The election that I really wasn't much interested in this cycle is starting to look more promising. The question is for what, though?
It's clear enough that the Bernie phenomenon has put the fear of the Devil into the Hillary camp. That wasn't supposed to happen. Bernie's entrance and presence into the primaries was supposed to be nothing more than a footnote. Similar to O'Malley's. These two would be allowed to bookend Herself, but not at all to threaten her Victory. (There were other Democrats in the primaries for a bit, but I've forgotten who they were already, not being all that much interested in the Pageant at the outset.)
Well, Bernie surprised everyone, including himself. It seemed like no one knew beforehand that there was such a deep reservoir of resentment toward the Democratic establishment -- partly because no one "who mattered" was paying attention. Ah, power politics and how it works!
No, the People had been dismissed long before by the Powers That Be in both of the major political parties, and literally nothing the People had to say about much of anything was something the PTB believed they had to listen to. "Governing Contrary" to the public interest and the will of the People was ingrained in the System. There was -- and would be -- no alternative.
"No you can't." No, you CAN'T! NO, YOU CAN'T!!!!
That was Hillary's opening gambit, and she's pretty much stayed with it ever since. And it's honest. Honest for her, certainly. But an honest reflection of the attitude of the Establishment -- regardless of party -- toward the Rabble everywhere, expressed as directly and openly as you could want.
No. You. Can't.
It goes to the heart of the political system, its beliefs and its workings, and there is and can be no alternative for the Rabble. None. Ever.
This is the Neo-LibCon statement world-wide to anyone and everyone who wants something better. "You can't have it. You will never have it. There is no alternative."
Yes, well. Bernie upset that applecart. So did Trump. This wasn't supposed to happen.
More and more, I'm suspecting Trump is a ratfuck. His campaign was never intended to be real. Instead, it was supposed to be little more than a sop to the Other Side's Rabble, while preventing the emergence of a popular (not populist) Republican candidate in order to grease the skids for a Hillary Victory.
Yeah, it looked from the outset that both Party's establishments had chosen Hillary to be the next President, and they believed it would be a piece of cake to get her in. The rest would be Show Business.
But a spanner or two has been thrown in the works.
A lot of Hillary Haters simply cannot understand her appeal. Why, they wonder, would anybody vote for her given her obvious and notorious Evil?
To me, this is just silly. Her Evil is no worse or better than any other presidential contender's. The idea that she is somehow Uniquely Evil -- because she's a Clinton or something -- is ridiculous. She is what she is, and she's reached the level she has in US and Global politics because she's useful to the Powers she serves. She's also a known -- and generally respected -- quantity globally. She may not be all that popular when you get down to it, but she's popular enough at home and abroad.
People vote for her because they know her. That's the simplest way to explain it. There's a little bit of nostalgia involved, but it's mostly because they know her story very well, those old enough to remember the Clinton presidency followed it like a soap opera, and many expressed deep and abiding sympathy for Hillary that they've carried to this day.
So a "coronation" was not out of the question at all. It should have been easy, but it wasn't, an it may get even rougher. I have little doubt she can sustain herself no matter the onslaught, but it's not clear that her path to Victory is still open wide. It may turn into a real contest, and that would be something.
Let's be blunt. There was no way in Hell Bernie would be allowed to defeat Herself in the overall primary contest. None. Those who rule us have many, many ways to ensure that upstarts like Bernie are kept well away from the levers of power, oh yes. This is basic to the theories of Neo-LibCon primacy. Nothing and no one an ever be allowed to interfere with their rule, and anyone who seriously tries to shall be crushed with extreme prejudice.
But I don't think Bernie ever intended to be a serious challenge to the PTB or Hillary.
His intent was little more than to move her and her sponsors leftwards, on the premise that it would be better for everyone (including Hillary and her sponsors) to do so. Continuing the rigorous path of TINA and LibCon rule would be a disaster.
It was not difficult at all for Hillary and her sponsors to move slightly left in response to Bernie's hectoring, but oh my. He tapped such a reservoir of resentment on the part of the Rabble.
Just as Trump did on the other side.
And now what wasn't supposed to be looks possible.
Hillary could go down to defeat.
Oh. My.
Even Trump didn't expect that.
Flop sweat, panic and desperation is growing over the events of the last few months, and Our Rulers appear to be entering Defcon 4, preparing the bunkers, and holding their breath.
Uncharted waters ahead.
I have thought since he announced he was running that Trump wasn't serious. He doesn't want to be president (too much work), although he would like to be able to SAY he ran and that he won (which he'd claim even if he had to add, "but they stole it from me," which caveat would actually be preferable to him than really winning the gig and having to pretend to do some chores around the oval office). I think he'd quit in a year if he actually did win. (See: too much work.) He is shocked he has gone this far. This was supposed to be a game-show where he could trot out his crowd-pleasing one-liners and create some havoc for awhile and then go home and laugh about it all.
ReplyDeletePoor thing, now he has to play to the end.
