The Silliest Political Prediction I have Ever Heard
Dec. 11, 2012
The second silliest possible statement regarding American politics is this one: "The next Presidential election will be the last one."
The silliest possible statement regarding American politics is this one: "There will not be another Presidential election." I received such an announcement from some well-meaning but utterly out-of-touch conservative yesterday. Here's what the e-mail said: "There will be no next Presidential Race. The dictator has installed himself and will remain until he dies." I will not say that this is the silliest e-mail I have ever received, but I think it probably is.
I replied:
"Hahahhahaha.""That's a good one."
Undeterred, the writer mailed back this: "You may as well laugh heartily now, because you won't in 4 years."
I first heard the prediction in 1964, before the Goldwater election, that there would never be another presidential election after 1964. I cannot remember any presidential election since that time in which I have not been told by some conservative that the next election would be the last one.
However, this is the first time anyone has sent me a warning telling me there will never be another presidential election. This surpasses what I had previously regarded as the silliest political statement. This is the new reigning champion silly statement.
Think about the absurdity of this statement. First, it assumes that the President of the United States has not been carefully screened by the powers behind the throne. It assumes that they do not have plenty of power over him, and if they choose, they can get him impeached as easily as they got Richard Nixon impeached. Any President who crosses them is gone.
Second, it assumes that the powers behind the throne would let some President hold onto the office after his term runs out. That would be a public admission that there is no Constitution, which has been shredded, but is still regarded as still in force. The take-over by a President would call attention to the moribund status of the Constitution.
Third, it would eliminate the great Punch and Judy show of American life, namely, the Presidential election. This is the election by which the powers that be maintain the illusion that they have not screened both candidates, and therefore the public has some meaningful decision to make. To abandon that remarkably useful illusion for no particular reason in 2016 is the height of silliness.
The poor soul who sent me that letter is so completely out of touch with the basics of American politics that he really does think the Presidency is more important than the nation's elite. The Presidency is important during wartime, but it is not important under most other conditions, at least not compared with the importance of the elite that controls access to the nomination process.
The classic sign of a newcomer to American politics is that he thinks the Presidential election is a significant event every four years. It is significant from the point of view of keeping the illusion going. It is significant from the point of view of letting people believe that they are fundamentally shaping the future of the country. But, with respect to the substantive issues, the election of a President makes no fundamental difference, assuming the President does not drag the nation into a war that expands into something comparable to the Vietnam War.
These poor souls are so well-meaning, so concerned, and so out of touch with reality that they think they can persuade somebody who has been watching this charade for 50 years that he has completely misunderstood American politics. They want that person to understand that a stranger, with no political skill, with no background at all, is in a position to tell him that he doesn't know what he's talking about.
These poor souls honestly believe the American public has some fundamental decision to make every four years, and that a President is going to thwart future electorates from participating in the grand illusion.
They are so earnest. They are so fearful. They are so naïve. They are so out of touch. It is always a delight to be reminded that such people are out there, and they vote.