The GOP Machine

To slightly alter a famous old line from Benjamin Disraeli, “there are lies, damned lies, and the GOP.” It has become conventional political wisdom on the left these days to recognize that the GOP is built on a Trojan Horse of lies, hatred and misdirection. The lies are told with such aplomb in the echo chamber of radio, television and Internet sites that no one within it can see beyond the lies. The hatred is spilled in innuendo and jingoistic, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-affirmative action missives spread out across the heartland of “real Americans.” And the misdirection keeps the white working class poor screaming in every direction except the right one – the corporate sponsors of the spectacle they feed at each day and night. It is a powerful machine, built on nothing but the social reproduction of the status quo. Yet that Trojan Horse continues to resonate with enough of a cynically exhausted public that it has the power to win elections at every level -- except the top office for two elections running (and only 2 of the last 6). Call it Bush fatigue with a short shadow, or maybe just the inability to find a viable candidate who can tack right to win the nomination and then back left to win in the mainstream. But whatever the case is, the GOP is already licking their lips not only for the possibility of retaking the Senate in November but for the bigger prize of controlling all three branches of government in 2017.

In that vein, the attacks on Hillary Clinton are heating up, even as the positioning for their nominee continues to shift with the wind. This was in glaring display on a Fox Panel this past Sunday that used the theoretical assassination of the ex-First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State to make a point about the Benghazi story that just won’t go away (Media Matters). The fact that their argument was based on a narrative that has long proven false is of little consequence, or that they feel no compunction to essentially call for violent insurrection against elected officials. It is all part of that same machine that feeds on hate and the misdirected victimhood of the fading middle class and American Dream. Blame the “liberal media,” blame the gays, blame non-existent affirmative action or the shrinking army of feminists, blame the “illegal” immigrants and always, always blame a corrupt government that is really the last buffer between the people and the complete corporate takeover of American.

The attacks on Clinton will only intensify as we approach the date two years from November when the dream of a Republican plutocracy can be fully realized. And it is incumbent on anyone against that dream, anyone who doesn’t want to see an America that looks a hell of a lot like Putin’s Russia, to stop decrying the lies and misdirection and find a way to push a message that can actually win votes and elections. For the smarter loser may feel better about themselves from the smug pantheon of their intellectual superiority, but in the end they are just that … the loser. And the current polls say that is exactly what more and more democrats will be in the coming years, unless they find a new message.