Bernie, yeah. He's even pulled his crews from most of the states because he is sure he won't need them for much longer. Much to his surprise, though, people want him to keep going, too. And it looks like he'd beat Trump by a long shot, while Hillary doesn't beat Trump, if polls are anything like accurate.
I think they really underestimated the little people in this contest, who aren't reacting the way they were supposed to. But you are right - Hillary is the choice of the PTB and they intend to get her in no matter what. The funniest thing will be if the DoJ ends up indicting her after the FBI investigation is done. Will we have an election where one candidate is under indictment? Cool. Then we can look even more idiotic and corrupt to the rest of the world than we already do.
But none of it matters. If by some weird happenstance anyone but Hillary looks to be the winnah, there are lots of ways to override votes. And the public in America is of notoriously short memory. They'll get over it soon enough and come to love their new overload.
I do think you are wrong about the Clintons' malfeasance, though. I think they are corrupt to the bone and are indeed more grotesquely putrid than a lot of what we have running around the Washington hills these days. They have been in positions of power and money longer, for one thing, which has given them more time to amass quite a rancid record.
I thought I wouldn't despise anyone more than Bush, but then came Obama and his betrayals and lies and the ACA and the NDAA and Libya and drone wars and other such shit, so I thought that anyone would be better than he. But now I find that the thought of Clinton in the WH makes me sickened in ways I can't even express properly. She is a lethal piece of shit. And, I think, actually demented. People like to throw around words like "narcissist" about Trump, but there is something mentally very wrong with Hillary that nobody will talk about.
Anyway, on another topic, I hope you find some relief, if not outright solutions, to your health problems. Very sorry to hear you are suffering so, Che. Life is hard enough without being in pain, too.
All the best,
Teri
Hmmm. Been having some technical problems responding. Not sure what's up, but so far, I haven't been able to complete a response before Blogger tosses me out and deletes my response. Poor form Blogger!
DeleteAnyway, you make some good points, and you've obviously got your finger on the pulse of what's going on.
At this point, I'm not at all convinced Herself will be able to sell her product to enough of the Rabble to achieve the Prize. And it doesn't look to me like the Democratic Party pooh-bahs give a good gott-damb. They really don't seem to care, at all.
I think you're right though that Trump doesn't want it. Never did. He's playing.
So where does that leave us? I dunno.
Maybe I'm too cynical, but I believe that anybody who reaches the heights of power that Clinton or Obama or whomever has is -- and must be -- irredeemably corrupt, venal, and indeed "evil." It's built in to the system, and no one can rise to the level they have without succumbing. No one.
Anyone who doesn't or who tries to buck the system too hard will be taken care of by any means necessary and with extreme prejudice.
So as I see it, we're not going to get a non-corrupt, non-evil occupant of the Big Chair, no matter what. Clinton certainly has her demerits (!) but so would anybody else we'd be allowed to choose from.
Thanks for your good wishes. It's been a challenge, but I'm doing a bit better!
Best to you, too!
Ché
I do wonder if Trump has been running all along to help Clinton, which is something you point out as a possibility in your article. He makes himself look so ridiculous that she appears to be the "reasonable" alternative. But, no, they don't really care who "wins", since either of them (or Cruz - who is actually the anti-Christ, or Kasich, or Jebbie, for that matter, or even Bernie, who doesn't oppose the drone program and thinks Assad has to go after we "take care of ISIS") will get the job done just as well. The job being the forever War of Terror and the final corporatization of all the commons. This is the final taking; having pretty much stolen or ruined much of the rest of the world, they are now plundering the what little remains of the US.
ReplyDeleteDid you see that they have just passed out of committee a bill that will make young women have to register for the selective service (draft)? I'm sure it will pass Congress when it comes to a vote; they will say they are being all "Equality for women" and shit. Fact is, this is pretty much all the use they have for us now. As fodder in their fucking wars.
I still speculate that something will upset (delay) the election. I don't think there is anything too craven and corrupt to imagine it is beyond what they will do to reach their final goal. It's all wealth extraction in the end. They want complete corporate control of all land, all governance, and all money exchanges. If they have to create more wars to get it, they will. If they have to end the pretense of democracy in the US, they will. They hardly bother to pretend now - notice how much more information they are giving about how appallingly undemocratic the delegate/electoral college system is. They used to hide anything that might make it clear how pointless voting is; now they are not bothering with that obfuscation any longer. And they know we will just shrug off the information. Some number of us might not bother to vote in the general election, but hey, they'd declare a 5% turnout to be a valid vote. Or they'd just make up a freaking number. Claim a 90% turnout. Why not? They get away with faking everything else.
Fake candidates making false statements, running in a faked election, with totally fake media coverage, in a country falsely claiming to be the face of democracy, while it perpetrates false wars on fake enemies it created, running its economy on faked paper: NOBODY should be surprised when this tent folds.
Agreed. I couldn't have said it better. I may have some more to add if Blogger will let me. (Don't know what's up with this, but it's become difficult to post -- maybe my adblocker?)
Delete