“The US has no functional president and has not had one for months, and it’s barely noticeable and barely matters because there’s a permanent unelected machine that runs the government.” - Glenn Greenwald
At least if we vote third party, we will know how many we are, and, depending on the numbers, why which part of the duopoly did not get our votes. It’s valuable for that reason alone.
My last “third party” vote was for Nader in 2000. I should have quit voting then instead of waiting until 2016. Some of us slower thinkers need more time, I guess.
John, I campaigned hard for Nader/LaDuke and lost friends because of it..."stealing" votes and all that. When I would ask, "Would you vote for him?" Answer, "Of course, but he can't win!" The stupidity of people is astounding.
I've voted for Nader every time since then (with the exception of being snookered by Obama in 2008; no more), and will continue until he's ill or dead. Possibly the most articulate and knowledgeable I've ever seen on the Left.
Voting third-party and write-ins sends messages, and those messages can certainly have psychological impact if they grow over time. The only truly "wasted votes" are those swallowed up in the sea of drone-voting for "lesser evil" candidates, or completely opting out, which only makes protest invisible. Nobody cares about how low a turnout is; it has no impact either within or outside the system.
I also voted for Nader…. & would do it again! Are vote did matter then ..the corporate machine didn’t have a full grip on our government yet..& the BS “laws” state by state against 3rd parties were not in place at that time.. if more people would have realized they actually did have the power (at that time) we could have possibly prevented Citizens United & our current kangaroo court !
our votes have not mattered for a very long time. Much longer than most people seem to realize. I doubt they have mattered much since the end of the second war for sure, and possibly before that.
They don't matter precisely because people do not vote their conscience. They listen to Big Brother, and vote instead for the "lesser evil" "who can win".
It doesn't matter if people vote according to their conscience. That does not change the fact that the entire system is not being run by who we see. Even if the very best person got voted in, they would never be allowed to make real, progressive changes that would benefit the people. They would be made to look corrupt and probably would be corrupt in a fairly short time.
We have several 3rd parties, any one of which is probably a HUGE improvement over the duopoly. If you vote for one, your vote will most likely get electronically "flipped" to whichever duopolist Those In Charge of Vote-Flipping prefer. That has been reality since 2000 inclusive, AT LEAST. This is how the duopoly has remained in power and, at the same time, "proved" that the numbers in favor of 3rd parties are low. But, Those In Charge CARE VERY MUCH about ppl voting, hence all the propaganda out there suggesting that "ppl are so stupid they vote against their own best interests," "bad guys only get elected if YOU don't vote hard enough," etc. etc. No. The "winners" will look absurd claiming they "got a mandate from the voters" when the voter turnout is only 10%, & they know it. The fraudsters NEED VOTERS' PARTICIPATION in order to give their election legitimacy in the eyes of the public/world.
>>"your vote will most likely get electronically "flipped" to whichever duopolist Those In Charge of Vote-Flipping prefer."
You do realize the absurdity of your statement right? (though I'm guessing, probably not). You have heard about the FOX lawsuit costing them $750 million right? Or maybe you prefer living in your delusional, conspiracy laden world.
Personally it seems not to matter whether US holds an election or not..............it's on a downward spiral. The only real manufacturing is weapons of war which seem unable to keep up with other countries.
Similar problem here in France............no-one with any vision. We just voted and the vote has been suppressed.
Hard to blame her. With WEF Boy Macron setting the country everything in France on fire, you'd almost think his name was Starmer. And I'm American! We are experts at national self immolation.
Feral. YOU continually 'ad finitum' try so hard to embarrass Europe.
What are you going to say when the French abolish the 5th Republic?
As it is now (here in France) we CAN abolish the 5th Republic while you sit on your arses in the USA and tell the world that YOU cannot change your own constitution?
We do have a way in France BUT you stick to your own embarrassing constitution in the USA
Required: A revolution of the viscera -- down deep to the heart and the guts such as continued to morph in me, yesterday, as I read Joe Sacco's "Footnotes in Gaza", which drove home viscerally how superficial the daily body count seems when the deep psychic scars of brutalized individual Palestinians are fleshed out by Sacco's brilliant drawings/prose. Makes one more fully appreciate how deeply criminal is one's own government in facilitating such prolonged and ongoing misery. To then be concerned about D or R, especially when they so freely trade war mongers like over-the-hill athletes becomes a ludicrous waste of energy. Reflecting the society at-large, the US government is corrupt at its core-value level and ain't no vote for no savior gonna change that nohow.
