With the de facto 2016 presidential primaries starting, the twin parties are already scrambling to decide which corporate “leader” they will be following off the edge of a cliff. There isn’t enough lipstick on the planet to make this group of hogs look appealing, but it won’t stop them from competing for their spot in the trough.
Obviously we can’t say for certain who the nominees will be, but the mere possibility of it being a Bush vs. Clinton race shows just how utterly tired, predictable and vacuous our two-party system is. It’s harder to find a better indicator of a country’s “democracy deficit” than its allegiance to dynasty, and even the most robotic lesser-of-two-evils voter is wincing at the prospect.
Ready for Dynasty Reruns?
However, even if it isn’t Bush vs. Clinton—even if the candidates are from two different families (don’t worry, we’ll try not to be too “radical” here)—our political system is still an obvious oligarchy. When the same wealthy families can buy elections over and over, is that really so much different from the same families being put in the White House over and over?
With gag-inducing books and neoliberal (no)think tanks arguing for the same quack solutions ad nauseam, Democrats will be promoting Hillary (who makes upwards of $250,000 for each clichéd speech) as some sort of working class savior against the rightist onslaught. Does this mean control of firms and investment will finally be moved from absentee billionaires to rank-and-file employees? Puh-leaze!
At best, the dynastic heir’s platform will entail a new subsidy here and there, a couple more wars, and more yawn-inducing boilerplate about “investing in infrastructure.” As always, the unemployed are never part of the “infrastructure” needing to be invested in, nor is the infrastructure particularly “green.” Even if it is a dangerous nuclear plant being built, Democrats consider it “infrastructure” so long as it was expensive and burdensome to create.
One thing is for sure: other dynasties and oligarchies sure care for their own people better than the one in the USA.
