It's all mind games

We are all participants in a sick media reality show where the only winners are corporate America, Trump and his uber-rich benefactors.

As America heads into Thanksgiving weekend, a time when, traditionally, family comes together to reconnect, eat well, maybe share a glass, and share their lived experience since the last time people gathered together face to face. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the importance of family and friends and look to the future and what it might hold. Of course, there’s always old Uncle Burt, who has one too many, says the wrong thing, and goes to sleep farting in the armchair after lunch.

For many, this year will be different. Some families will not meet up at all, or the event will be scaled back significantly, depending on their finances. For others, it will be just another day, as they have decided to skip Thanksgiving because they feel they have nothing to be thankful for this year. I know that feeling. I lived it in the year I lost my business and my home during COVID as Christmas loomed. It’s that sickening feeling of failure, and to some degree shame, that normality seems a million miles away from reality. There was no Christmas tree that year, just a pile of cardboard boxes containing decades of the life I had enjoyed as we prepared to move from our own large home into a small rented property following the holidays.

I share this merely to let you know I have lived through this experience and can imagine how many might feel today and over this weekend. The good news is, there is a way back from the darkness and this year I’m thrilled to be able to donate to and help the food bank that sustained my belief that there are good people always prepared to step up and put an arm around those enduring the often private indignity of hitting rock bottom. In a world that demands instant gratification, the road back to a sense of normality can seem like a hill too steep, but I promise, there’s always a way back, because there are good people there to help you on your journey. For what it’s worth, my DMs are open for anyone who needs someone to listen.

Often at this time, the unwritten rule is to avoid discussing religion and politics at the dinner table. Yet there is a deluge of TikToks providing advice on how to manage political conversations as people gather. Thankful for what a deceitful, convicted criminal sociopath has failed to deliver, as families struggle to put food on the table and keep the lights on. Normally, the advice would be to approach conversations with respect and a willingness to listen to opposing views, but Trump has made that almost impossible in his new world of ‘us and them’. The sensible solution would be to call a truce and attempt to avoid discussing politics, but alas, that’s all too often impossible for some.

The common belief is that ALL politicians are Charlatans, and I understand why many have come to that conclusion, given the abject failure of both parties over the years to wrestle control away from corporate interests, which have infected politics like a malignant cancer. In a broken system, it can be challenging to sort the good from the bad because the oppression of exploitation sucks the life and soul out of any belief that there are any politicians out there who care. What I recommend to those who have come to believe this is to look beyond the anger you feel in this moment and look a little closer.

My advocacy for AOC’s type of politics is no secret, and I know that many Democrats and Independents struggle to be bold enough in thought and audacious enough in ambition to believe that her politics is the future of American politics.

Here’s what I would say to that. Allow yourself to embrace the belief that the answer is ‘people first politics’. The Democratic establishment will tell you that without corporate donors, you can’t win an election. If there’s one thing we have learned from the likes of AOC and Zorhan Mamdani, it’s that capturing social ambition can deliver millions of dollars in people-driven small dollar donations. It’s not a big stretch to believe people will invest in a campaign not because of a party, but because of a person they believe in. If they think their $10 donation represents their vote of confidence in that person to fight every day for them, that's the best $10 they could spend to help build a better tomorrow.

Some will call it romantic wishful thinking that campaigns can be run without corporate donors, to which I would say, take a look at AOC's election war chest and Zohroan Mamdani campaign. It’s often said that politicians and lawyers are failed wannabe actors. Politics is just a stage on which they are as good as their last performance.

If you cast your mind back to 2008 and the political earthquake that elected the first black president, it was a very telling moment for many reasons, and many of them not for the good. It witnessed the lighting of the blue touch paper, which ignited an avalanche of vitriol and political hatred that has dominated politics on the right ever since. The reason they hated him went beyond the fact that he was black; while it was no doubt a contributory factor, it was much more than that. He gave Americans a glimpse of what a more equitable society could look like, and that represented the antithesis of what the right had relied on for decades to keep America divided.

I’ll do a more detailed, separate analysis of how Obama’s presidency unwittingly catalysed the birth of MAGA. However, the point I am making for the purpose of this piece is that it mobilised a dangerous combination of AIPAC and the juggernaut that is the corporate lobby, led by the oligarchs, who decided to drown his policy agenda at birth, and here we are.

There’s nothing complicated about US politics once you understand that a party who were the undisputed water carriers for corporate America cannot win an election on a level playing field. History tells us, time and time again, they fall back on voter suppression to try as best they can to choose their voters rather than follow the Constitution and allow voters to select them. 2026 will be no exception. I think a better name for Republicans would be the Interpretation Party, because their whole political agenda is based on a twisted interpretation of the law, the Constitution and the bible, depending on which picture they are painting on any given day. If they were artists, they would be the Interpretationists.

