No matter who wins in the midterm elections the painful truth will be that there will be no genuine government reforms. The real question is: Will this ugly reality finally wake up most Americans and compel them to pursue better strategies for fixing the nation? by Joel S. Hirschhorn
(libertarian)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Only one result of the coming midterm elections is assured. No matter who wins and how much power shifts from Democrats to Republicans in Congress there will not be any deep, sorely needed true reforms of our corrupt, dysfunctional and inefficient government. The culture of corruption in Washington, DC will remain. Hundreds of millions of dollars from corporate and other special interests will assure that.
Voters who think otherwise are either delusional or stupid. It will not matter whether you vote for Republicans because you want to defeat Democrats (or vice-versa), or whether you vote for Tea Party candidates, or whether you vote against incumbents, or whether you vote for what you believe are lesser-evil candidates. Americans will lose however they vote. That is a terribly painful reality, which is why those who choose to vote will not face the truth.
Delusion and stupidity are rampant, like a terrible epidemic that has killed brain cells.
Yes, you are thinking that this is the most cynical view possible.
But this is what American history tells us. Americans have been brainwashed and tricked into thinking that elections are crucial for maintaining American democracy. That is exactly what the two-party plutocracy needs to maintain their self-serving political system and that is also what the rich and powerful Upper Class wants to preserve their status.
In the months following this election, when unemployment and economic pain for all but the rich remain awful, anyone who pays attention and is able to face the truth will see that there is no chance of genuine government reforms. The Republicans will blame the Democrats, the Democrats will blame the Republicans, the Tea Party winners will blame the system, the radio and cable pundits will blabber endlessly, and Jon Stewart and other comics will have an abundance of material to take jabs at.
Every member of Congress will, as before, spend most of their time and energy doing what is necessary to win the next election.
President Obama, of course, will continue his self-serving rhetoric with the sole goal of winning reelection in 2012.
Here is what non-delusional Americans can hope for: Maybe a decent third party presidential candidate will emerge. Maybe the Tea Party movement will wake up to the reality that electing Republicans is a terrible strategy for reforming the government and restoring the health of the nation and shift their interest to forming a third party. Maybe the greatly expanded calls for an Article V convention as the constitutional path to reforms through constitutional amendments will gather more energy (especially from Tea Party people) and finally succeed.
Welcome to the good old USA where citizens, unlike those in Europe, do not riot in the streets demanding justice but keep believing in the nonsense that voting for either Republicans or Democrats will work for them and the nation.
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Posted By: Roy Ellis
Date: October 30, 2010 10:05:09 AM
The majority of people won’t realize the affect of the recession for a couple of years. We can only hope and believe that the people will tire of ping-ponging between the supposedly lesser-evil and get behind a centrist/populist 3rd party movement at some point in the near future.
So, in the interim is it not smart to lay the groundwork for a 3rd party so that our ‘decent third party presidential candidate’ will have a ready-made party/ platform from which to launch? Isn’t it wise to be planning for a unique 3rd party with the tools to prevent the party from ever being co-opted by the money influence, to provide a way for members to hold their politicians accountable?
I suggest readers take a look at the Republic Sentry Party, join up and let’s start planning for the future, while we still can.
Posted By: Adrian S.
Date: November 3, 2010 06:55:25 AM
Don't worry about the Tea Party. Much of what we know about them has of late been clouded in myths and half-truths. One of the first rules of political analysis is that you must divorce your analysis from myopic contemporary perspectives in order to come to the most objective conclusion. The Tea Party is a 21st-century take on the Populist and Progressive movements of yesterday. When the conservatives return to the GOP in droves, that will leave the moderates and libertarians in another "Karl Denninger"/Ron Paul version of the Tea Party. Also, be on the look out for a similar backlash against Democrats coming from the liberals soon.
We live in interesting times, it's safe to say. And they're about to get more interesting than anyone could have possibly predicted 2 years ago.
