Not only that, voting for Democracy ain't all it's cracked up to be. True Democracy is mob rule (bigger mob makes bigger rules), more like a Demobcracy.
The bromide of "It's the worst form of government, except for all the others" isn't very true either. I would rank a Republic over a Demobcracy, where the Republic is comprised of a bunch of little Demobcracies, each having more of a voice in the crowd of little force-wielding Demobcracies.
Bromides aside, there isn't really a perfect system.
Aristotle advocated something akin to anarchy, individuals making self-interest as the engine for their personal and familial and civil wellbeing, the resulting foundation taking the burden off of the collective, making it unnecessary for the collective to manage the specifics, the minutia, and the talents of each individual to fill in the needs of the collective in their own special way.
He's got his biases, like we all do. A difference with him is that, over time, he has advocated for the spectrum between "both sides", he's "seen the world from both sides now". That lets us know he's not blind to other points of view, and even has remanences of fealty to them, making his criticisms of them more solid, and people's gravitation toward the various sides more understandable.
American 'democracy' is mere Theatre by the managerial class that acts as 'bread & circuses' for the most part. The elections were 'Fortified' long ago!
If anything, it took till this long for enough people (i.e. in the tens of millions) to realize the fallout & consequences of said moves from decades ago!
System is failing and those at top, uninterested in representing and serving the people, scramble to oppress and maintain power. I see this as the same thing as The CARES Act, a mafia-style bustout of the US dollar--the poors were tossed some scraps to distracts but trillions doled out to the rich, the single largest upward transfer of wealth in human history--looting the system because they can, to a degree that destabilizes it. Now the some of the PMC stenographers in the MSM are getting tossed into the drink with the rest of us--boo hoo.
Democrats have long blamed Ralph Nader for Al Gore’s loss in 2000, but that narrative never fit the facts. It would be just as easy to blame Bush’s victory in Florida on Muslim voters who voted for him en masse after Gore, ironically, refused during their debates to promise to end the use of secret evidence in immigration proceedings.
Of course, the Supreme Court shares its share of blame. Had they paid attention at the time to the court’s tragic politicization, any number of voices might have been less surprised when that institution would go on to destroy reproductive rights 20 years later.
In any case, the idea that Democrats support democracy is unfortunately a myth. Biden spoke on the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection to claim that democracy is on the ballot this year. But, as a figure no more willing than Trump to debate his opponents, Biden’s claim holds no water. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/democracy-is-not-on-the-ballot-despite
It’s even worse when considering Biden’s long record of conservatism as a Democratic senator, or the pattern that has infected each of the last several democratic presidents. Each has relied on support from progressives only to then embrace conservative policies once in office. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/fears-of-a-fascist-future-overlook
My next post will extend that argument based on observations of Biden’s tragic—and revealing—support for the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Dobbs was the most pro-democracy court ruling in decades. It will allow the abortion issue to be resolved at the ballot box and largely put behind us within a decade. Ginsburg herself noted that we were heading toward a democratic solution until the court intervened.
As to Bush v Gore, there were so many conflicting requirements it was impossible to get it right. Ironically, had the votes been counted consistently statewide (the majority, conservative opinion) Gore would have won.
The constitutionally mandated safe harbor provision precluded that possibility.
While the Democrats are working to kill our Democratic processes, the larger villain is the press. The so called free press was supposed to help protect the citizens from the abuses of the powerful elites.
The MSM has decided to align themselves with a major political party, censor citizens who expose the lies, and subvert Democratic processes.
Now we have a corrupt federal government, the Democrat party, technology oligarchs, and a rogue MSM attempting to steal the upcoming election.
It's kind of blindingly insulting to a point to piss over your fence and demand that you call it 'rain'. At some point you have to move out of the way. After you move out of the way, you have to figure out what to do about the guy, who is still launching dictatorial edicts over your fence and getting the press to call that 'democracy'. I think that's where we are now.
Ralph Nader is the absolute PERFECT window to the truth of the national Democratic Party. Nader is certainly fallible in many ways, but he is absolutely true to his progressive values and worldview. He's not riding the tired old Trump-is-the-antichrist panic wagon - he is focussed on actual issues. It's like he didn't get the memo. He has sacrificed untold amounts of personal gain - money, reputation, friendship, recognition, influence - in his unwavering commitment to the well-being of underrepresented humans. The Democrats have shunned him, ridiculed him, directly blamed him, disempowered him, silenced him. For actually living the values they pretend to champion. They are total hypocrites - elitist and self-interested in the extreme.
Yet, (like large segments of the general population), Nader continues to be loyal to an organization that treats him with utter derision.