I often wonder how much the president has to say. I think close to nothing. All of them start with great promises, but they have to cope with the other politicians, who will most likely vote the good intentions away. I remember Trump saying early on in presidency that he was going to forbid commercials for prescription drugs, and thought it went into law - but no, it is nowhere to be found. He repeats the promise, but probably can't do a thing about it. Other people hold the strings and the politicians do as they are told. Bought, bribed, threatened, or else.
I was only commenting on the construction of JennyStokes' sentence that lumps all statements into one confusing sentence without clarifying what each statement refers to.
The same that has always ruled the US - the Empire Managers, oligarchs, power elite. Nothing has really changed - nothing is new. What's new is that more poeple are finding out that which has always been.
chokaski on the prowl, Jenny, watch your back. Better yet, have a seat and prepare to be schooled. chokaski strict, chokaski know, chokaski ready, chokaski willing. hold on to you knickers folks.
1. Greenwald call a spade a spade - "permanent unelected machine" is Deep State™
2. For would-be voters to realize they sully themselves by participating in the corrupt system, no matter how they vote and no matter what they think they're doing.
I used to think that way because I’ve know it’s a novel Monarchy for years but you don’t want to potentially end with a deranged narcissist racist deranged Hitler in control. Talk about tyranny! I have ‘brown’ family I cherish! Who own a business!
Better vote & vote Blue, at least, for your family. Even the Royal’s hate Trump. So if the lever is tipped let it be BLUE. VOTE!
i've been wondering what ardent democrats regard as the lesser evil: a non-vote or a third party vote? (ardent republicans seem to prefer a non-vote, although it seems they'd be better off with 3rd party voters). also for a brown palestinian (or muslim, and maybe even small business-owners) 'ending with' a deranged narcissist classist hitler is a done deal.
I have been saying that for sixty years. But if the Obama administration that at one point for a few months had 60 votes in the senate and a 73 vote majority in the house, didn't change things, it is obvious they have no intention of changing anything. All those that defended him at the time, and continue to do so are as delusional and as fanatical as the Trump voters. that's when I gave up on American voters
There used to be a piece of graffiti written on a bridge as you drove from Manchester towards Birmingham on the M6. "If voting changed anything, it would be illegal!"
When you have the DNC just disregard a primary in 2024, admit bias against Sanders in 2016, deliberate defend Biden's poor mental health until they could disregard a primary. Why would Democrats careers be fine if we don't vote for them? Hillary Clinton is an example, you have party operatives that aren't elected officials that run day to day tasks. You have so many committies and chairs that you could fill that it really doesn't matter. You could become a think tank or operate for some agency. You could be hired by the private sector corporations to run things.
They don't care if they lose because they no longer have to take responsibility or more accurately criticism because they wouldn't be the power majority. They don't care if you fail to vote for them. They will blame the voters, but they don't care. Why should anyone vote for the same basic policies no matter who you vote for? Damn right our vote doesn't matter. You can vote third party for example Jill Stein, make their numbers grow to show dissent, but hell...We don't have fair elections here in the states. So if Greens or any third party gets on the radar, they'll manipulate things to stop it. They already had done so...
Agreed, I think Sanders wasn't what the Democrats were worried about. He had a lot of rhetoric from the past (FDR era) and "our revolution" might have radicalized enough youth to take up action...and certainly if he stepped out of line that he could have been replaced. There was a theory that at the 2016 DNC convention that he was 'roughed up' some claimed he had marks on his face and his demeanor was drastically altered that night. The DNC seemed to make a capitulation to Sanders supporters by replacing Schultz. I don't know, but there seems to have been something going on with him and the DNC that wasn't kosher.
I think Caitlin means that they don't care if they lose because they are backed by the same empire managers. I agree that they rather lose to Trump than win with any candidate that would damage class interests...kind of what happened to Bernie Sanders shill or otherwise...
Of course. Even if they lose, they'll use this as a findraising opportunity while rebranding themselves #theresistance (which is centered on with major corporations and public institutions, not to mention the FBI, NSA and CIA) and crank out loopy conspiracy theories, wile keeping Orange Doofus distracted with scandals and endless pointless Twitter beefs with his fellow morons.
A President Trump will govern as a more dysfunctional version of Dubya.
