Even the pundit class admits that the coming presidential election in the United States is shaping up to be an event like no other.
“We’re in such a unique time that you don’t know what the next week is going to bring,” burbled Harry Enten, an “analyst” for CNN, on October 15 about the impending face-off between incumbent Donald Trump (a man who can’t even make his hair look plausible) and Clueless Joe Biden, former Vice President of Vice and/or Senator from Senescence. “This is the most insane freakin’ thing in the entire world.”
Close, Mr. Enten. But no cigar.
Because, you see, there’s every reason to worry that the impending election isn’t going to be an election at all. Though no mainstream commentator will say so out loud, the most important single fact about this contest is that it very possibly won’t determine the identity of the next president. Both major political parties – despite their shrill disagreements over a whole host of pseudo-issues – seem united in their determination to prevent a decisive result. And in the process, they’re edging dangerously close to delegitimizing the electoral system itself.
Which means, in plain language, that we may be heading for a coup.
Now, a problem on that scale should not have to be whispered from the margins. But popular media steadfastly refuse to discuss the subject – and their silence speaks volumes about the sort of government our pundits actually favor, which (whatever their pretensions to the contrary) has little or nothing to do with democracy.
That’s the elephant in the room, folks. And if you’re not worried, you should be.
Remember: this is the first American election held under the shadow of King Corona; and if there’s one thing our public intellectuals have made clear over the last seven months, it’s that pedestrian details like constitutional “due process” or representative government count for nothing against our ruling class’s autocratic prescriptions for the public health. Since March, a relentless series of edicts have turned state governors into virtual dictators, destroyed tens of millions of jobs, trashed the Bill of Rights, promoted political censorship of social media and made a bad joke of medical priorities – all for our own good, of course.
Read more: On Course for a Coup
