Just back from six days in Moscow. While I was there Russia held regional elections, including the first gubernatorial elections since 2005 (when President Putin abolished them). The huge winner, as expected, was Putin's "United Russia" party. They control the Kremlin, and have aggressively built their coalition. They actively intimidate any opposition (with propaganda, arrests, or violence). Many major opposition candidates withdrew prior to the election.
The US elections are similarly flawed. The two major parties monopolize domestic media reports, and keep a stranglehold on election logistics and the Presidential "debates" - where even intraparty candidates are pre-screened by unelected power brokers such as corporate MSNBC (link). We now see third-party candidates barred from all debate, an anti-democratic position bluntly endorsed by the major candidates. The guilty include Obama, Biden, Romney, Ryan, and Hillary Clinton, and behind-the-scenes supporters & party functionaries (link). 'Debate' ground rules (link) create a ludicrous exercise in theater -- in my view, a tragedy.
The Republican party wants to dismantle investments in commonwealth for the private gain of big industrialists (oh sorry, let's call it 'choice'). The "Democratic" party is not democratic. Yerbuttfucked either way.
The US elections are similarly flawed. The two major parties monopolize domestic media reports, and keep a stranglehold on election logistics and the Presidential "debates" - where even intraparty candidates are pre-screened by unelected power brokers such as corporate MSNBC (link). We now see third-party candidates barred from all debate, an anti-democratic position bluntly endorsed by the major candidates. The guilty include Obama, Biden, Romney, Ryan, and Hillary Clinton, and behind-the-scenes supporters & party functionaries (link). 'Debate' ground rules (link) create a ludicrous exercise in theater -- in my view, a tragedy.
The Republican party wants to dismantle investments in commonwealth for the private gain of big industrialists (oh sorry, let's call it 'choice'). The "Democratic" party is not democratic. Yerbuttfucked either way.