Dumbya was willing to recite Cheney et al's lines verbatim, whereas Trump opens his mouth and spouts whatever crazy thought enters his brain. He's an embarassment, and Trump is not liked by dems or repubs for that reason, but he has win-ability so they put up with him. In office Trump has no more impact on US policy than a leaf falling outside the WH windows.
Of course. Team R in many way would prefer that Trump lose, in order to get straight to purging the populists and returning to a safe, solid respectable platform of "Invade all, invite all, in debt to all".
You are right, I was just responding to Patrick Powers who addressed that. It is a cycle, "We need more money to get more Democrats in office, we lost the election, we need more money to beat Republicans." Even if they win, they say they need more money to get even more Democrats elected, because they don't have enough votes. Thing is, this strategy is circular logic.
The loopy conspiracy theories are just more propaganda. I completely agree about how Trump would govern as a more dysfunctional version of Dubya despite Trump trying to have distanced himself from him politically, if I recall he tapped a few members of his administration, his and Reagans?
Trump did resurrect several Dubya-era ghouls, Eliot Abrams and John Bolton coming prominently to mind. Watching Trump cultists throw out excuses is 169% pure solid comedy gold.
i get your point, but idk, if the class interests of the pmc are a dealbreaker, they don't seem to care that very much. power and probably especially spoils won't maybe differ that much if driving or in the passenger's seat. fewer spotlights on the latter.
I'll have to disagree with Caitlin and Tim on one point: Your voting DOES matter in US elections, but not because it's sending a signal to the Dems or the Repugs or the oligarchy or whatever is pulling the strings behind the scenes. Your vote matters to your FELLOW AMERICANS and possibly to your own psyche. You need to understand where YOU stand at this point in history. Are you pro-genocide or anti-genocide? Let your fellow Americans know that you are anti-genocide by voting for an anti-genocide/peace candidate such as Jill Stein, Cornel West or Claudia de la Cruz. Screw the Ds and Rs! Tell everyone that you are decidedly against genocide by helping these alternative peace candidates get some publicity by adding to their vote totals. Put a smile on their faces--and yours--and let the powers-that-be that you're on to their puppet string pulling in the White House.
The oligarchs are depending on a low turn-out. It's been a low turn-out for decades now. You're not making any statement that way. It it worked, it would have worked by now. Better to show up and vote your conscience and let them know how you feel.
A low turn-out just shows the oligarchy that they "win", that we've given up, rolled over, decided not to fight back. They are free to do to us as they will, which won't be pretty and might make this current genocide look like a walk in the park. I don't know about you, but I'm no coward. I'm fighting back until my dying breath. I'm letting them know that I don't agree with them.
I almost agree with you but you leave out local elections which affect me and my family every day. Please encourage people to get involved locally and vote. They can skip the top of the ballot but much of the rest of it is pretty important. Even more important after voting is to hold those representatives accountable. Show up a school board meetings and the meeting of township supervisors. Who knows, maybe someday we will learn how to exert power future up the chain.
I have been saying this for years now that a 'permanent unelected machine that runs the government.' How do I know? That's easy. When polling Americans what policies that resonate with them and they support by an 80 to 90% margin, you would think the party they belong to would go to the fucking mat to legislate those policies and ensure that constituency would keep them driving the bus for eternity. Have they? Nah, just a crumb or two, here and there for the 'peasants' just to appease them so they don't behead them and put their heads on a pike. I think the hoi polloi now see that they have been played and are genuinely pissed. If the current trajectory persists, I could not rule out the real possibility of widespread violence in the US spinning out of control.
“The US has no functional president and has not had one for months, and it’s barely noticeable and barely matters because there’s a permanent unelected machine that runs the government.” - Glenn Greenwald
It’s called the Politburo. I will do whatever is necessary for President Trump to restore then enforce the US Constitution. Fight Fight Fight
It's called The State IMHO
At least if we vote third party, we will know how many we are, and, depending on the numbers, why which part of the duopoly did not get our votes. It’s valuable for that reason alone.
I'm voting for Jill Stein again if there is an election in November. That "protest vote" is easy for the machine to understand.
My last “third party” vote was for Nader in 2000. I should have quit voting then instead of waiting until 2016. Some of us slower thinkers need more time, I guess.