Where things have become more complicated over the years is the way corporations have recognised that it’s much wiser to control both parties rather than just one. This way, when their favourite child is out of power, the runt of the litter can still be kept on a leash. And this, my friends, is why there is no party political solution to the Trump Tyranny, because once Trump either flees the country or is defeated at the ballot box, corporate America will say they knew he was a crook all along. They’ll feign support for what their PR people will describe as a new chapter for America, and Democrats will do a victory lap and deliver the same old same old.

Meanwhile, what’s left of MAGA will be running around saying, ‘I was just following orders, ’ as they desperately try to hang onto their seats on the gravy train.

Image - Getty

Democrats will likely field ‘Clinton lite’ in the form of Gavin Newsom, and political corporate servitude will continue with business as usual. Before you jump off the deep end, let me address my problem with Gavin Newsom. There is no question that he has been one of the very few Democrats who have tackled Trump head-on, getting really under the skin of the right while living rent-free in Trump’s head. There is no question that he has done a fantastic job of keeping MAGA and their messaging machine on the back foot. He’s been highly effective at making Democrats cool again, and like it or loathe it, that’s critically important in a world dominated by social media. He has cracked the secret of how to steal the narrative from Trump, something few have managed.

Like all effective politicians, he understands the intricacies of how politics works, and he’s a good-looking guy who appeals to women. Wait…… I know some will be screaming, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder, ’ but I think you know what I’m saying. He’s charismatic, he’s young in political terms, and he’s white, which is also a big plus in American politics. So what’s not to like? It’s really very simple, ‘I don’t trust him. ’ Putting aside the fact that he had an affair with his former campaign manager’s wife, Newsome mirrors Clinton’s arrogance and his appeal to corporate donors, not to mention his loyalty to AIPAC. He is, for me, a soft target for the very corporate ownership that has brought Democrats to a moment where public trust has collapsed causing a lack of faith in their ability to deliver change.

Does Newsom have a role to play? Absolutely, he does, and I’d even suggest he would make a great Vice President, provided his role is clearly defined before he joins the ticket. Tragically, I think he would make my case for why he should not be president, because he’s not prepared to be second fiddle to anyone and would likely turn down any VP offer. Politics is nothing if not predictable, and there is nothing more predictable to me than Gavin Newsom, who has been planning his move for the top job for a long time.

There’s much talk about the US not being ready for a female president, and I would say to that, do you have any idea of the depth of talent on the Democratic bench? I could reel off a list as long as my arm, but I can tell you that just as Barack Obama made the hairs on the back of my arms stand up when he spoke, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gives me that same feeling, despite Obama having the eloquence edge. As I watch her operate and listen to her speak, she is so impressive. My gut feeling, though, tells me that 2008 may be a cycle too early, and maybe she should run for the Senate and unseat Chuck Schumer. Having said that, I am right on the edge, and if she chose to run, I would be prepared to jump on a plane and knock on doors for her.

The big challenge is not even whether you can sell her in red states, because despite efforts to run away from Trump, the election will be more of a referendum on Republican failure that the Democratic vision, which remains as elusive as Trump’s healthcare plan. Be in no doubt, Trump is going to lose this war long before 2028, and when he’s no longer on the ballot, his base will disappear along with him. JD Vance is frankly an empty shirt puppet for the monied interests behind the MAGA experiment. He has no credibility, and like all wannabe emperors, he is a legend only in his own lunch break.

We saw the strength of the protest vote earlier in the month, and on December 2nd, in Tennessee, we will get a better measure of it if Aftyn Behn can flip Tennessee 7. If she manages a swing above 22 points, which is not out of the question given recent special election results, then that will be a telling barometer of public sentiment. As things stand a few days out, polls show her just 2 points adrift at a time when Trump can’t open his mouth without face planting.

Americans who want to see an end to this tyranny need to focus on the fact that Trump is slowly losing his grip on the Republican caucus. If just a few Republicans decide to resign early, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, he could be done even before the midterms. Will the torture end once he’s completely lost his grip? Absolutely not, so don’t get too excited, but at least damage limitation steps can begin to be taken. I dare say that some Republicans might also be tempted to vote to impeach him to save their necks, as America turns its back on Trump.

We’ll drill into the options open to Democrats in detail in the next post, because to deliver the transformative change America so desperately needs will require bold action, and I have a few ideas. I also have some thoughts on the issue of economic disengagement championed by current economic blackout campaigns.

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