None of that is surprising to anyone with eyes, yet he continues to chase after them - the elites and their followers. He's 88 years old - how does he continue to believe that he'll find the one perfect way to communicate all his wisdom, and THEN they'll finally see the light? Maybe if he prints it on newsprint - then they'll reverse course.... because no one ever saw printed words before. Maybe if he does X... maybe if he does Y, he'll actually get his message to them. Sigh.
Mr. Nader... communicating your ideas and values and passion is NOT the problem. Everyone knows all of that. The Democratic Party establishment has spent the past 50 years walling you off from them because they don't WANT to hear you. They are not interested. They don't share your views... and not because the views don't have merit. (But because those views don't bring them personal gain.)
(And before the tired, knee-jerk whataboutism hops in... YES, this is also true of the national Republican party. cuz.... news flash.... they're a lot more alike than they are different.)
When Nader was blocked from even sitting in the audience at the Bush/Gore debate & Jill Stein was handcuffed to a chair during the Obama/Romney debate you'd think that America would have noticed the 2 big neon signs pointing at both incidents with the words "THIS IS YOUR DEMOCRACY DYING."
I gloat a bit when I say, in 40 years, I have always voted for the losing presidential candidate, since I've always voted my conscience. People rarely know the name of my choice since their names are squelched by the uniparty and associates. But, I peck a few extra keystrokes and find their names, look over their platforms, choose the one that best fits my aspirations for the country, and sometimes I canvas for my choice.
When canvasing, the most common statement I hear is "if you vote for G then you're really voting for B.". I respond with, "no, actually, I'm voting for G, and if you agree with G's policies, you could vote for G too, and talk to others about why you're voting for G, and maybe they'll vote for G too. G's talking about stuff that just about everyone I've talked to agrees with, longs for really, it's not a hard sell.". They respond with, "well, ya, but you're either optimistic or a glutton for punishment."
That is the mental state of the electorate.
They are betting on the glitz of the rigged Superbowl while they need to be focused on their kids' future.
I volunteered for Nader's campaign in FL and boy were we ever paying attention to Dem shenanigans. and piece of advice to today's 3rd party supporters, don't put your candidate's bumper sticker on your car if you like your paint job. Yup Nader sticker got me a LOOOOONG key scratch one night.
I loved the TV series Billions as it depicted the American managerial class, within New York, DC and Connecticut, and their behavior. Bobby Axlerod played by Damian Lewis is the private sector side... a Wall Street billionaire hedge fund CEO. Paul Giamatti plays Chuck Rhoades, the public sector side... the Attorney General.
Both of them needed the popular trends to be managed in their favor. Axelrod needed it for the market bets he would make. Rhoades needed the political capital.
What was lacking in the storyline was the more recent Wall Street acquisition of the media... a change where these elites would MAKE the trends instead of doing payola to influence them. However, the series did a good job depicting the work by both sides of this same Ivy-League connected elite cabal to compete against each other while colluding to horde their power and wealth from being challenged by the lowly classes beneath them.
The acquisition of the media (four mega-sized Wall Street asset management companies together own a controlling interest in 80% of media business, and also own controlling interest in most major large corporations), is the reason this has become tyrannical and dangerous when previously it was just a "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" storyline we excepted.
Basically Brexit and Trump were the signs that the electorate had finally reached a point where the constant looting of the elite managerial class had hit an inflection point. Like during the Gilded Age labor rebellions during the turn of the 20th Century, the people had had enough and democratic rebelling against the elites was the remedy.
However, because they bought the media this time they could manipulate the public against each other instead of against the elites. And while the public was fighting among themselves, they could do to work destroying any political and business opposition that threatened their looting sandbox.
Looking at all of this lawfare anti-democratic mess, I think the corporatist acquisition of the national media is source of the problem and also the thing we should consider to remedy the mess.
I greatly enjoy your investigative journalism especially your advocacy of free speech. I am a member of Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace in Albany, New York. In December we hosted a talk by Miko Peled and were subsequently banned by the Bethlehem library. We would love to have you speak at one of our forums. Please let me know if that is possible and what costs it would entail. Sincerely, Candace Lider
Democrats need to pick a different name, because they clearly hate democracy
And full-on contempt for the Constitution.
It's up to all of us to stop this takeover of our
founding system of government.
Not only that, voting for Democracy ain't all it's cracked up to be. True Democracy is mob rule (bigger mob makes bigger rules), more like a Demobcracy.
The bromide of "It's the worst form of government, except for all the others" isn't very true either. I would rank a Republic over a Demobcracy, where the Republic is comprised of a bunch of little Demobcracies, each having more of a voice in the crowd of little force-wielding Demobcracies.
