Tuesday, in theory, will conclude the 2024 presidential election, one of the most bizarre in American political history. From inner-party coups to assassination attempts, Kamala’s Brat summer social media trend to Trump’s courting of comedian podcasts, the campaign cycle has been saturated with the unconventional. It has, of course, also seen its expected share of shallow political rhetorical rhetoric and general economic illiteracy, which are the cornerstones of modern democracy.
The general superficial nature of mainstream political discourse, though, should not distract us from recognizing foundational truths about this particular contest.
The Politically Incorr...
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Kamala Harris, even by the standards of her contemporary peers, is not a serious person. Most of her relatively brief 2024 presidential campaign has been spent publicly distancing and reversing herself from positions that she held way, way back in 2020, in the rare moments that she has been asked about policy substance. The attempt to position her as a “candidate of change” while owing her position of nominee entirely to serving as vice president the last four years would strain the rhetorical abilities of even the most clever politician. She is clearly not in that category.
Still, however, we enter a general election contest in what is perceived to be an extremely close race for a very simple reason: she is the candidate of the regime, and the regime is playing to win.
Donald Trump, of course, is a candidate with his own laundry list of flaws, particularly from anyone who holds libertarian political values and and a respect for sound economics. He is also the most persecuted major political figure in decades, with his political enemies manufacturing the most absurd legal charges to brand him a felon and threaten his liberty.
Though portrayed as a “radical” and an “extremist” by the usual political pundits, the most valid criticism of Mr. Trump stems directly from the areas where his first term as president represented continuations of the status quo: runaway spending, usual Washington hires for major agency positions, and deference granted to NIH Director Anthony Fauci during covid.
Trump’s greatest virtue was always his ability to inspire the scorn of all the right enemies. The attacks from former military generals, intelligence officials, odious neocons like Liz Cheney, and many of the unfortunate hires he made during his first term are further feathers in his cap. Mitch McConnell hates him so much that he dropped his usual carefully managed public facade to lash out at his party’s presidential nominee just weeks away from the general election.
Of course, Trump’s loudest foe is also the group that Harris is most indebted to for helping turn around her previously putrid favorability metrics: the corporate press.
Last Friday, the shamelessness of this group was on full display with their deliberate misinformation campaign dedicated to spinning wise commentary from Trump about the despicable and callous nature of war-hungry politicians sending military service members to combat without any skin in the game themselves, which was quickly turned around as a call for the public execution of Liz Cheney. The spin was so bad that even Jonah Golberg publicly expressed shame for going along with the ruse.
This episode, however, does highlight one reason this election is truly meaningful: a Donald Trump defeat over Kamala Harris would be a powerful demonstration by the American people that the regime’s propaganda machine – the axis of popular press and court intellectual – is truly broken. Given the necessity of a regime, particularly one as parasitic and treacherous as Washington’s, to reliably control narratives to achieve its goals, this would be a tangible victory against the state.
The old adage in politics that a “gaffe is when a politician tells the truth” is a relevant lens by which to view the recent comments made by President Joe Biden, referring to Trump supporters as “garbage.” In the eyes of the regime, anyone who would dare ignore their edicts and consider voting for a true political opponent is deserving of contempt. The fact Donald Trump, often despite himself, has become the political banner for those Americans who recognize the illegitimacy of Washington’s power makes a potential victory a matter that threatens their long-secured hold on power.
Empire of Lies
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The fact that his success would likely be due to a massive rise of non-traditional voters, precisely the sort of electorate that fueled Barack Obama’s victories in 2008 and 2012, would make his democratic success all the more intolerable for progressives, for reasons Joe Salerno has discussed in recent years.
This, of course, does not mean that a Trump victory will mean some grand reform of the federal government into some benevolent force. From the promotion of tariffs to a laundry list of new spending proposals, fundamental issues such as the long-term solvency of America and the perverse economic damage done by inflation and taxation will almost certainly live in. Ideas like a commission for reducing government waste always sound good on a campaign trail but rarely have any impact in practice.
Still, a Kamala Harris presidency would represent just how tightly controlled the traditional political process is by Washington tyrants and the extent to which institutional indoctrination for pet causes – in this year’s case, a demand for nationwide limitless abortion – trumps immediate concerns over “kitchen table” issues like inflation and crime.
Ultimately, while there are no serious systemic solutions to the systemic issues the centralization of power in Washington has created, the extent to which the regime has demonstrated its willingness to use the hard power of the state in terms of censorship, lawfare, and force would almost certainly escalate was a Harris victory.
For this reason, let us all root for her defeat.
