By John W. Whitehead
Republicans and Democrats alike fear that the other major party will attempt to hijack this November 3 election.
President Donald Trump has said he is convinced that mail-in ballots are a scam except in Florida, where it’s safe to vote by mail because of its “great Republican governor.”
The FBI is worried about foreign hackers continuing to target and exploit vulnerabilities in the Nation’s electoral system, sowing distrust about the parties, the process, and the outcome.
I, on the other hand, am not overly worried: After all, the voting booths already have been hijacked by a political elite comprised of Republicans and Democrats who are determined to retain power at all costs.
The outcome is a foregone conclusion: The Deep State will win and “we the people” will lose.
The damage already has been done.
So, no, I’m not losing a night’s sleep over the thought that this election might by any more rigged than it already is. And I’m not holding my breath in the hopes that the winner of this year’s popularity contest will save us from government surveillance, weaponized drones, militarized police, endless wars, SWAT team raids, asset forfeiture schemes, over-criminalization, profit-driven private prisons, graft and corruption, or any of the other evils that masquerade as official government business these days.
You see, after years of trying to wake Americans up to the reality that there is no political savior who will save us from the police state, I’ve come to realize that Americans want to engage in the reassurance ritual of voting.
Voters want to buy into the fantasy that when they elect a president, they’re getting someone who truly represents the citizenry rather than the Deep State, in fact, in the oligarchy that is the American police state, an elite group of wealthy donors is calling the shots in cooperation with a political elite.
The sad truth is that politics is a game, a joke, a hustle, a con, a distraction, a spectacle, a sport, and for many devout Americans, a religion.
It is a political illusion aimed at persuading the citizenry that we are free, that our vote counts, and that we actually have some control over the government when in fact, it’s a sophisticated ruse aimed at keeping us divided and fighting over two parties whose priorities, more often than not, are exactly the same so that we don’t join forces and do what the Declaration of Independence suggests, which is to throw the whole lot out and start over.
It’s no secret that both parties support endless war, engage in out-of-control spending, ignore the citizenry’s basic rights, have no respect for the rule of law, are bought and paid for by big business, care most about their own power, and have a long record of expanding government and shrinking liberty. Most of all, both parties enjoy an intimate, incestuous history with each other and with the moneyed elite that rule this country.
Despite the jabs the candidates volley at each other for the benefit of the cameras, they’re a relatively chummy bunch away from the spotlight. Moreover, despite Congress’ so-called political gridlock, our elected officials seem to have no trouble finding common ground when it’s time to collectively kowtow to the mega-corporations, lobbyists, defense contractors, and other special interest groups to whom they have pledged their true allegiance.
Just consider how insidious, incestuous and beholden to the corporate elite the various parts of the mechanism have become.
• Congress. Perhaps the most notorious offenders and most obvious culprits in the creation of the corporate-state, Congress has proven itself to be both inept and avaricious, oblivious champions of an authoritarian system that is systematically dismantling their constituents’ fundamental rights. Long before they’re elected, congressmen are trained to dance to the tune of their wealthy benefactors, so much so that they spend two-thirds of their time in office raising money.
The president. What Americans want in a president and what they need are two very different things. The making of a popular president is an exercise in branding, marketing, and creating alternate realities for the consumer, a.k.a., the citizenry, that allows them to buy into a fantasy about life in America that is utterly divorced from our increasingly grim reality.
The Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court, once the last refuge of justice, the one governmental body really capable of rolling back the slowly emerging tyranny enveloping America, instead has become the champion of the American police state, absolving government and corporate officials of their crimes while relentlessly punishing the average American for exercising his or her rights. Just like the rest of the government, the Court has routinely prioritized profit, security, and convenience, over the basic rights of the citizenry.
• The media. Of course, this triumvirate of total control would be completely ineffective without a propaganda machine provided by the world’s largest corporations. Besides shoveling drivel down our throats at every possible moment, the so-called news agencies which are supposed to act as bulwarks against government propaganda instead, have become the mouthpieces of the State. The pundits, which pollute our airwaves, are at best court jesters, and at worst propagandists for the false reality created by the American government.
The American people. I make clear in my book, “Battlefield America: The War on the American People,” we the people now belong to a permanent underclass in America. Our failure to remain informed about what is taking place in our government, to know and exercise our rights, to vocally protest, to demand accountability on the part of our government representatives, and at a minimum to care about the plight of our fellow Americans has been our downfall.
So don’t be fooled by the smear campaigns and name-calling, or drawn into their divide-and-conquer politics of hate. They’re just useful tactics that have been proven to engage voters and increase voter turnout while keeping the citizenry at each other’s throats.
It’s all a grand illusion: When all is said and done, and in all the ways that really matter, no matter who wins this upcoming election, the new boss still will be the same as the old boss, and “we the people” still will lose.
—The Rutherford Institute