2012 Republican National Convention
So you've decided to forego watching the Republican National Convention now being held in Tampa, Florida or the Democratic Convention soon to follow in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Well, you're hardly alone. Even the networks by-pass covering these extravaganzas in favor of whatever else they decide to air, although PBS, CNN and MSNBC do offer up these pseudo events as if they still had some meaning.
If there's anything that can be called an anachronism it's these national political conventions of the two main parties that at one time really meant something. That's of course before the presidential primaries became so widespread making the conventions superfluous.
So why even write about this hot air balloon dropping foolishness? That's a valid question, but here's why.
These conventions represent the absolute decadence of our two major parties, their capture by our corporate oligarchy and the essential irrelevance of which major party captures the White House.
It's all a pseudo choice where mere nuance separate the two parties and their candidates. That's because the bottom line is this: All the significant political agenda and issues are basically decided in favor of the corporatist oligarchs regardless of which party controls the presidency or controls the Congress.
We'll still wage the unnecessary wars, continue the bloated and unnecessary funding of the military/industrial complex, won't effectively regulate the financial industry and break up the big banks, won't have universal Medicare type health care for everyone while retaining our corporate run overly expensive health care system which along with "big Pharma" overcharges with its exorbitant drug pricing, continue giving huge tax breaks for the rich while decimating the social safety net of the unemployed and reduce eligibility for food stamps and Medicaid for the poorest members of our society.
We'll still have our inane war on drugs that enriches drug dealers while overly incarcerating non violent drug users to cohabitate with the violent predators in our nation's prisons.
The "unitary executive" begun under George W. Bush will continue to flourish with the president having the authority to detain anyone indefinitely, including American citizens, without charges on suspicion of terrorism and decide who to assassinate (again including American citizens) by virtue of Justice Department memos that are kept secret for reasons of national security.
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