John, I campaigned hard for Nader/LaDuke and lost friends because of it..."stealing" votes and all that. When I would ask, "Would you vote for him?" Answer, "Of course, but he can't win!" The stupidity of people is astounding.
I voted the same as you did that year.
US voting is a national opinion-poll, 2 steps removed from the "elections".
I try to clearly express my opinion. I have not "picked a winner" yet (since 1976).
I've voted for Nader every time since then (with the exception of being snookered by Obama in 2008; no more), and will continue until he's ill or dead. Possibly the most articulate and knowledgeable I've ever seen on the Left.
Voting third-party and write-ins sends messages, and those messages can certainly have psychological impact if they grow over time. The only truly "wasted votes" are those swallowed up in the sea of drone-voting for "lesser evil" candidates, or completely opting out, which only makes protest invisible. Nobody cares about how low a turnout is; it has no impact either within or outside the system.
Yeah O'bomber snookered me too...twice. That's when I decided to stop voting. Of course, George Carlin's rant in his "Jammin' in New York" helped.
I also voted for Nader…. & would do it again! Are vote did matter then ..the corporate machine didn’t have a full grip on our government yet..& the BS “laws” state by state against 3rd parties were not in place at that time.. if more people would have realized they actually did have the power (at that time) we could have possibly prevented Citizens United & our current kangaroo court !
our votes have not mattered for a very long time. Much longer than most people seem to realize. I doubt they have mattered much since the end of the second war for sure, and possibly before that.
They don't matter precisely because people do not vote their conscience. They listen to Big Brother, and vote instead for the "lesser evil" "who can win".
It doesn't matter if people vote according to their conscience. That does not change the fact that the entire system is not being run by who we see. Even if the very best person got voted in, they would never be allowed to make real, progressive changes that would benefit the people. They would be made to look corrupt and probably would be corrupt in a fairly short time.
If that's not their conscience then what is? Are you saying they actually think differently? Are you sure?
Remember what mark twain said, if it mattered,they wouldn’t let us do it.
No, "the machine" doesn't care.
"Care" and "interpret" are different statements.
It is a message, not a plea.
Me too
You must be joking.
We have several 3rd parties, any one of which is probably a HUGE improvement over the duopoly. If you vote for one, your vote will most likely get electronically "flipped" to whichever duopolist Those In Charge of Vote-Flipping prefer. That has been reality since 2000 inclusive, AT LEAST. This is how the duopoly has remained in power and, at the same time, "proved" that the numbers in favor of 3rd parties are low. But, Those In Charge CARE VERY MUCH about ppl voting, hence all the propaganda out there suggesting that "ppl are so stupid they vote against their own best interests," "bad guys only get elected if YOU don't vote hard enough," etc. etc. No. The "winners" will look absurd claiming they "got a mandate from the voters" when the voter turnout is only 10%, & they know it. The fraudsters NEED VOTERS' PARTICIPATION in order to give their election legitimacy in the eyes of the public/world.
>>"your vote will most likely get electronically "flipped" to whichever duopolist Those In Charge of Vote-Flipping prefer."
You do realize the absurdity of your statement right? (though I'm guessing, probably not). You have heard about the FOX lawsuit costing them $750 million right? Or maybe you prefer living in your delusional, conspiracy laden world.
There is such a thing as "EVIDENCE".
Go argue w/ Bev Harris. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t75xvZ3osFg
Joy in HK your statement is just silly.
"... we will know how many we are ..." -- who is this "we", and no you won't.
duopoly bot heard from
Personally it seems not to matter whether US holds an election or not..............it's on a downward spiral. The only real manufacturing is weapons of war which seem unable to keep up with other countries.
Similar problem here in France............no-one with any vision. We just voted and the vote has been suppressed.
Jenny seems to become more and more disappointed in France. The rest of Europe doesn't have to be mentioned.
Hard to blame her. With WEF Boy Macron setting the country everything in France on fire, you'd almost think his name was Starmer. And I'm American! We are experts at national self immolation.
Well, she was predicting something major for the 7th in France.
The 7th came and went, with nothing of interest. At least she made a relatively concrete prediction of activity, to take place on a date certain.
Jenny never presented herself as shy. That's why we love her.
Feral. YOU continually 'ad finitum' try so hard to embarrass Europe.
What are you going to say when the French abolish the 5th Republic?
As it is now (here in France) we CAN abolish the 5th Republic while you sit on your arses in the USA and tell the world that YOU cannot change your own constitution?
