US elections 2020

It's dispiriting to see how Noam Chomsky seems to be right - again. He says that election spending is a reliable indicator as to who wins US elections. Bernie Sanders, a self-called socialist, who isn't really - he's more a social democrat than anything else but is as close as you can get to a socialist currently in the US -, is again doing well in the primaries, despite really obvious shenanigans, once again. And his personal wealth is not obscene, albeit significant. In the UK, Jeremy Corbyn lost the election two months ago thanks to his own party. Without their constant disparagement, the media and the Conservatives would have sounded like the vested interests they are.

Now, returning to the US, back in November Mike Bloomberg was polling at four percent nationally and had the highest disapproval rating of any potential Democratic presidential candidate. He's an old, white, ugly ex-Republican (and a true Republican at heart), he has a uniquely horrible record and no redeeming traits, but he does have a lot of money.  Crooked Hillary is his running mate, naturally. She represents that large part of the Democratic Party that will prefer anything, literally anything, to a real left-leaning candidate, however mild in his socialism.

Now, after spending $400 million in broadcast, radio and cable ads, $42 million on Facebook ads, $36 million on Google ads, and an unknown fortune on other shady manipulations, a national Quinnipiac poll released last week put Bloomberg at 15 percent nationally in the Democratic primary. This week national polls released by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist and Zogby put him at 19 and 20 percent, respectively. Sad.

Irish Elections 8.2.2020

I can remember when Sinn Féin was banned and when Bobby Sands, a young elected MP, died on hunger strike. Back then it was said that he'd been manipulated by the party, as if the old, white men who always end up ruling us had any ideology that was worth its salt.

But this time round, Sinn Féin has broken the bipartisan consensus, getting 37 seats, only one less than the party who got most seats. And despite being excluded from the debates (so-called) and being constantly erased from MSM as a serious contender. 

And those who have got used to sharing power in Ireland take the threat of democracy actually meaning something very badly. They are echoing the ridiculous smears levelled at Jeremy Corbyn in the UK election just before last Christmas, talking about bombs and terrorism. The fact is that those living on the streets as a result of the daylight robbery that was foisted on us all in the western world, ie austerity, have a current life expectancy of 42 yrs for men, and 37 for women. And more people have killed themselves since 2008 in Ireland, during these years of so-called austerity, than died during the Troubles (between 1969 and 1998). Micheál Martin, who expected to win and had instead an awful result, retorted to Afshin Rattansi, of Going Underground, that the suicide rate was higher in Northern Ireland, which seemed a particularly stupid thing to say, when being asked why voters turned their back on the 2-party system.

That said, the 2016 Spanish General Election put Podemos, from the "15-M Indignados" movement, in third place and polling had suggested they might get to second place, breaking the two-party system. But their early promise seemed to peter out and subsequent elections had worse results for them. They are now in a coalition government and it remains to be seen if the large, centrist (in a right wing spectrum) PSOE will end up declawing Podemos.