One thing that both parties have in common in this primary season is the fact that there's a sharp divide between "We, the People" populism, and the rich and powerful Washington establishment.
On the Republican side, Donald Trump is leading the race by running on a populist platform based on the fact that he's not beholden to the billionaires or lobbyists, and that he's never been part of the political establishment.
And during the
Democratic debate, Bernie Sanders was asked what he thought about the fact that Hillary Clinton has so many endorsements from elected Democrats across the country, and even in Vermont.
If there's one person who exemplifies why Hillary Clinton and her campaign are part of the establishment though, it's her campaign's chief financial officer, Gary Gensler.
Just to be clear, this fight between "Establishment politicians" and "Anti-establishment politicians" is nothing new in American politics.
In fact, it's a fight that's literally as old as the country itself, going all the way back to Thomas Jefferson and his Anti-Federalists fighting with the Federalists, led by John Adams.
The fight basically came down to Thomas Jefferson arguing that "We, The People" should control our own destiny, and John Adams arguing that the "rabble" could not be trusted to govern ourselves.
The Federalists supported a strong federal government that was run by the wealthy, and one that could create a national bank to grant benefits to favored businesses.
On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson worked hard to amend our Constitution with a "Bill Of Rights" that would explicitly state the natural rights of the nations' new citizens.
Jefferson wrote to Francis Hopkinson and explicitly laid out what he saw as the shortcomings of the Constitution on March 13, 1789: "I am not a federalist… What I disapproved from the first moment also, was the want of a bill of rights, to guard liberty against the legislative as well as the executive branches of the government; that is to say, to secure freedom in religion, freedom of the press, freedom from monopolies, freedom from unlawful imprisonment, freedom from a permanent military, and a trial by jury, in all cases determinable by the laws of the land.".
Most of those freedoms were eventually guaranteed on December 15, 1791 when the Bill of Rights was ratified.
But Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and the Federalists fought hard to keep one of those rights from being guaranteed: "Freedom from monopolies in commerce".
That omission represents a longstanding divide in American politics between the vested interests of the rich and powerful aristocrats - and Jefferson's vision of a more egalitarian democratic Republic elected directly by "We, the People".
And in many ways, that omission represents the biggest difference between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.
Thom Hartmann Radio Program
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