Electoral Dysfunction

I just love the fact that politicians are frantically trying to define a “stance” in anticipation of the fall elections. Problem is, every time one pol thinks he or she has a stance, someone on the other side shifts, and then they go back to square one. It's like what happens along the line of scrimmage just before the snap. Shift, shift, dart, jostle, false start, etc. Look at Boehner, for instance – he's for tax cuts, which really means for leaving the tax rates alone, but he can live without some of them as long as he gets others, and... which demographic is he most afraid of? Which demographic is Obama most afraid of, for that matter? He keeps sweet-talking the middle class, which he obviously despises, while at the same time doing everything in his power to exterminate it. And the proletariat? They've apparently been left behind in the dust. For one thing, they don't vote – at least not in the same numbers as the middles. And, guess what, there are still more middle class people in this country than any other single group. So Obama has to steel himself, control his urge to become violently ill, and address a bunch of soccer moms and back-yard-BBQ dads on the lawn of some tacky suburban house outside Washington, DC. Oh, the humiliation! Is this the price one pays for (alleged) power? I think Nelson Rockefeller had an easier time scarfing down Coney Island hot dogs and Broadway blintzes than Obama has talking to the bourgeoisie.

Plus, Obama has already left his hard-core leftist supporters behind in his zeal to be a good and faithful servant to the powers that be (Wall Street and the international financial cartel) – and some of them have even taken notice! But what can they do? And the “tea partiers” know that he is about as good for them as a case of dengue fever... so all he has left, really, is the traditional “rainbow coalition” of tax receivers, rent seekers, and race hustlers – and even they aren't showing all that much enthusiasm. For one thing, the widespread expectation was that the minute Obama got into office, he would cut them all a fat check and start providing free medical care. Yeah, that's really what a lot of them thought! But things didn't quite work out that way. First he had to bail out the banks, big business, and the financial sector... and make sure that all those golden parachutes stayed golden, and didn't turn to lead. And he did this with remarkable success, by the way... which is why Wall Street is strangely silent going into this election, as to whom they might prefer as a candidate, or which party they might favor. Small business owners, of course, see Obama & Co. as a plague like unto the Huns, and rightly so. But you see, their problem is that (1) they're members of the bourgeoisie; (2) they're not organized into an effective lobby or pressure group; (3) they're not used to bribing or blackmailing politicians, the way the big boys are; (4) they don't have the international connections; (5) they tend to be, and vote, “conservative”; and – worst of all – (6) they represent traditional American values, as opposed to state socialism or collectivism. All of which adds up to their having a very large target painted on them. You see, they are, in this day and age, an anachronism – a holdover from an earlier time. Nowadays, the future lies in being a member of one of two classes – the serf class or the controller class. A serf is secure because – at least so far – he is needed as either labor, cannon fodder, or a member of a victim group. A member of the controller class is secure because... well, because they're in charge, OK? But the middle class is a blight on the controllers' otherwise pure view of the world – which is why they have to be brought to heel, demoralized, and ultimately eliminated. And this is why the “tea parties” have caused such consternation among the ruling elite and their media servants – because the bourgeoisie are not going gentle into that good night (of oblivion); rather, they are raging against the dying of liberty. And their rage, as I have pointed out, is marked with futility, since they at the same time hold onto impossible dreams of empire and American exceptionalism – and you cannot have those without also tolerating overpowering and intimidating government at all levels. So their protestations are doomed to defeat – even if they had any residual power, which they don't. (I hope I don't need to mention that the “power of the ballot box”, so-called, has long since been neutralized by the Regime. No matter who you're voting for, you're always voting for their candidate.)

And guess what, even Democrat programs that were supposed to win over “the people” aren't all that popular – starting with ObamaCare. The public schools are still an intractable disaster, despite “No Child Left Behind”, which was a Bush program anyway, so it's highly suspect... and nothing that might really help the working classes is up for consideration. The unions form an aristocracy of sorts, but they are a small minority of the work force. Right now we're in a state of suspense waiting for one or both of the inevitable disasters to occur – massive inflation and more massive taxation. But so far the powers that be are holding off, waiting until the American people and the American economy are firmly in their grip – then it will be time to reap the grim harvest. Every dollar (or yuan, whatever) that the administration borrows becomes part of a very large hammer aimed at the heads of all Americans – except those who are in on the game, of course. They are above it all... and their assaults on the rest of us could be seen as treason, except for the fact that the government is in on it. “If treason prosper, none dare call it treason” -- this should be the official motto of the combined Republican and Democratic parties. But that would require much more honesty than they possess.

And speaking of the Republicans, they think they're going to ride to victory in November based on their hard-hitting critiques of Obama & Co. Problem is – Obama is at least half right when he says that he inherited all his problems from the Bush administration. He did inherit most of them, and has created a few more out of thin air... and he has certainly done nothing to alleviate the ones he inherited... but none of that matters, as long as you can put the right person or people on the blame line. And the Republicans' argument starts to wear a bit thin based not only on this but on the fact they they continue to tacitly support the twin wars, which are the single biggest detractor from our prosperity and fiscal sanity. So really, they have no good arguments for overthrowing Obama & Co. and re-installing themselves – because nothing would change, except maybe for the increased possibility that we would start a war with Iran, and that's all we need at this point. It seems that the Republicans' evil has finally overtaken their stupidity... even though their stupidity is still a major driving force in everything they say and do. The Democrats are at least master politicians – masters of deception, propaganda, and doling out verbal and conceptual whiplash. Their one disadvantage is that they are constantly forced to act in direct contradiction to their “traditional” liberal values – but I guess when you're a relativist to the core, that sort of thing doesn't cause as much pain as it might to someone with real principles.

So the run-up to the elections is characterized by a flagrant and scandalous show of spin-doctoring, flip-flopping, and general inanity. Everything in Washington suddenly has to be done either before the elections, just in time for the elections, or put off until after the elections. And yet this transparent power-at-any-price choreography doesn't seem to scandalize the general public in the least; they have come to expect it, and, in fact, the smart ones try to take advantage of it. And each faction hopes that they will be the ones to tip the balance – which means that they will be “owed” something by whoever wins. Again, all politics, no principle. The sad truth is, even if both houses of Congress go over to the Republicans, nothing significant is going to change, since the two parties long since agreed to stop differing on substantive issues, and fight all their bogus battles at the margins, over trivia. The two-party system has become a one-party system, and Job One for everybody is keeping it that way. Even the “tea parties”, that seem to have everyone so upset, have been fatally compromised by their zeal for the American Empire... and there is no one else out there who is rocking the boat. So this election, despite all the heated rhetoric, is fated to be an exercise in blandness and inanity, no matter how it comes out. And when it finally dawns on people that our situation is truly hopeless, they will lose interest in politics altogether – which is exactly what those in charge want.