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Most oppositional reaction to the 2016 election, defines President Donald Trump as a threat to U.S. democracy---when he's actually as a result of democracy already under siege for some time. The “Russia meddled with the 2016 election” obsessionis (among other things) an evasion of the home-grown assaultsto fair elections and real representation of everyday Americans.
 
Economic elites aspire returning the U.S. to it's anti-democratic roots: with only white, male property-owners able to vote, George Washington was elected by just 6% of the population The property-ownership requirement didn't end until 1856. Not only Black people were denied voting rights (until the 1965 Voting Rights Act), many other groups were,too: all women, Asians, Mexicans, Native-Americans. This isn't ancient history either: in 2000, a federal court decided that 4.1 million residents of U.S. colonies—Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and U.S. Virgin Islands--- can not vote for president and have no representation in Congress.
 
In 1787 the U.S. Constitution gave power to the states to regulate voting, which continues to contradict the “greatest democracy on Earth” myth. In some states (primarily former Confederacy states), people with a felony lose their voting rights forever. Since the Supreme Court's 2013 Shelby decision, an upsurge of states are enacting restrictions on voting rights. (See time-line: https://a.s.kqed.net/pdf/education/digitalmedia/us-voting-rights-timeline.pdf
 
Russia didn't undermine Americans' voting rights. Those that want to insure Big Business as usual did.
 
Pundits repeat (without evidence) that Russia “hacked” 2016 election, while avoiding any investigation into disturbing “irregularities” since the 2000 election: mass “purging” voter rolls, “provisional ballots” (that never get counted) and more. See https://www.thenation.com/article/how-the-2000-election-in-florida-led-to-a-new-wave-of-voter-disenfranchisement/
 
Rather than instigate a new Cold War, why not ask how many voters were blocked by Republican-initiated voter suppression techniques? Voter ID laws, closing polls at the last minute, cuts to early voting and hackable machines owned by Republican companies, all target primarily Black, Latino and young voters—beginning in 2000. Why hasn't the Democratic Party made opposing21st century Jim Crow undercover disenfranchisement a priority? Perhaps, the Democratic National Committee undermining Bernie Sanders' campaign hints at an answer. Julian Assange denies that Russia was the source of documents that exposed DNC tactics against Sanders and Hillary Clinton's speeches to Wall Street, published by Wikileaks. Who does it serve if we care more about the messenger than the message?
 
 
In no way am I minimizing Trump's impact. Further empowerment of corporate economic elites is obvious in his Cabinet picks. In every case, undermining or outright gutting government agencies will betray the public interestto benefit a minority. The very wealthy, extractive industries like Big Oil, corporations ambitious to become monopolies or to privatize public services and the ever-expanding surveillance/incarceration state at home and militarism abroad, all hope to cash in on a Trump presidency.
 
But, Trump didn't create this.
 
Since the1972 Powell Memo, corporations are waging an all-out assault on labor unions, rolling back civil rights and taking on the growing power of the environmental movement. Since 1985, the Democratic Leadership Council—who's stated goal was to ”make the Democratic Party more business-friendly”, both the Republican and Democratic Parties have done less and less to rein in corporate political and economic power.See the Powell Memo see: http://billmoyers.com/content/the-powell-memo-a-call-to-arms-for-corporations/
 
Big Money floods into political campaigns from top to bottom, distorting who can afford to run, what issues are debated and what laws get passed—all reinforced by the Supreme Court ruling Citizens United. Even local school board races are beginning to be funded by for-profit 'education' companies! The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) exemplifies the sophisticated strategies special interest lobbyists use to write bills that politicians pass. See www.alecexposed.org
 
Russia has nothing to do with any of this: what Thomas Jefferson called “economic aristocrats” do.
 
After the 2008-9 economic meltdown ,Occupy Wall Street railed against corporate domination. Democratic big city mayors used police to crush Occupy encampments, but, the consciousness it raised remains--- spreadingin the Bernie Sanders campaign for the Democratic Party nomination.
 
So, how could a lifelong member of the 1%---known for shadowy loans and not paying workers-- be in the White House?
 
Some economically desperate white working-class people rolled the dice, saying that “because Trump is already rich, he can't be bought.” Post-election research is revealing a majority of white Trump supporters have average annual incomes of $72,000. (Median income is $41,000). It wasn't deprivation—but, reasserting domination in politics and culture that motivated many Trump voters.
 
Since the 1970s, union membership plunged from 30% to around 10%---isolating working people of all colors from a powerful framework of solidarity, resistance and one another. Another obstacle to organizing is the capitalist value of competition over co-operation, promotingan “all against all” skirmish for scraps. People of color, women and immigrants are scapegoated as “taking (white) men's jobs” while CEOs, Wall Street and the politicians that serve them were ignored by Trump voters.
 
In contrast, $15 Now! challenges corporations like Wal-Mart and city councils, for workers to get a long-overdue raise. Too often a business-friendly Democratic Party fails to stand with even this basic demand, while Republicans continue their virulent attacks on any rights for workers at all: it's the “good cop” /“bad cop” , (passive Democrats/actively viscous Republicans) way the two corporate parties operate to serve their corporate sponsors.
 
More of us are seeing through this nonsense.
 
Democratic Party leaders celebratedRepublicans'failure to repeal “Obamacare”, but, they don't deserve credit. It's everyday people whoacted, overwhelming members of Congress with phone calls, letters and emails. Grassroots communities went to Town Halls, confrontingpoliticians with health care realities. For details of Republicans' (likely to be resurrected) “ Obamacare repeal, see https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/03/ahca-economics/519498/
 
While Obama's ACA has serious flaws, it's provided fertile soil for the idea of “health care is a human right” to grow. The movement for Single-Payer Universal Health Care (like every other Western industrialized nation already has) is seeing defeat of Trump-Ryan Care as a springboard to push forward in a bigger way.
 
Resistance is what real democracy looks like.
 
As far back as the 1840s with Alexis de Tocqueville's “Democracy In America”, observed that materialism defines American values. To be blunt, anation who's economy was based on slavery, who saw Black human beings as property that existed onlyto create wealth for othersshows a country that worships wealth above any other value----a value system that remains far more in place than many progressives recognize.
 
Any “Russia connection” to Trump and his campaign seems to have included some fake news (a Trump specialty) but, is likely mostly about business deals, reflecting conflicts of interest as president Trump still hasn't resolved---and some supporters still claim“don't matter”. But, as millions of Americans file their tax returns it's overdue to finally see Donald Trump's.