By Stephen Lendman
The US political season never ends. It’ll be in high gear post-conventions this month.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, US 2020 presidential aspirants, groups working on their behalf, “leadership PACs, super PACs, dark money outlets,” and other sources raised over $2.7 billion so far.
As an incumbent, Trump amassed a sizable war chest before Biden entered the race.
Politicians in America are bought like toothpaste. Big money controls the process in cahoots with party bosses.
Voters have no say over over who runs things or their agendas.
Democracy in America is pure illusion, never the real thing from inception to now.
Longtime critic of US politics when alive and active, Gore Vidal once said the following:
“I do not think that the American System in its present state of decadence is worth preserving.”
“There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party” — each wing similar to the other.
America’s “democracy” in name only is a system “where numerous elections are held at great cost without issues and with interchangeable candidates” no different from each other.
“By the time (aspirants) get to be presidential material, (they’ve) been bought ten times over.”
America is “rotting away at a funereal pace. We’ll have a military dictatorship pretty soon…”
Bread and circuses can’t conceal reality, nor carefully scripted political campaigns.
Candidates for president and key congressional posts are largely cardboard cutouts of each other on issues mattering most, differing mainly by party label and style.
In endorsing Harris as Biden’s running mate, the NYT called her “a VP that big business can back,” adding:
“Biden…gain(ed) traction among crucial donors in Big Finance and Big Tech,” picking Harris “strengthened that support. Wall Street” backs her.
She’s pro-war, pro-big money, pro-police state toughness, pro-mass incarceration, anti-governance serving everyone equitably according to international, constitutional and US statute laws.
Her gender, race and cultural roots are non-issues. Her choice as Biden’s running mate is all about her support for Dem party politics across the board.
She’s one-sidedly pro-Israel, hostile to Palestinian rights and regional peace — nearly always voting along party lines.
She co-sponsored the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 that’s all about China bashing, unrelated to human rights.
She supported the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization of 2020 — the police state USA Patriot Act in new form that includes Big Brother spying on Americans.
As California AG, she said “(i)t’s not progressive to be soft on crime.”
Countless individuals she prosecuted, got convicted and imprisoned committed misdemeanors too minor to matter — like smoking marijuana, she admitted using herself earlier.
The Times called her Senate voting record “exemplary.”
According to Roll Call, her “legislative record…shows a loyal (Dem) and Trump counterpuncher,” adding:
She “voted with fellow (Dems) 99 percent of the time…show(ing) (she’s) a reliable soldier” — besting Bernie Sanders’ 98% along party lines voting record.
Among other reasons, she was picked as Biden’s running mate for being safe, including as president if makes it that far.
With 21 other Dems, she opposed what she called a “precipitous withdrawal” of US forces from Syria and Afghanistan — nations threatening no one the US attacked aggressively and continue a policy of permanent (illegal) occupation.
She was one of eight Dems to vote against the US, Mexico, Canada trade agreement to replace NAFTA.
While rhetorically expressing support for Medicare for all, she only backed a choice between a consumer public option or private insurance coverage.
Her position on healthcare is much like Obama’s who time and again said:
“If you like your doctor, you’ll be able to keep your doctor.”
“If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan.”
Instead they got the so-called Affordable Care Act, a healthcare rationing scheme to enrich insurers, drug companies and large hospital chains.
Obama initially supported a public option, then dropped the idea to please Big Pharma and other healthcare industry interests.
Steps toward universal healthcare are opposed by most House and Senate members.
Roll Call said Harris “went back and forth” on this issue, showing that if it came up for a vote and hers mattered, she’d oppose what she rhetorically backed.
She supported Sanders’ S. 1129 single-payer 10-year transition to Medicare for all — a lengthy period that assures it will never become the law of the land.
On communications, technology, and social media issues, she declined to endorse anti-trust actions against monopolistic practices of industry giants.
On law and order issues, she’s hardline, opposing calls to hold police accountable, saying supporters of this policy are “shameful.”
Harris is a loyal Dem foot soldier now elevated in their ranks as Biden’s running mate.
If elected, she’ll be vice president in January, a heartbeat from the nation’s highest office with a chance for the brass ring in a future election or sooner — if Biden defeats Trump and is unable to complete his term.
*Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
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