Election Year. PIG and ROT

So, in keeping with the finest traditions of modern U.S. democracy, the Party In Government (hereinafter PIG) is free to sit and watch as the Rest Of Them (ROT) thrash it out amongst themselves.

Has anyone realized how fucking stupid this process is?

In the primary system, fringe and undecided voters are ignored. No, the ROT need to galvanize their base. This leads to progressively more insane and asinine claims and statements revolving around whatever in hell their narrow pool of voters care about.

Right now, objectively, what are the biggest problems in this country?

From where I sit, we've got three big 'uns.

1- The Economy, Stupid. Really, a true shitshow. The Occupy movement amuses, rather than fires me up, but they're addressing a very real perception that things are not working like they should. Then there are basic numbers like unemployment figures and home ownership. They ain't good.

2- The steady erosion of civil liberties- To be fair to the PIG, this has been going on for a long time, with some of the most precipitous damage happening in the last eleven years or so. Still and all, from both major political entities in this country, it's quite hilarious how clear they've made it that they do not give a shit about the rights of the average citizen. One sides with corporate kelptocracy. The other... sides with corporate kleptocracy with a big pretty bow on top claiming they care. Neither cares about you, fool. They care about their personal power and fortunes, about shoring up their own faction. And frankly, no alternative party would be much better once they got on top. They won't stop this on their own- they need to be scared. Neither PIG nor ROT has really had their snouts whacked on this in far, far too long- hardly surprising, when this is one area where they appear content to cooperate. Thanks, assholes.

3- Foreign Adventures- You know, there was a time when this country was inclined to let the rest of the world get by without us. I blame our shattering sense of triumph in World War II- we came out of that one on top, unquestionably the best-armed nation on the planet. But it seems that no one has taken a good long look at our track record in major conflicts since 1945- Korea was more or less a draw, Vietnam was a strategic loss and a horrible waste of life (come on, a bunch of raggedy-ass half-trained guerillas with Kalashnikovs stood us off for HOW long?), and then.... then we entered a long series of brushfire bullshit in keeping with our imperial legacy, propping up regimes and looking after our own interests- success in a lot of limited objectives against weaker foes. And then there was the failure to rescue the hostages in the Tehran embassy in 1980. In 1983, we steamrolled Grenada. Air strikes on Libya in 1986 in a bid to kill Qadaffi (which may have only strengthened his hold on power), 1989's invasion of Panama was business as usual, 1990-1991 we, with other nations, slapped Iraq upside the head but changed nothing of import, insuring that we continued to have occasional live-fire incidents with Iraqi forces from 1992-2003 as the no-fly zones were enforced. In 1995, we went into Bosnia. In 2001, we went into Afghanistan (we're still there, by the by) to repeat the lessons we should have learned in Vietnam and Cambodia. Not content with that, in 2003, we formally re-invaded Iraq, and, in the following eight years, have had victory declared twice by two different Presidents. And then there's our recent Libyan intervention. Hail, victory.

We haven't been militarily inactive since... about 1935, apparently.

So of course, rather than dealing with any of these three lingering headaches, the ROT know what we really care about... that our sitting President is a "Socialist." That he is "soft on terrorism" (Good thing for him he has Osama bin Laden's bullet-riddled corpse on his scorecard for that one). That he is "at war with Christianity." That homosexuals can openly serve in our armed forces.

Hey. Assholes. The PIG ain't going down if that's the best you can do- and by the time the ROT have chosen their boy, the PIG will know all they need to know about 'em. And they'll also have a whole primary season's worth of stupid, extremist base-flacking bullshit to throw in the public's face.

The fix is in. Bend over.