy alone; we must come together as a community to make real change happen, from the ground up. That is exactly what we have been doing here at Kitchen Table, giving like minded people a place to gather and discuss ways we can drive change at a local level. As we grow and get more involved our impact will be even greater, and that is the type of action I think AOC was referring to in her speech. It is that kind of activism that makes a real difference, grassroots movements started by the people for the good of all people. That is why we are committed to continue doing the work, and keeping up the fight against the oligarchy.

Alexander Johansson

*Note: The opinions contained in this article are the author’s alone and do not represent the

group as a whole.