Bromides aside, there isn't really a perfect system.
Aristotle advocated something akin to anarchy, individuals making self-interest as the engine for their personal and familial and civil wellbeing, the resulting foundation taking the burden off of the collective, making it unnecessary for the collective to manage the specifics, the minutia, and the talents of each individual to fill in the needs of the collective in their own special way.
I'm sure that system has it's gaping holes too.
Matt Taibbi......endangered species.......a journalist.
He's got his biases, like we all do. A difference with him is that, over time, he has advocated for the spectrum between "both sides", he's "seen the world from both sides now". That lets us know he's not blind to other points of view, and even has remanences of fealty to them, making his criticisms of them more solid, and people's gravitation toward the various sides more understandable.
It’s amazing isn’t it. What ever happened to journalism.
American 'democracy' is mere Theatre by the managerial class that acts as 'bread & circuses' for the most part. The elections were 'Fortified' long ago!
If anything, it took till this long for enough people (i.e. in the tens of millions) to realize the fallout & consequences of said moves from decades ago!
(For those interested)
If you wish to read (& listen!) to more of My commentary, here is my Main Stack:
https://thefallofthewest.substack.com
Thank You Kindly to everyone!
System is failing and those at top, uninterested in representing and serving the people, scramble to oppress and maintain power. I see this as the same thing as The CARES Act, a mafia-style bustout of the US dollar--the poors were tossed some scraps to distracts but trillions doled out to the rich, the single largest upward transfer of wealth in human history--looting the system because they can, to a degree that destabilizes it. Now the some of the PMC stenographers in the MSM are getting tossed into the drink with the rest of us--boo hoo.
Democrats have long blamed Ralph Nader for Al Gore’s loss in 2000, but that narrative never fit the facts. It would be just as easy to blame Bush’s victory in Florida on Muslim voters who voted for him en masse after Gore, ironically, refused during their debates to promise to end the use of secret evidence in immigration proceedings.
Of course, the Supreme Court shares its share of blame. Had they paid attention at the time to the court’s tragic politicization, any number of voices might have been less surprised when that institution would go on to destroy reproductive rights 20 years later.
In any case, the idea that Democrats support democracy is unfortunately a myth. Biden spoke on the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection to claim that democracy is on the ballot this year. But, as a figure no more willing than Trump to debate his opponents, Biden’s claim holds no water. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/democracy-is-not-on-the-ballot-despite
It’s even worse when considering Biden’s long record of conservatism as a Democratic senator, or the pattern that has infected each of the last several democratic presidents. Each has relied on support from progressives only to then embrace conservative policies once in office. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/fears-of-a-fascist-future-overlook
My next post will extend that argument based on observations of Biden’s tragic—and revealing—support for the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Dobbs was the most pro-democracy court ruling in decades. It will allow the abortion issue to be resolved at the ballot box and largely put behind us within a decade. Ginsburg herself noted that we were heading toward a democratic solution until the court intervened.
As to Bush v Gore, there were so many conflicting requirements it was impossible to get it right. Ironically, had the votes been counted consistently statewide (the majority, conservative opinion) Gore would have won.
The constitutionally mandated safe harbor provision precluded that possibility.
While the Democrats are working to kill our Democratic processes, the larger villain is the press. The so called free press was supposed to help protect the citizens from the abuses of the powerful elites.
The MSM has decided to align themselves with a major political party, censor citizens who expose the lies, and subvert Democratic processes.
Now we have a corrupt federal government, the Democrat party, technology oligarchs, and a rogue MSM attempting to steal the upcoming election.
It's kind of blindingly insulting to a point to piss over your fence and demand that you call it 'rain'. At some point you have to move out of the way. After you move out of the way, you have to figure out what to do about the guy, who is still launching dictatorial edicts over your fence and getting the press to call that 'democracy'. I think that's where we are now.
Ralph Nader is the absolute PERFECT window to the truth of the national Democratic Party. Nader is certainly fallible in many ways, but he is absolutely true to his progressive values and worldview. He's not riding the tired old Trump-is-the-antichrist panic wagon - he is focussed on actual issues. It's like he didn't get the memo. He has sacrificed untold amounts of personal gain - money, reputation, friendship, recognition, influence - in his unwavering commitment to the well-being of underrepresented humans. The Democrats have shunned him, ridiculed him, directly blamed him, disempowered him, silenced him. For actually living the values they pretend to champion. They are total hypocrites - elitist and self-interested in the extreme.
Yet, (like large segments of the general population), Nader continues to be loyal to an organization that treats him with utter derision.
