German Laments "Decline of American Politics"

In an opinion piece for the English language online edition of Der Spiegel, Markus Feldenkirchen writes that, thanks to the Republican Party, democracy in the United States is at an all time low.

First of all, I'd like point out to Herr Feldenkirchen that the U.S. is not now, nor has it ever been, a democracy. The nation is a representative republic. There may be certain democratic aspects to the country; the people do have a limited say in the laws that are passed, but it is the U.S. Constitution that has the final say, not the majority of the people.

Secondly, it is ironic that a German publication would criticize anything the Republicans are doing considering Germany's less than perfect political history. Trump may very well be a Vulgarian and a closet Liberal, but he is certainly no Adolf Hitler.

Herr Feldenkirchen blames the Republican Party for "a decline in values such as decency, honesty, tolerance and fairness". "Decency"? Has Feldenkirchen never heard of Bill Clinton? "Honesty"? Likewise, Feldenkirchen doesn't seem to know very much about Hillary Clinton either.

Feldenkirchen believes Republicans "argue for educational policies that exclude the non-privileged, instead pushing them towards stultification and barbarization". It has been the GOP which has fought hardest for parental choice in education, calling for a voucher program that would help the non-privileged get away from the under preforming public schools and allow them to send their children to more successful private schools.

And where would any criticism of Republicans be without mentioning the Koch brothers and their money, while ignoring the Democrat's love affair with George Soros, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.

Feldenkirchen goes on to call the Tea Party movement "radical and destructive". Evidently, the writer knows next to nothing about the folks supporting the Tea Party. "Radical and Destructive"? Feldenkirchen needs to research Bill Ayers, Black Lives Matter, and the anti-Trump rioters who smashed a window on at least one police cruiser, punctured the tires of a police sport utility vehicle, and at one point tried to flip a police car outside an Orange County amphitheater where Donald Trump was holding a rally.

I've made a point of not sticking my nose into Philippine politics because I don't really know enough about the recent political candidates to hold a qualified opinion. Herr Feldenkirchen should follow my lead when judging politics in the United States.