February 14, 2025
Press Release: From the Jefferson County Democratic Committee
On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, the Jefferson County Democratic Committee (JeffDems) held a well-attended discussion group at its local headquarters located on West Mahoning St. in downtown Punxsutawney. The group was led by John Huot, JeffDem’s Chair, with notes recorded by JeffDem’s Secretary John Adduci. At this inaugural discussion group, a PowerPoint program, narrated by Patrick Fleckenstein, entitled, “Billionaires & the Emerging Oligarchy” detailed a collection of just some of the donors and Cabinet picks of the new Administration. This group of billionaires have supported the election campaign of the sitting President and are now, for the most part, entrenched in the day-to-day running of the Federal Government.
The questions asked were:
Q. What do they want?
Q. How do we stop or limit them?
What they want is power (i.e. control), greater wealth, and with no restrictions or accountability.
They can be stopped and/or limited by the political power of the people.
Identified in this gaggle of billionaires that is busy taking over the democratic processes of the Federal Government is, first of all, Elon Musk. Most assuredly, this man is in the pursuit of the aforementioned power and wealth, with no restrictions and no accountability. His use of recent high school and college graduates to invade the privacy of all Americans, and without regard to the consequences, is dismantling programs that the citizens of our country have depended on for generations. His $250m contribution to PACs supporting the Trump campaign, helped to swing the election in his direction. It was noted that Musk is unelected, unvetted, and unhindered in the pursuit of destroying democracy in the USA. It was pointed out that his huge presence in, and dependence upon, the US government for much of his business is a recipe for graft and fraud.
Another key figure in the power structure of the current Administration is billionaire Peter Thiel, a supporter of the current President but is most notably recognized as the patron of the current Vice President, J. D. Vance. Vance was employed by Thiel after graduating from college and Thiel was his major backer in Vance’s successful run for the Senate.
The group discussed some of the other Cabinet appointees, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, SBA Secretary Kelly Loeffler, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, to name a few. Brief bios of these candidates were presented and a review of what qualifications these persons brought to the table. Linda McMahon for the Education appointment, appears to be the most unqualified person to fill that post. Also noted, that in addition to the prominent billionaires mentioned, this group and the Administration have seen the CEOs of Meta, Amazon, and Apple join the power/wealth grab. Identified also were the top 10 billionaire donors to the Trump candidacy.
In further discussion, the “Road to Oligarchy” was mapped out. An Oligarchy exists when, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, “… a government is run by a small group of very powerful people.” The paving stones of that road were identified as:
1. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission – Supreme Court Decision of 2010
2. The 2016 Election of a Billionaire to the Presidency
3. The “Packing” of the Supreme Court
4. Attacks on the “Deep State”
5. Attacks on the Free Press
6. Presidential Immunity
7. Project 2025 & Billionaire Donors
8. The 2025 Cabinet
The Citizens United decision took away restrictions on corporations, allowing unlimited contributions to campaigns. In essence, the Court established that individuals and corporations were co-equal persons.
The 2016 Election of a Billionaire to the Presidency was characterized by disregard for the law, outright graft, tax breaks for billionaires, and tariffs for the people.
The Packing of the Supreme Court with conservative judges led to disastrous decisions for Americans. In spite of testifying before the Senate that they would honor precedent, the most recently appointed Justices eagerly overturned important precedent that has negatively impacted Americans.
The Presidential Immunity decision in 2024 has given the current President apparent freedom from accountability, with virtually no constraints.
The illusion of a “Deep State” has led to sinister attacks on the institutions and departments of the US Government, creating distrust and a lack of confidence in the government.
Similarly, the attacks on the Free Press and the constant hammering of it as “Fake News,” has blurred the line between truth and falsehood.
Project 2025, backed by the billionaires, is the blueprint by which American Democracy will be destroyed and replaced by an Oligarchy.
The 2025 Cabinet, populated by “yes” men and women, is the mechanism by which Project 2025 will be implemented. The Cabinet is a collection of underqualified and unqualified persons, loyal to Donald Trump and not to the Constitution of the United States.
The discussion group concluded that the consolidation of power into the hands of the “few,” for the benefit of the “few,” is an untenable situation. The Constitution, which begins with the words, “We the People…” is being ransacked and trashed by the current Administration. It was aptly pointed out by one of the members present that in the words of an anonymous poet that it is the citizen that is “Monarch of All” by the power of the polls. It was agreed at the gathering that many of the voters in November of 2024 were victims of a massive “bait and switch” pitch. Democratic canvassers in the Fall heard time and time again that people would vote for Trump because he would bring down prices. The actions thus far, of raising tariffs, extending tax relief to the wealthy, bullying the Fed for lower interest rates, imperialistically expanding the geographic size of the US, making enemies of friends, and decapitating and destroying government agencies that are designed to protect the most vulnerable, all lead to higher costs across the board, both socially and financially. Alarmingly, the “few” are leading the “many” down a destructive path that leads to the imminent obliteration of our Democracy.
Respectfully submitted,
John Adduci, Secretary, Jefferson County Democratic Committee
