The Election is an Irrelevant Sideshow

Earlier this week, a hot mic caught this exchange between President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev:

O: On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space.

M: Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you…

O: This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.

M: I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.

Last week, a spokesman for Mitt Romney was asked if it was a problem that his battle with Gingrich and Santorum has forced him to "tack so far to the right it would hurt him with moderate voters in the general election." This is how he responded:

"Well, I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch-A-Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again."

Democrats and Republicans were quick to jump onto these gaffes and attack their respective enemies, but nobody seems to be talking about an important fact that everyone already knows: all politicians practice these tactics, and base their entire campaigns around them. So Barack Obama is deciding to put shit off because he wants to get elected again. No shit? Mitt Romney spent months pandering to the Republican base, since they're the ones who decide primaries. And now he's going to change his personality again to pander to independents, who decide the general election? You don't say?

Guess what? We are currently fighting the longest war in the history of the god damn country. 17 innocent Afghans were just murdered in their homes, mostly children, and there was probably a coverup to have it all fall on one person. Our drones are shooting missiles at rescue workers and funerals. Barack Obama assassinated a 16-year-old kid who was born in Denver, and the FBI refuses to answer a simple question on whether they have the authority to assassinate Americans on American soil. Guantanamo Bay is still open, and we still refuse to release over 80 innocents there who have been cleared. We are the richest nation on the planet and our education, prison, and immigration systems are in shambles, while the military continues to receive over half of the entire budget. Chris Hedges is suing the American government over the NDAA and indefinite detention, and Noam Chomsky and Daniel Ellsberg (who leaked the Pentagon papers) are scheduled to testify. Tomorrow.

This is important shit. And the only things we can fucking talk about are campaign tactics. Watching the prime time political drivel, it's as if none of these issues actually have real world consequences for people. Sure, ending the Afghanistan war immediately and unconditionally might save tens of thousands of innocent lives, but that would just be political suicide! America has the most expensive health care in the industrialized world and tens of thousands of people are dying every year for lack of medical coverage? You don't understand, Obama had to drop the public option with hardly a whimper. He had to shove in the mandate forcing people to buy coverage they can't afford, it was the only way he could get support from the health care lobbyists he was sucking off. Republicans are race-baiting and gay-bashing? Let's not discuss these issues, let's just talk about how much it helped them with the base! THE BASE.

Obama and Romney both support the war in Afghanistan. They both supported Iraq to the bitter, pointless end. They both support Guantanamo Bay. They both support drone strikes and assassinations of American citizens. They both support the NDAA. They both support the Patriot Act. They both excuse war criminals and torturers. Both mindlessly support Israel in their racist apartheid against the Palestinians, and their warmongering bullshit against Iran. The reason why the only issues that fucking matter never get any air time is because the American people would realize just how little difference there is between their candidates if they ever started talking about them.

You don't get a fucking choice. This election is a reality TV show. The contestants are all picked for you at the start, and then they're slowly eliminated in the primaries one by one. We phone in based on personalities. America is slaughtering thousands and our civil liberties are becoming nonexistent, but TELL ME WHO I WOULD RATHER HAVE A FUCKING BEER WITH.