State of Play: Electoral Politics in the USA
For two reasons I write little about electoral politics in America. First, without a massive rethinking about all sorts of things, it’s no solution for much of anything. Secondly, I’m not paid to write about it. If you’re not making a lot of money in this election system, you shouldn’t be saying much of anything about it.
Nonetheless, the landscape of electoral politics in America, and campaigns are the only politics in America, has been so transfigured to be worth a short piece. First and foremost, Donald Trump, who has entirely defined American politics for the last decade is done, but opposition is so weak you wouldn't know that. Not that as president he can’t still wreak all sorts of havoc, but as a political force he’s through. Trump’s polling numbers, for what that's worth, are now at historically low levels, testing those of our two greatest previous presidential losers, Carter and Nixon.
Trump’s demise casts the Republicans into turmoil. For all the accurate talk about the incompetence and corruption of the Democrats, the Republicans are right there with them. As Trump politically disintegrates there will be no center and centrifugal forces will send the Reps hurling in all sorts of directions.
Democrats at this point are largely comprised of two components. The biggest is the entrenched establishment and those tied to it. This establishment is eminently culpable in creating Trump. Their only message: put us back in charge, you know, the people that helped create Trump, and things will be great.
The second much smaller part of the Democrats are our neo-socialists. Barnie the Big Blue Dinosaur is to blame. The socialists are gaining some seats, but for all sorts of reasons will always remain a minority. Sorry all you protest kids, resurrecting failed and archaic political thinking ain’t going to reshape the future. As a permanent minority, the old fool at the top will leave them with the only way to get anything is to capitulate to the establishment for scraps. Those are the only electoral politics Barnie ever knew.
As far as November, it’d be hard at this point to say the Democrats won’t take both houses, simply a protest vote, especially with headlines like America’s biggest companies report ‘rock solid’ profits as consumers face higher costs and Exxon, Chevron tout combined $26.5 billion in profits. Gee, raise prices and profits go up, who’da thunk?
The electoral system is toxically polluted with money and run by people who only know money. It was amusing to see failing Elon threatening to put a $100 million into the election. With Elon, just like with Trump and so, so many others, truth and bullshit are the same thing. Well, here’s two numbers. In 2020, the Democrats put $70 million into Maine Senate race and lost with 350 thousand votes. Even better, two years ago, the Democrats put $100 million into Montana to try and save Jon Tester and lost getting 250,000 votes. So, place your bets.
35 years ago I helped run a campaign that tried to warn about the decline of politics in America, with money being one, but only one, of the corrosive forces at work. Since that point, I watched the money people entirely take over the campaign system, for example, Rahm Emanual was nothing more than a bag man for the Clintons’ money operation. As far as those receiving such funds, Clint Reilly, who gave us Diane Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi, just died. He represented California once again leading the nation. He showed the developing campaign industry how to make gobs and gobs of money.
Best in regards to all this, someone sent me a recent piece by a Democratic fundraiser vividly illustrating the death of politics in America. The writer explains how the system works. You get “a phone call from Chuck Schumer in early October ‘The Kansas Senate race is within the margin of error. We need 3 million. I don’t know if we’re going to win but it’ll force the Republicans to play defense and get them to take money away from Maine, Ohio, Texas.’” So pathetic, so lucrative for a few.
To drive the point home, today's NYT has a piece about the "controversial" Dem party "autopsy" on the 2024 election, remember, that's the second time they lost to Trump. Finally released, the author of the report claims a chapter was left out concerning "the sway of an operative class that had become 'generationally wealthy off politics' while steering Democratic strategy." Such that anyone can say there's a hint of strategy anywhere in American politics today.
Change is only possible if the American people want to reclaim their republic.