None of that is surprising to anyone with eyes, yet he continues to chase after them - the elites and their followers. He's 88 years old - how does he continue to believe that he'll find the one perfect way to communicate all his wisdom, and THEN they'll finally see the light? Maybe if he prints it on newsprint - then they'll reverse course.... because no one ever saw printed words before. Maybe if he does X... maybe if he does Y, he'll actually get his message to them. Sigh.
Mr. Nader... communicating your ideas and values and passion is NOT the problem. Everyone knows all of that. The Democratic Party establishment has spent the past 50 years walling you off from them because they don't WANT to hear you. They are not interested. They don't share your views... and not because the views don't have merit. (But because those views don't bring them personal gain.)
(And before the tired, knee-jerk whataboutism hops in... YES, this is also true of the national Republican party. cuz.... news flash.... they're a lot more alike than they are different.)
When Nader was blocked from even sitting in the audience at the Bush/Gore debate & Jill Stein was handcuffed to a chair during the Obama/Romney debate you'd think that America would have noticed the 2 big neon signs pointing at both incidents with the words "THIS IS YOUR DEMOCRACY DYING."
But nope.
Snored right through it all.
Ralph said, "I'm not results oriented."
I gloat a bit when I say, in 40 years, I have always voted for the losing presidential candidate, since I've always voted my conscience. People rarely know the name of my choice since their names are squelched by the uniparty and associates. But, I peck a few extra keystrokes and find their names, look over their platforms, choose the one that best fits my aspirations for the country, and sometimes I canvas for my choice.
When canvasing, the most common statement I hear is "if you vote for G then you're really voting for B.". I respond with, "no, actually, I'm voting for G, and if you agree with G's policies, you could vote for G too, and talk to others about why you're voting for G, and maybe they'll vote for G too. G's talking about stuff that just about everyone I've talked to agrees with, longs for really, it's not a hard sell.". They respond with, "well, ya, but you're either optimistic or a glutton for punishment."
That is the mental state of the electorate.
They are betting on the glitz of the rigged Superbowl while they need to be focused on their kids' future.
As long prevails the "lesser evil" mentality things will grow worse .
I volunteered for Nader's campaign in FL and boy were we ever paying attention to Dem shenanigans. and piece of advice to today's 3rd party supporters, don't put your candidate's bumper sticker on your car if you like your paint job. Yup Nader sticker got me a LOOOOONG key scratch one night.
Brilliant and insightful journalism, thank you Matt.
As depressing as this tale of woe is, it is much appreciated to have it framed in such an articulated manner
There are no political saviors coming and the calvary has long ago been nationalized
I loved the TV series Billions as it depicted the American managerial class, within New York, DC and Connecticut, and their behavior. Bobby Axlerod played by Damian Lewis is the private sector side... a Wall Street billionaire hedge fund CEO. Paul Giamatti plays Chuck Rhoades, the public sector side... the Attorney General.
Both of them needed the popular trends to be managed in their favor. Axelrod needed it for the market bets he would make. Rhoades needed the political capital.
What was lacking in the storyline was the more recent Wall Street acquisition of the media... a change where these elites would MAKE the trends instead of doing payola to influence them. However, the series did a good job depicting the work by both sides of this same Ivy-League connected elite cabal to compete against each other while colluding to horde their power and wealth from being challenged by the lowly classes beneath them.
The acquisition of the media (four mega-sized Wall Street asset management companies together own a controlling interest in 80% of media business, and also own controlling interest in most major large corporations), is the reason this has become tyrannical and dangerous when previously it was just a "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" storyline we excepted.
Basically Brexit and Trump were the signs that the electorate had finally reached a point where the constant looting of the elite managerial class had hit an inflection point. Like during the Gilded Age labor rebellions during the turn of the 20th Century, the people had had enough and democratic rebelling against the elites was the remedy.
However, because they bought the media this time they could manipulate the public against each other instead of against the elites. And while the public was fighting among themselves, they could do to work destroying any political and business opposition that threatened their looting sandbox.
Looking at all of this lawfare anti-democratic mess, I think the corporatist acquisition of the national media is source of the problem and also the thing we should consider to remedy the mess.
All We the People do is accept being slapped around continuously. We must enjoy it.
Y'know, for a nation where the 98% hide behind the 2% who serve, our country sure loves to pound those goddamn war drums.
Hi Matt,
I greatly enjoy your investigative journalism especially your advocacy of free speech. I am a member of Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace in Albany, New York. In December we hosted a talk by Miko Peled and were subsequently banned by the Bethlehem library. We would love to have you speak at one of our forums. Please let me know if that is possible and what costs it would entail. Sincerely, Candace Lider