We do have a way in France BUT you stick to your own embarrassing constitution in the USA
Unless and until something actually gets done, talk is cheap.
Europeans embarass themselves. I just point it out.
Excuse me. There were 1000's in the streets and it won't stop.
And?
AND? What? Where are the people in YOUR streets?
I'm not the one promising dramatic action. The 7th came and went.
300000 some say, which doesn't seem enough
Whatever the numbers were, Macron remains secure in the Champs d'Elyssees.
Absolutely not secure at all.
Unlike the USA we are able in France to make a NEW constitution.
The US is stuck......................
French Republic CAN make a new consitution.
Better than nothing at all!
agreed. sheer numbers won't cut it anyway with hostile corporate press. more organising?, more targeted (where it hurts)?
Presidents are selected not elected. And not by us. The bankers win every election.
Is it possible to build people infrastructure such that the people select the Presidents?
Required: A revolution of the viscera -- down deep to the heart and the guts such as continued to morph in me, yesterday, as I read Joe Sacco's "Footnotes in Gaza", which drove home viscerally how superficial the daily body count seems when the deep psychic scars of brutalized individual Palestinians are fleshed out by Sacco's brilliant drawings/prose. Makes one more fully appreciate how deeply criminal is one's own government in facilitating such prolonged and ongoing misery. To then be concerned about D or R, especially when they so freely trade war mongers like over-the-hill athletes becomes a ludicrous waste of energy. Reflecting the society at-large, the US government is corrupt at its core-value level and ain't no vote for no savior gonna change that nohow.
Spot👌🏼on👏
Add on: applicable, pretty much, to any faux-democracy around the world.
I often wonder how much the president has to say. I think close to nothing. All of them start with great promises, but they have to cope with the other politicians, who will most likely vote the good intentions away. I remember Trump saying early on in presidency that he was going to forbid commercials for prescription drugs, and thought it went into law - but no, it is nowhere to be found. He repeats the promise, but probably can't do a thing about it. Other people hold the strings and the politicians do as they are told. Bought, bribed, threatened, or else.
US has been overtaken by Zionists, they are losing their country and are busy in the US.
JennyStokes,
Yes: "US has been overtaken by Zionists".
"....they are losing their country..." [Who is they? - the US or the Zionists?]
"....busy in the US..." Who is busy in the US?
YOU are a country/ill educated.
Who knew in the USA where Ukraine was on a map?
I lived in the USA for 23yrs and not many people knew where Sri Lanka was.
Yet you USA 'meddled in the affairs' of a Soveriegn country?
Why?
I was only commenting on the construction of JennyStokes' sentence that lumps all statements into one confusing sentence without clarifying what each statement refers to.
I guess my point is made.
IF you can understand Donald
Trump you should be able to understand this!
Try using common sense!
As I said in my comment (49 mins ago), "... lumps all statements into one confusing sentence without clarifying what each statement refers to."
I just had to like this, Jenny, relying strictly on my common sense, and taking into account the point made.
Been living under a rock, Elaine?
Jenny Stokes is a bot...from. France.
Elaine: It might come as a surprise to you BUT who rules the USA now
>>"who rules the USA now"
The same that has always ruled the US - the Empire Managers, oligarchs, power elite. Nothing has really changed - nothing is new. What's new is that more poeple are finding out that which has always been.
AIPAC rules the USA
chokaski on the prowl, Jenny, watch your back. Better yet, have a seat and prepare to be schooled. chokaski strict, chokaski know, chokaski ready, chokaski willing. hold on to you knickers folks.
No, it does not. The Oligarchy, Empire Managers, Power Elite and the Global Capitalists DO.
Until you understand that, you will fail to understand how the US Empire (and geopolitics) work.
Some members of the above groups are part of AIPAC, others are not. AIPAC serves the interests of the US Empire Managers AND Israel.
Caitlin has also written articles explaining this. What do you find so difficult to comprehend about this?
The TV Series "Yes, Minister" is most instructive.
It was a good series......could the USA come up with this?
I have absolutely NO affiliation with the GREAT BRITISH EMPIRE.
To paraphrase Hermann Goering: "It works the same in any country."
NO.
Is it possible to change the constitution in the USA?
"NO." Jenny says "no". I guess that settles the matter, then, if you say "no", lol.
The US constitution has been amended on several occasions.
OK
Tell me?
