Democrats say they are defending democracy against the Republicans. The United States says it’s a model democracy. How to explain the rise of Kamala Harris? So unpopular in 2020 that she had to drop out before the first primary, she was appointed by her senile predecessor, who then stepped aside in a classic bait and switch after he nailed down the nomination and then handed it to her. Some democracy.
What Kind of Democracy Is This?
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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Ted is only pragmatic on matters of Russia v Ukraine. And in that arena his pragvision is away off. So, I guess he should just stick to his ideals, which are tainted by his hatred of the Dems. I mean his presentations represent some kind of thinking………………….He was advising Scott Stantis to vote for Chase Oliver the other day. Have a Twinkie. Look, there’s a butterfly. Hey, let’s go blueberry picking.
You say “appointed” but it was no official act. Biden did his best with persuasion, but he did not use force, or rule of law, to appoint Harris. Shall we instead say “argued strongly for Harris”?
The comedian Bill Hicks had a routine: The newly elected president is escorted to a dim empty room. There’s one of those old Bell & Howell projectors from the 1950s with a small reel of film in it. President sits down. The escort turns on the projector. It’s Dealey Plaza from an unfamiliar angle. A rifle barrel appears in the frame, lining up a shot. Kennedy’s motorcade comes into frame, Kennedy is shot, the limousine speeds away, the film goes on for a few more seconds, then the reel finishes playing and does that whole sput-sput-sput thing.
The escort, who has been silent the entire time, shuts off the machine, turns up the lights. “Any questions?”
Biden was never in charge. At least as far back as Reagan, the multinationals and their lobbyists were using their money to insert themselves into the political process. As another comedian, George Carlin, has pointed out, “You don’t need a formal conspiracy when interests converge.” All those multibillion-dollar corporations know which way the wind needs to blow. They all work toward the same end goals.
I can’t state with certainty who gave Biden his orders — was it some guy in a suit standing next to a film projector or was it just some amorphous cretin from the dnc channeling their higher-up’s orders — but he was taken aside at some point and told what was going to happen. The people in charge don’t really care who wins — if they did, Trump would have had his head blown off a long time ago. But they like to keep these elections tight, so that we’re all distracted.
Biden did as told. Harris has already been told that “they’ll” do the thinking, and she can go on pretending that she’s the decider gal, and she’s fine with that; she wants the throne, not the responsibilities.
I suspect that the dnc’s next move will be to have Biden resign the presidency (possibly shortly after he pardons his son or commutes his son’s sentence). That, too, will give Harris an ephemeral bump. That piece of drama will keep everyone’s blood pressure at about 300 over 160 until the actual election.
And now, probably, moderation.
Sure, the powerful use their power to keep their power. That applies to the billionaire class, the military-industrial complex, and all sorts of other, very real bogeymen (bogeypeople?). I don’t think it comes as direct orders; rather candidates and the elected officials have to learn what the powers want by watching press releases and other public communications, and if the candidate/official doesn’t carry it out, they lose the next election. That is, I think the “weapon” of these powerful organizations is using the ballot box, rather than threats of assassination, etc. It is insane how much power “the powerful” wield but, except for that, I think that it is mostly above board.
Just for the record, not only was cannabis legal back in those days, everybody grew it. It was an important source of rope, cloth, and paper. No record of our Founding Fathers using it recreationally or medicinally exists, but no doubt others did.