Progressive Viewpoint: Three Brief Political Essays
Fairness for Presidential Debates
The carny sideshow billed as the first 2020 presidential debate was entirely predictable. The increasingly exposed ruling elites and their duopoly Party lackeys have no interest in staging a substantive treatment of the issues affecting the American 99%. How better to avoid real discussions of policies and issues than through created chaos? As far as the Partys and their bosses are concerned, either candidate would be acceptable in the White House, hence there is no urgency for either to present a compelling case for their election. Any apparent competition between the two is meaningless.
Would the presence of candidates on the debate stage who are really competing for the job have made a difference? They would have been seriously invested in communicating their policy ideas to the public, and may have forced B & T to be more focused. According to BallotPedia "Four candidates have qualified to appear on enough state ballots to win a majority—at least 270 electoral votes—in the Electoral College. They are listed in alphabetical order, along with their running mates:
Joe Biden (D) / Kamala Harris (D)
Howie Hawkins (G) / Angela Nicole Walker (G)
Jo Jorgensen (L) / Spike Cohen (L)
Donald Trump (R) / Mike Pence (R)"
As long as the Electoral College exists, THIS ought to be the primary criteria for eligibility to participate in presidential debates. If a candidate has a crack at winning the Electoral College vote, they belong on that stage! Hawkins and Jorgensen should have participated! Instead, the criteria are established by the corrupt and biased progeny of the DNC and RNC, The Committee on Presidential Debates, a private corporation.
Something as important as the presidential debates should never be run by the duopoly, which clearly has a vested interest in excluding competition. A government that permits such undemocratic practice to play a key role in federal elections is clearly NOT a neutral arbiter. This single example reveals just how pervasive the oligarch/government/duopoly corruption really is.
Reject the Political Duopoly
The corrupt duopoly Partys are partners exercising effective dominance over American politics, on behalf of the ruling oligarchs.
You will notice no one tries to "reform" the Republican Party. Eveyone accepts that the Party is fully committed to the neoliberal agenda and has no intention of changing. Despite having the very same committment, the Democratic Party has somehow managed to convince people that they are still redeemable. The Good Cop, Bad Cop scenario remains an apt way to view the duopoly's MO. The Dems, as Good Cop pretend to be on our side, luring us into the trap of betraying our own interests. We need to view the Dems as we view the Repubs, no less aligned with the 1% and NOT our friend. It cannot be said forcefully enough that, despite some cosmetic differences, the two Partys are in sync in support of the neoliberal, i.e. anti-people, agenda, and supporting EITHER of them is directly supporting neoliberalism.
The duopoly tolerates no political challengers. Those who manage to make it through all the barriers are immediately coopted or otherwise neutralized. Even Bernie Sanders in the end is just another Democrat tool.
It is high time we recognized that the normal channels for selecting a government that actually works for us are unavailable. As we voted across 45 years of federal elections Americans have experienced a dramatic loss of wealth, dignity and freedom at the hands of a series of rogue governments doing the bidding of a capitalist ruling class. Setting this right will require sacrafice, something this middle class is unaccustomed to, and political education, organization, discipline, struggle and time.
WE do it, or it won't happen.
Another Pointless Election
Those Americans who are betting that dumping Trump will bring Morning to America are lousy gamblers. Biden has already signaled the oligarchs that "nothing will fundamentally change". We need to take Biden at his word here. Politicians lie regularly to us, but if they lie to their owners, they have no present or future.
Fundamental change is exactly what Americans require to get us out of the economic and political morass we have for decades been consigned to by the ruling class. By assuring the rulers of continued neoliberal stability, Biden and the Dem Party are guaranteeing that the 99% will continue to suffer in declining economic conditions and social instability. Yes, that means us!
Helping Americans with Medicare for All, a Green New Deal and a Job Guarantee program is just terribly inconvenient for the rulers, thus not under consideration by the so-called "Party of the People", more accurately known as half of the corrupt duopoly.
Voting for any neoliberal duopoly candidate is voting to sustain the oppressive neoliberal regime, a terriblly self-destructive habit that we must break to survive. As long as control of the elections remains in the hands of the duopoly, they are no good to us. Our only meaningful path forward is through sustained mass popular direct action aimed at radically interrupting the rulers flow of commerce and profit.
