Wednesday, October 19, 2016

On Rigged Elections

... don't they seem like a self-limiting process?

I have to admit, that outside of an intellectual curiosity about what this election says about American culture, I've kind of checked out. Still, the accusations that this election is "rigged" are interesting.

Of course they're rigged. Just to take one dimension, the news media, outside of the execrable Fox News, is positively manic in their hatred of Donald Trump. Well, good for them. After Trump goes down to a well-deserved, landslide defeat, the news media will have ... what? Well, as far as I can see, their frothing howls against Trump will have turned off 35% or so of their potential viewers. Further, Sanders supporters will be incensed that the news media didn't see fit to report on Hillary and the DNC using Bernie like a honeypot for the kids.

So the news media wins in 2016 and gets what they want, but in 2017 and beyond, they lose influence because the people they sneeringly dismissed will go somewhere else for their news. That was happening anyway, but this is going to accelerate the process. Personally, I had no illusions about the media's objectivity, but this has been breathtaking to me.

When it all fails - ObamaCare, student loans, the Middle East, etc - and Hillary's administration is left in smoldering ruins, will it all have been worth it to the news media flunkies?

How will they "rig" things in 2018 and 2020 now that they've ticked off so many people?

8 comments:

Ohioan@Heart said...

To answer your question, they will do it the same way they are doing it now. After all they did the same the thing to McCain and Romney. Apparently most of America today is too stupid to understand what is going on. The media has essentially become the equivalent for the Democrats as Goebbels for the Nazi's, Pravda for the USSR communist party, and Baghdad Bob for Saddam Hussein. Someday the population will figure it out. The question is whether it will be before or after our country sinks to the level those failed countries did.

IlĂ­on said...

You're also forgetting that hard-leftists want to destroy America; everything they do is aimed at that goal.

Foxfier said...

Is that the "rigging" that they're fussing about?

I thought they were finally noticing the bleeping voter fraud.

K T Cat said...

To what end, though? Eventually, even socialism is self-limiting. See also: Venezuela, collapse of.

Ohioan@Heart said...

KT - First, you are thinking much further out than they are. They are only looking at today (well this election cycle), and the power that results from winning. Second, they truly believe that somehow all the failings of every socialist state won't happen to them (because they are smarter than everyone else, and besides their professors told them so). Finally, they will be fine with collapse, because they will be in power and think that themselves as dictators would be good for all us ignorant peons.

I know my last few comments have been substantially darker than usual, and I regret that, but what I've been seeing seems so clear that I have to call it like I see it.

Foxfier said...

Ever notice that even after the collapse, the guys who made it collapse are still rich from looting it?

Just because it never works for the entire group doesn't mean that it doesn't work for an awful lot of the "true believers."

It's the usual justification for doing bad things for power-- I need to do (thing I shouldn't) because I have to beat (that guy) who is totally way worse than me, and probably evil.

K T Cat said...

Great comments, all. Future blog post on this coming wherein I find myself agreeing with (gulp) Trump.

Foxfier said...

Oh, there's tons of points of agreement!

Water wet, air good, we have to eat food to survive.... tons of points of agreement. ;)