Posted on 04/17/2016 4:34:27 AM PDT by Kaslin
You hear it all the time: “The system is rigged.” On so many issues, people wrap themselves in this abdication of individual responsibility to insulate themselves from the negative consequences of their decisions and actions. Still others use it to empower themselves, acting as political Pope and absolving others of their mistakes.
Context matters. In some cases, the system is rigged. In others, the system itself is doing the rigging.
Nowhere has the “the system is rigged” theme been more commonly used than in the political world.
Donald Trump cries it every time he loses, every time he realizes he’s been outsmarted, every time it’s clear he’s in over his head and didn’t hire competent people who understand, or even read, clearly stated rules. But his refrain is hollow and damaging only to those to whom he’s lying.
The more nefarious usage of the phrase comes from the recipient of Trump’s political donations – Hillary Clinton.
When a politician, particularly the standard bearer of a major political party, complains “the system is rigged” against people getting ahead, it’s the same as telling them they should quit. It saps those susceptible to such things of their ambition, their drive.
When you say this to people who, because of skin color, sexuality, economic status or whatever, already may be receptive to the idea, it resonates – maybe not that day, but someday. When something doesn’t go their way, the way something doesn’t go people’s way all the time, they now have an excuse.
The next time they fail to get a job or lose one, regardless of the circumstances, they can come more quickly to the “realization” the system is rigged against them and they can’t succeed no matter what.
Some people will quit, wait for some politician to “unrig” the system and become and remain loyal to that person and party who vows to “protect” them. It’s worked out swimmingly for the black community, hasn’t it? Now Democrats want to work their same magic to “help” Hispanics.
The vote is more important than lives to progressives. It’s power über alles.
Hillary claims the system is rigged? She rose from a middle-class family to marry a man from a poor family and then become one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in the world. Her story, like that of President Obama and so many other progressives, embodies the American Dream.
Why not just rely on that story, which would do a lot of good? Because it doesn’t give enough credit to government for her success.
“The system is rigged” absolves everyone of the responsibility of their mistakes. You went to prison not because you were doing something illegal, but because the system was rigged. You can’t afford rent not because you wasted your money on other things, but because the system is rigged. You have a crummy job not because you smoked a lot of weed in high school rather than studying, but because the system is rigged. The possibilities are endless, the blame – and the results – are the same.
If Hillary wants to talk about rigged systems, she knows all about one that truly is rigged – the Democratic Party’s nominating system.
She can’t win her party’s nomination without unelected party elites pushing her over the top, which her campaign acknowledged this week. Further, Tuesday’s primary in New York already is a victory for her before the first vote is counted. Unless Bernie Sanders, a fellow traveller in the “the system is rigged” brigade, beats her in a landslide, she will leave the state with significantly more delegates.
Yes, some systems are rigged. But not the ones most progressives would have you believe. The economy is not rigged. How delegates are won or lost may be, but everyone knows the rules.
No, the real rigging in most people’s lives is the lie that someone other than the individual is responsible for the state of our lives.
Looking externally for redemption, fulfillment, or making anything great again is the individual rigging the system against themselves. So maybe all the systems are rigged after all.
I think Trump and his people understood the process just fine.
They appear to have used it to create some real blowback on Cruz.
People read the stuff on Drudge: "CRUZ CELEBRATES ANOTHER VOTERLESS VICTORY! NO ELECTION IN WY..."
I've been critiquing Trump for over a month for not trying to game the system and win every single delegate possible along with collecting votes. I will be irritated beyond words if he wins the popular vote in November and loses on electoral votes. This is an election, and Trump needs to prove that he can understand the rules and play to win under those rules.
Note: Trump needs to understand the rules of the convention too and make sure his loyal delegates (which is not all of his delegates) are protecting his interests when they vote on rules. Winning a game is all about rules, and he needs to pay attention to the details and not just the showmanship. If necessary, he needs to make a deal with Cruz at some point. "Art of the Deal"? I hope he is still the master he claims to be.
Cruz is the one who is conducting the "scorched earth" battle.
