Posted by As we approach this midterm election, let me offer a pre-election reflection. No matter how you vote , representative democracy in the republic of this dis-United States of America is dead. Casting a responsible vote is impossible.
These statements may seem extreme, but we live in extreme times. I consider these thoughts fairly reasonable; they reflect a balanced view of the cultural chaos that reigns supreme. I’ll explain.
Campaign Propaganda
This year’s campaign by candidates is pure propaganda. The following quote is taken from Jacques Ellul’s Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes.
What happens when a political party stops acting more or less haphazardly, starts to make systematic propaganda, and instead of trying to win votes at election time, begins to mobilize public opinion in a more permanent fashion? … A transformation is taking place in the political parties of the United States; for about a dozen years now they have been making systematic propaganda.
Let me place this quote in perspective. The English edition of this book, Propaganda, was first published in 1968; the French edition was published in 1962. Ellul’s observation is actually 60 years old. Considering that “systematic propaganda” began a “dozen years” prior to this date, I have never voted without propaganda attempting to manipulate my views [my birthdate: 2/26/1954]. However, this year’s propaganda is the worst I have seen.
California GOP
The race for the Congressional seat in California’s 22nd District has been _____ (I don’t have a word to describe it at this point.). The candidates are David Valadao (R) and Rudy Salas (D). As a registered Republican, I have received campaign material supposedly supporting David Valadao and, obviously, I have nothing supporting Rudy Salas. I’ll begin by offering some details about material from the California Republican Party.
At this point I have a total of fifteen 8 ½ x 11 cards. Sorting cards into two groups, there are 12 that denigrate Rudy Salas, but never mention David Valadao. There are only 3 that identify Valadao as the GOP candidate. (All cards are printed in color on high-quality cardboard (i.e., they ain’t cheap!)) So, who is Rudy Salas?
Well, he supports higher rent, higher property taxes and higher gas taxes. AB 398 from 2017 is referenced to support the gas tax claim. A picture of Salas with Joe Biden on his left and Nancy Pelosi on his right is featured on the flyer. Another flyer makes the same claims and uses similar pictures. Both of these cards print the support for the claims in fine black print on a black background. In fact, all 12 cards never identify David Valadao as the CAGOP candidate.
Of the 3 cards that do tell us about David Valadao only two do not mention Rudy Salas. The one that does mention Salas actually dedicates only a quarter of the card to Valadao. Clearly, the intent of the CAGOP is to smear Rudy Salas, Joe Biden, and Nancy Pelosi. It would be impossible to claim that the party is providing strong support for its candidate, David Valadao.
But wait, there’s more. Two organizations weighed in on this election for representation of the 22nd Congressional District.
Congressional Leadership Fund
The Congressional Leadership Fund is the super PAC dedicated exclusively to one goal: winning a Republican Majority in the House of Representatives. [see About the Congressional Leadership Fund] The Fund was founded in 2011 and has the support of the entire House Republican leadership. Support for GOP candidates is by mail, television and digital advertising.
The Fund’s support for David Valadao by mail is similar to the CAGOP’s. There are 5 flyers designed to disparage and dismiss Rudy Salas, portraying him as a Biden-Pelosi tool. These ads do not mention David Valadao. Six ads do offer campaign support for Valadao but continue to hammer Salas as a threat to California and the United States.
To get some feeling for the nature of this campaign material check out Key Races California
Although I’ve received no material on Rudy Salas from the California Democratic Party, the following PAC did contribute ads bashing David Valadao.
Voter Protection Project
I have five flyers from this organization of liberal Democrat loyalists. The following quotes are taken from their About page.
We can’t sit back as Mitch McConnell, Congressional Republicans, and conservative legislatures around the country attack our fundamental right to vote.
We may have defeated Donald Trump in 2020 but his lackeys across the country continue to try and rig election laws in their favor.
VPP is committed to the philosophy that offense is the best defense.
It would appear that any anti-Valadao messages would accuse David of threatening the right to vote and of supporting Donald Trump. But NO! David Valadao is a liberal coward. That’s why he sided with the Radical Left and voted to impeach President Trump.
Wow! All five ads carry the same message; they are directed at registered Republicans who are supposed to be Trump’s lackeys across the country. In fact, the recommendation is Vote for Conservative Values. Vote No on David Valadao on November 8th. Does this mean Rudy Salas is actually a conservative, Trump supporter who’s ready to come out of his deep, blue closet? (There are no other candidates listed on the ballot.)
If offense is the best defense, this is a bizarre strategy. If they think conservative Trump Republicans are not going cast a vote (i.e., reduce the number of Valadao votes) they really don’t know their enemy. If they think there are voters registered No Party Preference who are loyal Trump supporters, they need to do more research. (The fact that the founder of this organization, Andrew Janz, ran against Republican Devin Nunes would imply he knows better [see Our Team]. The organization is now based in Seattle Washington.).
Conclusion
All the campaign material that came through the USPS is pathetic. You would think both parties were advertising for candidates to appear on a show titled America’s Got No Talent. (Campaign material for the candidates for Senate District 16 from both the California Democratic Party and the California Republican Party was similar to junk described above.)
Until the voters of this nation start taking participatory governance seriously, party and PAC propaganda will undermine all elections. There should be significant concern that no qualified candidates on the ballot reduces the voter to selecting “the lesser of the evils”. And that is not a responsible vote; it is simply an act of desperation driven by the despair of not having any reasonable options.
The reason I titled this post “Remember, Remember the 8th of November 2022” is because propaganda and partisan politics are the explosions that destroyed this Republic years ago. But this election will make it clear that this nation’s “Gunpowder Treason” was actually a “Multimedia Sabotage” that continues to explode 24-7 on a global scale. The impact has been the exodus of the most capable legislators out of Washington and the election of the most extreme, least capable individuals to both the House and the Senate. After all the votes are counted a barrage of media drones will do more damage to the psyche of America than Putin has done with bombs in Ukraine.
Ultimately, the real impact will be felt on November 5, 2024, the date for our next Presidential Election. Order your Guy Fawkes mask now.
As always, in the words of Edward R. Murrow, “Good night and good luck.”
Joe Allen 