Israel Is a Fractured Country, the U.S. May Be Too

By Alan Singer 

The United States and Israel just completed a round of elections which illustrate some of the differences between a parliamentary and presidential system and also the rough road ahead facing both countries. In both Israel and the United States the heads of government whose parties lost are already crying foul and that the elections were somehow stolen.

In the United States the President is elected separately from the legislative branch, which means despite the enormous Democratic Party victories in the House of Representatives and the Senate a politically wounded yet powerful Donald Trump remains in office for the next two years. After saying he was prepared to work with the opposition party, his first action was to appoint a rightwing loyalist with an extreme MAGA record as his Chief of Staff. The weaponized Trump Justice Department is threatening to bring criminal charges against Congressional Democrats who pursue “aggressive” investigations of the Trump administration.

In addition, Trump increasingly appears to fluctuate between distraction and intense anger, blaming everyone else for the Democratic Party blue wave in former Republican Party strongholds. Just before and after election day his main attention appeared to be on his ballroom, the proposed Arch de Trump for Washington DC, and a major upgrade to the DC municipal golf course and not on pressing problems facing Americans. Always egotistical, self-involved, and unpredictable, there is increasing concern about Trump’s mental decline among both professionals and the general public.

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Source: Daily Kos

Blogs, tweets, essays, interviews, and e-blasts present Dr. Singer’s views and not those of Hofstra University.