I would bet money he knows what was done in Wisconsin to keep him in the race.
It tells me something about the man that he wouldn't put his country before his ambitions. History is filled with little men like him.
I'm sure you know as well as I do that rules and laws are not always fair or just. It is not "whining" to point them out when they are not.
If everyone automatically were to accept that something is fair and/or just just because it conforms to rules or the law, then we'd still have slavery... women wouldn't be able to go to college... we'd still be serfs in a feudal system... etc.
I have little idea how to play poker, so yeah, I probably *would* complain if I had to participate in a poker match for some reason.
>>> It’s a distraction away from the fact that the system is endemically rigged to transfer authority away from the voters themselves and to a small group of party leaders and their hacks.
precisely. it’s still a smoke-filled room, with the veneer of representation attached to it. But this year, the mask comes off.
As far as I can tell, Cruz is following election law, and paying attention to the details of each state to maximize his rather slim changes. As a bonus, he is keeping Kasich from rising, which makes it much harder for the establishment to nominate Kasich. Trump would be best off with both Cruz and Kasich out of the race, but that won't happen. If Kasich stays, it's best for Cruz to stay too (I have analyzed a fairly large number of elections, and a three-candidate race is the next best thing to being the only one left). I'll vote for Trump - happily - but I certainly won't condemn Cruz for staying in or for trying for delegates.
The bigger issue is that the GOPe pitching a fit about Trump means in my view that they're not serious about winning the 2016 presidential election, and the future of the Supreme Court that's bound up with it.
The Republican Party could have easily had the presidency wrapped up 4-6 weeks ago, given the total disarray on the Democrat side.
I don't often indulge the whims of children - and the GOPe is acting like children, or something far darker.
“I’m sure you know as well as I do that rules and laws are not always fair or just. It is not “whining” to point them out when they are not. “
Trump is acting surprised.
“I have little idea how to play poker, so yeah, I probably *would* complain if I had to participate in a poker match for some reason.”
Trump wasn’t forced. He’s had plenty of time to familiarize himself with the way things are done and plan accordingly. It seems that he decided he was going to bloviate his way through the nominating process.
I admire Trump for what he *says* he’s going to do, but I think he’s coming off the rails a bit when it comes to the “how.”
yes
I admire Trump for what he *says* he’s going to do, but I think he’s coming off the rails a bit when it comes to the “how.”
Trump is going straight to the people, not the power brokers in DC. So, from the get-go, he cannot take advantage of the way "things are done."
I like the fact that he is exposing some of the deep-rooted corruption in the process. I like the fact that he is not a career politician, but he has the executive skills this country so desparately needs and he is willing to step up and spend his own time and money to apply for the job.
So, no, he isn't schmoozing and doing all of that other stuff to buy power behind the scenes, and he also is not taking money from special interests for which they will expect special favors in return.
I sincerely hope he makes it, and on the first pass. If not, we will just have more of the same--exponentially increasing debt, more tons of regulations complicating every aspect of our lives and driving businesses to other countries, etc. Because that is what putting lawyers into an executive position has gotten us. I don't think the country can survive it, really--and I am not certain President Trump can fix it, either, but he's the most qualified to do so if it can be done.
I give up, I guess some Okies really can be that dense.
Actually, I think for the RNC it dates later than that. After Ronald Reagan won in 1980, the RNC forever changed so that never again could an “outsider” breach the sanctity of the elites’ pick for President. As for the DNC, I am not sure when it transitioned to globalism, but your date of Nov. 22, 1963 might be right.
All I know is this — it no longer matters who votes for whom. Hillary has already been “crowned” the next American president by the powers that be. Huma Abedin may already be the VP or will be the person actually in the power seat, much like Valerie Jarrett. The White House and the Congress are not controlled by the American people and there is no longer a way for the American people to pull the plug on both by defunding DC. But all this is being done with the tax dollars of the “45%” percent of us who pay taxes into the system. First step I will take is to stop voting and/or contributing in any way to the political process, and next may be to expatriate. No one with a conscience can really participate in the system anymore.
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