Round and Round

Within hours of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, the machinery of U.S. federal politics was churning on in all its glory — or rather, gory. 

Mitch McConnell was insisting that the senate would vote on Trump’s nominee to replace Ginsburg, although he would of course do everything in his power to prevent the same thing from happening if a justice died so close to the election with a Democrat as the incumbent president.

Joe Biden was insisting that the winner of the November election ought to nominate Ginsburg’s replacement, which merely means that he wants to be granted that opportunity, rather than letting Trump, the current president, do it first.

Donald Trump was crying because somebody in his administration spoke ill of Vladimir Putin, which he feels might jeopardize his reelection bid by undermining whatever assistance Russia’s propaganda apparatus might give him during the campaign.

Americans — over a hundred million of them — are going to vote for one of these three factions (global corporatist, global socialist, global moronist) in November. Because, as they will say, “What else can we do?” 

There are options, of course, but they are difficult, do not promise an immediately recognizable (if absurdly meaningless) sense of “victory,” and require intellectual and moral independence. Such options will not be exercised by the hundred million, but only by the tiny, nearly invisible minority, whom the hundred million will do everything in their collective power to crush.

The rusty wheel keeps spinning — until its axis snaps.