At least two things are left to be done:
1. Greenwald call a spade a spade - "permanent unelected machine" is Deep State™
2. For would-be voters to realize they sully themselves by participating in the corrupt system, no matter how they vote and no matter what they think they're doing.
I used to think that way because I’ve know it’s a novel Monarchy for years but you don’t want to potentially end with a deranged narcissist racist deranged Hitler in control. Talk about tyranny! I have ‘brown’ family I cherish! Who own a business!
Better vote & vote Blue, at least, for your family. Even the Royal’s hate Trump. So if the lever is tipped let it be BLUE. VOTE!
"Even the Royal’s hate Trump." - that's it!! Seals the deal!!
Vote Blue No Matter Who™.
👎
i've been wondering what ardent democrats regard as the lesser evil: a non-vote or a third party vote? (ardent republicans seem to prefer a non-vote, although it seems they'd be better off with 3rd party voters). also for a brown palestinian (or muslim, and maybe even small business-owners) 'ending with' a deranged narcissist classist hitler is a done deal.
Greenwald is close to being a libertarian without actually stepping in
yech. I hope he isn't that bad
if he was, he probably would have stayed at the intercept.
Nobody is perfect.
But Koch! 😳 Sorry, Omidyar in his case! 😱
Respect.
What I've learned since Oct 7th: Democrats and republicans are two sides of the same corrupt coin.
Oct 7th was a prison break that opened the world’s eyes. US Empire is and always was the problem not Hamas.
I have been saying that for sixty years. But if the Obama administration that at one point for a few months had 60 votes in the senate and a 73 vote majority in the house, didn't change things, it is obvious they have no intention of changing anything. All those that defended him at the time, and continue to do so are as delusional and as fanatical as the Trump voters. that's when I gave up on American voters
There used to be a piece of graffiti written on a bridge as you drove from Manchester towards Birmingham on the M6. "If voting changed anything, it would be illegal!"
I always wondered where the quote originated from.
I dont know, but it equates with the term "who ever wins (the election) the government always gets in.
When you have the DNC just disregard a primary in 2024, admit bias against Sanders in 2016, deliberate defend Biden's poor mental health until they could disregard a primary. Why would Democrats careers be fine if we don't vote for them? Hillary Clinton is an example, you have party operatives that aren't elected officials that run day to day tasks. You have so many committies and chairs that you could fill that it really doesn't matter. You could become a think tank or operate for some agency. You could be hired by the private sector corporations to run things.
They don't care if they lose because they no longer have to take responsibility or more accurately criticism because they wouldn't be the power majority. They don't care if you fail to vote for them. They will blame the voters, but they don't care. Why should anyone vote for the same basic policies no matter who you vote for? Damn right our vote doesn't matter. You can vote third party for example Jill Stein, make their numbers grow to show dissent, but hell...We don't have fair elections here in the states. So if Greens or any third party gets on the radar, they'll manipulate things to stop it. They already had done so...
To be fair, even if Sanders were elected president, he'd at best be Jimmy Carter 2.0.
They wouldn't have let him do much, and if he'd stepped out of line they could have replaced him by the plane crash or lone gun man trick.
Agreed, I think Sanders wasn't what the Democrats were worried about. He had a lot of rhetoric from the past (FDR era) and "our revolution" might have radicalized enough youth to take up action...and certainly if he stepped out of line that he could have been replaced. There was a theory that at the 2016 DNC convention that he was 'roughed up' some claimed he had marks on his face and his demeanor was drastically altered that night. The DNC seemed to make a capitulation to Sanders supporters by replacing Schultz. I don't know, but there seems to have been something going on with him and the DNC that wasn't kosher.
I vaguely remember that. I'd put nothing past these people. Perhaps they threatened his family too. Talk about old-school politics from the FDR era...
So you're saying Sanders is a coward.
Good thing he's a man of principles though. Vermonters keep electing him showing he truly represents their values.
Team D very much care who wins the presidency and the power and spoils that come with it.
That said, they would rather lose to Trump than win with any candidate who injures the class interests of the PMC, such as a populist.
The career of one Huey P. Long is most instructive here.
I think Caitlin means that they don't care if they lose because they are backed by the same empire managers. I agree that they rather lose to Trump than win with any candidate that would damage class interests...kind of what happened to Bernie Sanders shill or otherwise...
