by Kyle K. Mann
Gonzo Today Publisher and Contributing Editor
OK, here we are at the start of July, 2024. The Trump/Biden debate is in the books, and President Biden clearly failed to convince a majority of voters that he can fulfill the responsibilities of the job, or even complete a sentence. His performance in the debate was, uh, underwhelming, to say the least.
Additionally, the U.S. Democratic run media, which has enabled the fiction that Biden is just fine, are now exposed as fully corrupt liars. Glenn Greenwald has a great show about that aspect, which he posted after the dust settled post-debate, and which I strongly recommend watching in full. (My thanks to the Robert Scheer website, where I lifted the link from.) This is a high quality analysis. Greenwald exposes hypocrisy better than anyone.
Anyway, let’s assume both Biden and Trump survive to the election. Both are old men, and it’s possible one or both could keel over before November. There’s also the possibility the Democrats will find a way to replace Biden on the ticket. Especially after that ridiculous and very sad showing of Biden’s in the debate. But that’s an article for next time, assuming I don’t keel over.
So, you do realize that for most Americans, your vote doesn’t matter, right?
Some facts on voting in the USA
To understand why voting is meaningless in the USA in 2024, we need to look at how the voting works and review the Electoral College, as mandated by Article Two of the U.S. Constitution.
Each state and the unique area of Washington D.C. is allocated a number of delegates, or electors, totaling 538 in all.
The number of electors each state and D.C. is allowed is based on the census count of the population which establishes the number of House of Representatives members they have, plus their two Senators. Each state gets the number of electors equal to the number of House and Senate seats they have in Congress. These electors are appointed by the various state legislators.
When you vote for a ticket consisting of a candidate for President and Vice-President, you are not voting for them directly. No other “democracy” in the world does this: you are instead voting for these “electors” who are pledged, but not bound in all states, to cast a vote for the ticket you voted for. “Faithless electors,” who don’t vote for the candidates they are pledged to, are rare, but do exist. Again, some states prohibit faithless electors.
So, if you vote in a state that is likely or certain to vote for a particular ticket, your vote is meaningless. It either is a protest vote that doesn’t matter, or a “feel good” vote that also doesn’t matter.
There are six states generally reckoned in the U.S. media to be “swing states.” These states are where the 2024 election will be decided.
These states in 2024 are Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.
If you live in one of these states, in can be argued your vote matters.
The 2024 election will be, as of June 30, 2024, a repeat of the the 2020 election between tickets headed by former President Trump and current President Biden, with the perhaps significant difference that Mike Pence will not be on Trump’s Republican ticket as Vice President.
Those are all indisputable facts.
What follows is speculation.
All right, Biden vs. Trump. (Unless RFK Jr. sees a significant uptick in support. Doubtful, but possible.)
Nevada is a swing state that, in my view, and without going into details, is as of July 2024 still likely to go for Biden. Michigan, ditto.
Arizona and Georgia are, as I see it and especially after the hideous debate, likely to flip back to Trump after their unexpected, and contested, swing to Biden. Which leaves, in my view, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Polling shows Trump ahead in all the swing states, but it’s still a long road to November.
No matter who wins, assuming the election is in fact between Biden and Trump, the undisputed fact is this: the winner, under the current rules, cannot run for a third term and will be a lame duck president. Aside from impeachment and conviction in the U.S. Senate, the then-President will be unaccountable.
So either way, we get a seriously aged man who will never run for office again, elected by a relative handful of U.S. voters. Wedge issues like abortion and guns aside, the key major issues like the ongoing decline of the fiat currency U.S. dollar, the corporate control of the USA by Big Pharma, Big Oil, etc., or the costly endless military support for the state of Israel, and the belligerent saber-rattling at Russia and/or China, will all be unaffected.
The winner in 2024 will be the military-industrial-corporate complex.
And that ugly fact, dear readers, is a recipe for disaster. As Hunter S. Thompson would have said, we’re Doomed.
Every day I wake up and it isn’t World War Three yet, I am amazed. It could be Ukraine, could be Taiwan. I’m delighted to still be here.
So let’s eat, drink and be merry. But don’t come to me seeking my participation in the vote this fall. I will spend my remaining lifetime not voting for the lesser of two weasels.
You want to, fine. But don’t fool yourself.
You are legitimizing a flawed, corrupt system.
Kyle K. Mann
Portland, OR
June 30, 2024
