the rix mix

Oh, & did I say I think McCain's choice of Palin is fucking brilliant? So far. Brilliant like a Hail Mary pass from the enemy's end zone that's caught way down field & the receiver is zig zagging toward the goal line & about the only hope the opposition has is that the receiver will trip.

This is the most astonishing campaign I've ever seen. I believe it is the last gasp of presidential free elections in America & we could blow it. I've believed since December 2000 that we were two national elections away from that point, & that was before 9/11. I think the next administration, using "election security" as a primary rationale, could game the system in ways that can never be repaired. That's how frightened I am by the prospect of Palin/McCain. Why? Because Americans are willing to toss away any rights we don't personally need or use. As somebody said, "You don't understand liberties until you try to take a few." & liberty for most Americans can be distilled to a few rights, the most important being the right to consume resources; essentially a right to shop & a right to be entertained. The economy? It'll get better, it just goes in cycles. Iraq? We'll win there eventually, hardly any Americans are killed now. Reproductive rights? Nobody has a problem getting condoms & birth control pills. Free speech? If you really love America, you never say anything bad about her & have no reason to worry about what you do say. Gay rights? I don't care what they do in private. Congress? Doesn't do squat, let the president decide that stuff - as long my rep brings home some pork. Education? We have to stop other nations from educatin' their kids better than we educate our kids. Religion? What's the big deal? You're either a Christian or a Jew. Just choose one & shut up. No law says you have to go to church.

McCain represents the financial & military corporate interests, Palin the big energy & conservative Christian interests, & there you have the team & the tent. Wrap loosely in a mild "reform" or "maverick" package - The same but different, Buddhists say - give frustrated white folks a number of excuses not to vote for the black man with the strange name - because a lot of white folks just don't want to vote for a black man with a strange name even if what he says makes sense & he sounds mostly like he plans on doing the right thing.

An established empire doesn't have to produce or compete. An empire has to threaten, conquer, exploit, & demand tribute. Citizens must be placated before they become mobs. Give us cheap grain & the occasional victory parade & let us play in our backyards with our tech toys, barbecue grills, & little doggies, & Caesar can dress the "Republic" anyway he wants. We won't care about the legions "guarding" the polling places.

Tell me why it couldn't happen.

Labels: bully pulpit, Grandma Palin, THE election