Friday, February 10, 2012

Griftopia

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow is the CPAC conference in Washington, DC, the Woodstock of conservative events. I haven't been this entertained since Sarah Palin was roaming the land, campaigning like a rabid cougar. I understand that some mucky-mucks took Mit Romney aside and told him to lay off the negative campaigning against Rick Santorum. They were concerned after the cat-fight Mit and Newt had in Florida. Its one thing to play dirty tricks on members of the opposite party, and disconcerting when those tricks are used on their own candidates by fellow Republicans. We are watching nothing less than the end of America as a country to admire and emulate.

In his book, Griftopia, writer Matt Taibbi explains: What has taken place over the last generation is a highly complicated merger of crime and policy, of stealing and government. Far from taking care of the rest of us, the financial leaders of America and their political servants have seemingly reached the cynical conclusion that our society is not worth saving and have taken on a new mission that involves not creating wealth for all, but simply absconding with whatever wealth remains in our hollowed out economy. They don't feed us, we feed them.

But our politics... is silent about this. Instead, it grounds our new and disturbing state of affairs in familiar, forty-year-old narratives. The right is eternally fighting against Lyndon Johnson; the left, George Wallace. When the Republicans win elections, their voters think they've struck a blow against big government. And when a Democratic hero like Barack Obama wins, his supporters think they've won a great victory for tolerance and diversity...

In the meantime, Ron Paul supporters are using sneaky tricks to get more than their fair share of delegates in the Caucus states. I hadn't realized that my vote in Colorado doesn't have any meaning, that the delegates will be appointed in April by a committee, and they don't have to pay attention to who got the most votes. So, although Rick Santorum got the most votes, Ron Paul could get the most delegates...

Nothing matters, since none of the Republican candidates will outlast their 15 minutes of fame beyond the conventions. Watch for someone like Jeb Bush to be brokered in at the last minute. Because Poppy Bush has Alzheimer's, and they would like Jeb to get the nomination while his dad can still recognize his face...

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