Of course. Even if they lose, they'll use this as a findraising opportunity while rebranding themselves #theresistance (which is centered on with major corporations and public institutions, not to mention the FBI, NSA and CIA) and crank out loopy conspiracy theories, wile keeping Orange Doofus distracted with scandals and endless pointless Twitter beefs with his fellow morons.
A President Trump will govern as a more dysfunctional version of Dubya.
Dumbya was willing to recite Cheney et al's lines verbatim, whereas Trump opens his mouth and spouts whatever crazy thought enters his brain. He's an embarassment, and Trump is not liked by dems or repubs for that reason, but he has win-ability so they put up with him. In office Trump has no more impact on US policy than a leaf falling outside the WH windows.
Of course. Team R in many way would prefer that Trump lose, in order to get straight to purging the populists and returning to a safe, solid respectable platform of "Invade all, invite all, in debt to all".
You are right, I was just responding to Patrick Powers who addressed that. It is a cycle, "We need more money to get more Democrats in office, we lost the election, we need more money to beat Republicans." Even if they win, they say they need more money to get even more Democrats elected, because they don't have enough votes. Thing is, this strategy is circular logic.
The loopy conspiracy theories are just more propaganda. I completely agree about how Trump would govern as a more dysfunctional version of Dubya despite Trump trying to have distanced himself from him politically, if I recall he tapped a few members of his administration, his and Reagans?
Trump did resurrect several Dubya-era ghouls, Eliot Abrams and John Bolton coming prominently to mind. Watching Trump cultists throw out excuses is 169% pure solid comedy gold.
I agree. But at this point is there any difference between Bolton and Blinken?
i get your point, but idk, if the class interests of the pmc are a dealbreaker, they don't seem to care that very much. power and probably especially spoils won't maybe differ that much if driving or in the passenger's seat. fewer spotlights on the latter.
I'll have to disagree with Caitlin and Tim on one point: Your voting DOES matter in US elections, but not because it's sending a signal to the Dems or the Repugs or the oligarchy or whatever is pulling the strings behind the scenes. Your vote matters to your FELLOW AMERICANS and possibly to your own psyche. You need to understand where YOU stand at this point in history. Are you pro-genocide or anti-genocide? Let your fellow Americans know that you are anti-genocide by voting for an anti-genocide/peace candidate such as Jill Stein, Cornel West or Claudia de la Cruz. Screw the Ds and Rs! Tell everyone that you are decidedly against genocide by helping these alternative peace candidates get some publicity by adding to their vote totals. Put a smile on their faces--and yours--and let the powers-that-be that you're on to their puppet string pulling in the White House.
Not Voting when done by many can remove much of the validation of that election by making turnout small
No one should dismiss this
The oligarchs are depending on a low turn-out. It's been a low turn-out for decades now. You're not making any statement that way. It it worked, it would have worked by now. Better to show up and vote your conscience and let them know how you feel.
a high turnout only helps validate the election
The press always makes note of a low turnout
A low turn-out just shows the oligarchy that they "win", that we've given up, rolled over, decided not to fight back. They are free to do to us as they will, which won't be pretty and might make this current genocide look like a walk in the park. I don't know about you, but I'm no coward. I'm fighting back until my dying breath. I'm letting them know that I don't agree with them.
lol
I don't need to show the oligarchy anything they do not already know
It is the citizens who can't see through this fraud of "get our and vote"
Actually it doesn’t.
I almost agree with you but you leave out local elections which affect me and my family every day. Please encourage people to get involved locally and vote. They can skip the top of the ballot but much of the rest of it is pretty important. Even more important after voting is to hold those representatives accountable. Show up a school board meetings and the meeting of township supervisors. Who knows, maybe someday we will learn how to exert power future up the chain.
What about the WORLD?
As Confucius said, regulate yourself, your family, your village and your province before taking on the entire country.
I have been saying this for years now that a 'permanent unelected machine that runs the government.' How do I know? That's easy. When polling Americans what policies that resonate with them and they support by an 80 to 90% margin, you would think the party they belong to would go to the fucking mat to legislate those policies and ensure that constituency would keep them driving the bus for eternity. Have they? Nah, just a crumb or two, here and there for the 'peasants' just to appease them so they don't behead them and put their heads on a pike. I think the hoi polloi now see that they have been played and are genuinely pissed. If the current trajectory persists, I could not rule out the real possibility of widespread violence in the US spinning out of control.