The Suspension of Disbelief & The New Right-Wing

The Suspension of Disbelief & The New Right-Wing

Some of the left’s most influential voices and groups are taking offense at the way they and their causes were discussed behind their backs by Clinton and some of her closest advisers in the emails, which swipe liberal heroes and causes as “puritanical,” “pompous”, “naive”, “radical” and “dumb,” calling some “freaks,” who need to “get a life.”

-       WikiLeaks poisons Hillary’s relationship with Left – Politico

Neera Tanden, the president of the Center for American Progress, e-mailed Podesta shortly before an appearance on CNN, as she was going through some talking points about Clinton’s then rival, Bernie Sanders. “Do we actually know who told Hillary she could use a private email? And has that person been drawn and quartered?” she asked. “[This] whole thing is fucking insane.”

-       Even the Clinton Campaign Was Blindsided by Her E-mail Scandal – Vanity Fair, Hive

By J.M. Hamilton (10-31-2016) 

Trick or treat?  The question is no longer rhetorical. 

What has been a treat for reporters, pundits, scribes, and MSM income statements has become a bad trick, or nightmare, for ordinary Americans.  JMH writes, of course, of the 2016 Presidential campaign, where just when one thinks it cannot possibly go any lower, or sleazier, a new revelation comes to light.  Both mainstream candidates are so mired in their own goo, hypocrisy, and revelations that – depending upon which poll you read - the majority of Americans dislike both candidates.

The latest news is that the FBI Director has - based upon Mr. Anthony Weiner’s laptop – reopened Madame Clinton’s email investigation.  Mr. Weiner is a former congressman, and estranged husband from Clinton aide, Ms. Huma Abedin.  Based upon what we know so far, Mr. Weiner is under investigation by the FBI for sexting an underage woman, when his laptop revealed emails from the Clinton State Department & her private server.  (Sounds sort of General Patraeus doesn’t it, whose affair & emails led to his downfall?)  Director Comey has been under considerable pressure for not bringing charges against Mrs. Clinton; and with the GOP led house promising to investigate a POTUS Clinton for the next four years, perhaps the Director is worried about what the House GOP might uncover? 

That last point is pure speculation on my part, as to why the FBI Director re-opened the investigation.  However, when Mr. Comey had every reason to bring the hammer down upon Mrs. Clinton, based upon the FBI’s original investigation – if for nothing else then Mrs. Clinton’s pathological and preternatural ability to lie, constantly … 

Why reopen the case now?

For oldsters who can remember, the whole sordid affair of secrecy, cover ups, pay to play, politicians believing they are above the law, and the steady drip of incriminating evidence (in this instance, courtesy of Wikileaks) has a Nixonesque quality to it.  

The whiff of Watergate is in the atmosphere.

Friday the stock market took a mild hit, and a hint of panic crept into the air.  The Establishment’s gal might be on the ropes.  Even if she does manage to enter into the White House, it will likely be by the skin of her teeth, under threat of serial investigations, and possibly, pending impeachment hearings. 

What a great role model for girls and boys.  So much for the progressive - who likes to get things done.

Which helps explain why Mrs. C has struggled so much with millennials; the youngsters know she’s a crook and aren’t buying what she’s selling.

Hillary defines a generation of corrupt politicians – willing to say anything, depending upon the audience – and far too eager to do the plutocracy’s bidding for a little payola.  Living proof, as JMH has long argued, that Americans truly do live in a one party state; or more generously, a two party state, controlled, owned, and ruled by an all-powerful oligarchy.

What’s that you say?  There’s a boatload of differences between the two major parties?  Perhaps on social issues, there are still some differences, and these social differences should not be taken lightly.  But even here, the GOP – and its socially conservative base - often finds itself reined in on social issues, by the power of the oligarchy’s purse.  If the GOP, or a Republican governor, gets too reactionary, convention business, NCAA finals, and big biz tends to leave town.  

Still disagree with me?  Okay, let's suspend disbelief for a moment, and forget the last 24 months of campaigning.  What politician am I describing? 

Generals, neocons, and MIC lobbyist have supported this candidate.  Republicans have been rallying to the candidate.  This candidate has historically been a huge supporter of free trade agreements, that have benefited multinational corporations at the expense of ordinary Americans, U.S. jobs, and the tax base.  Said candidate has been highly supportive of fracking, and hence, fossil fuels that are damaging to the environment.   Our candidate and her advisors – per a recent Politico article – has referred to liberals & progressives as: “puritanical,” “pompous”, “naive”, “radical” and “dumb,” calling some “freaks,” who need to “get a life.”  As for foreign policy, our candidate is more hawkish than the current administration, which is presently bombing no less than seven countries.  As for the Federal Reserve, our candidate believes the Fed, & its Chairperson, are beyond reproach and above criticism (despite plenty of evidence that the central bank has contributed to a massive debt bubble & enabled a multi-trillion dollar federal deficit).  Said candidate is a friend of Wall Street, and for six figure fees, soothed and assuaged bankster feelings of anxiety, post 2008 Crash. 

So rarified is the air this individual breathes, this candidate has self-acknowledged being out of touch with ordinary Americans.  The candidate in question pandered to law & order/dog whistle politics of the '90s, referring to young black men as super-predators, and supported the mass incarceration state.   Under this candidate’s political party’s watch, merger and acquisitions (M&A) soared, and in the resulting Ayn Rand dystopia, job killing monopolies and cartels now dominate industry after industry, and economic sector after economic sector.   Throughout the '90s and into the present day, this candidate’s party – thanks to support for free trade & a failure to address trickle down tax policies – helped to oversee: the destruction of the middle class, wage stagnation, and rising wage & wealth inequality.

Ordinarily, I’d say JMH was describing a mainstream Republican POTUS candidate, but no, the aforementioned candidate is one, Madame Hillary Clinton.

There’s a tectonic schism in the GOP, often described and predicted by this blog, where the Republican elites are highly disconnected with the interests of their base.  Hence, like rats fleeing a sinking ship, many GOP elite have latched onto Team Clinton and the Democratic Party.  

There’s just one problem with this strategy. 

If Dems continue to co-opt/triangulate neo-liberal economic policies, and neocon foreign policies, the Democratic base will eventually awaken from their slumber, too, and see through the same nonsense (the GOP’s base has already discovered).  That process already seems underway.

In the meantime, the U.S. is in turmoil, as are most Western democracies.  Seems that the 99% are no longer willing to sit idly by, while the elite/plutocracy write the rules  - and pig out at the government trough – solely for their benefit.   

For additional clues see the rise of nationalist parties in Europe, Brexit, and one Mr. Donald Trump.

Heh, who needs ghosts and goblins, when there’s nothing scarier than a rapacious, and nonsentient, zombie-plutocracy that governs us all?

Happy Hallows’ Eve!

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2016