No wonder our political lexicon is populated with references to pigs and pork. From Pelosi’s miracle investment strategy to Representative Schock’s remodel of his office to look like Downton Abby, our elected officials often display no regret or follow any code of conduct other than personal enrichment or conspicuous consumption. Our political class has grown accustomed to “Suckling at the Public Teat,” a phrase that encapsulates their self-serving actions and the frustration they bring to the public. With this in mind, it is time to blow off a little steam.
Modern Day Politics
Today, I was bombarded with seventeen political text messages begging for money, eight texts reminding me to vote, and about a dozen emails in the same vein. Then there is the traditional mail with pleas from every special interest group and politician for even more money. Many of these came from out-of-state candidates in obscure places I have never heard of and for whom I have no chance to vote. It is a circus of absurdity, a stark reminder of the disillusionment many politically aware citizens feel towards the current system.
If you donate five dollars to any candidate, their party will spend another hundred dollars to see if they can get another ten. A downside to the information age is that Congress has exempted itself from most spam rules to flood us all with merciless volumes of junk.
All this is aimed at “getting back to Washington” at any cost. We have passed the point where the goal was about ideals, improvement in government, or taking care of taxpayers and citizens. Today, the goal for most candidates is to get back to Washington, continue to ride on the gravy train, and suckle at the teat of the Federal coffers. This is what makes President Trump so unappealing to other politicians. Because he has already made his fortune, he does not need to suckle as others do. Just as in 2020, he threatens to disrupt the piglets in 2024.
Election Fatigue
Each four-year presidential cycle, I reach the point of information overload. It seems to me that the breaking point is coming faster and faster, and I am sure I am not alone. The years seem to pass faster as we age, so the relief from all this nonsense is brief. I am becoming so tired that I believe anyone still on the fence about their candidate is too dumb to vote. This is not just a personal frustration but a shared exasperation with a system that seems to have lost its way.
In the Antebellum era, when newspapers were the only mass communication source, knowing much about a candidate was almost impossible. Debates like the Lincoln-Douglas series were critical for voters to decide, and decisions could go down to the wire. Even in the early twentieth century, traveling by train and making speeches to audiences was vital in knowing a candidate. But we are well past this era. I wish I knew an easy solution; it would be worth millions.
With so much money and power at stake, the four-year Presidential cycle has been reduced to about a year as each party gears up with hate campaigns to prepare for the next election. It is a perpetual money-raising process for party officials on both sides, a fact that cannot help but frustrate and exhaust politically aware citizens.
Pork Barrel Politics
Pork barrel politics has existed for centuries, and little is new. But today, it has become perilous because of the Federal deficit and the flood of illegal migrants. This type of expense is doubly egregious when it is aimed at those who do not pay taxes, a growing portion of our population. The rise of super PACs also gives additional weight to the ill effects of political favors.
Just since the Covid crisis, we have thrown trillions of dollars at anyone and everyone within our borders, encouraging even more illegal migration. We forget that Congress finally banned “earmarks” in 2010, only to lift the ban in 2021. We want to blame this on the Democrats, but the Republicans control the House of Representatives and must agree to relax the rules.
Politicians love pork, and with an election coming, giving away our money to their constituents is one proven key to reelection. We can look the other way when our Federal deficit is only awful, but when it reaches a crisis point, creating larger deficits is not just a bad practice; it can be catastrophic to our future.
In years past, we were astonished by projects like the “Big Dig” and the “Bridge to Nowhere.” But these were only millions or billions of dollars. Today, Congress has learned that it can buy votes with trillions of dollars given directly to voters and that it can buy any voter who can “fog a mirror.” We have now set the stage for direct payments to citizens in any crisis that might change voting patterns.
Also dangerous is the influence peddling on a scale never before seen. One would think that with the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and notable crypto failures, these hucksters would have shrunk back into the shadows. You would be wrong. To look relevant, both candidates are pandering to the crypto advocates to gain younger voters. In this election cycle, crypto-related organizations have given forty-eight percent of all corporate political donations, eclipsing even oil company donations.
Watching any political candidate over forty try to explain the Internet or cloud services is a treat. I cringe when they babble on about crypto, much less blockchain technology. But they will take all the crypto campaign money, all $120 million. So now we have purveyors of a non-existent form of money giving politicians $120 million of “real fiat money” to perpetuate what is effectively a Ponzi scheme. What could go wrong?
In the spirit of pork barrel politics, could Crypto advocates want to push for greater acceptance of CBDCs, fewer regulations, or greater market access in the Crypto world? Poorly regulated Ponzi schemes have never worked out for the betterment of society. Just ask Sam Bankman-Fried’s customers on visiting day at his prison.
Dangerous Developments
Abraham Lincoln reminded us that we are a nation born out of revolution and civil disobedience. But once the yoke of tyranny is thrown off, we have this strange respect and need for law and order. We have this tendency toward disobedience and then quickly tire of all the confusion and chaos. We saw this in the 1960s with disobedience and unrest about the Vietnam War. Eventually, the children of the 1960s had to grow up, get a job, and act like adults. In this phase, most now push for control and order.
The rebels of the 1960s are now rebelling against illegal immigration, deficit spending, inflation, taxation, social perversion, and political corruption, all at the same time. They are in an order and control cycle.
Voters Own the Problem and the Solution
Whether we like it or not, we are the problem. As voters, we see the problems and assume they are not repairable or just what they are. Politicians use identity politics tactics because they are effective. We have allowed them to push us toward tribalism through the power of mass media, and they know it works.
But what is breakable is repairable so long as we take an interest in government and vote for a better path.
- If we assume pork barrel politics is the only way government operates, then it will.
- If we assume that we cannot change Congress by sending better people there, it will not change.
- If we assume the Federal deficit is not controllable, then it will continue to grow.
- If we fail to secure our borders, we will lose our sense of who we are and how our government should function.
- If we allow politicians to use the power of government to prosecute and persecute citizens, they will use it to retain power.
- If we rely on the government to fix our problems rather than fix them ourselves, we will become more subservient.
The Presidential election is only weeks away. Today, I learned of a third attempt on President Trump’s life, a clear indicator that the current power structure is holding on for dear life. They are not working to block his Presidency for any reason other than to retain power, a clear indicator that it is time for change.
Today is early voting day here in Georgia, and I will be in line to get it done.
I am voting for President Trump because he may be the only person alive with the courage to tackle our problems. He is one of the few in Washington with no need or reason to “Suckle at the Public Teat.”
Resources
‘Idiots,’ ‘criminals’ and ‘scum’ – nasty politics at their highest in the U.S. since the Civil War, By Thomas Zeitzoff, PBS, pbs.org, July 12, 2023.
9 of History’s Most Creative Political Insults, By Mark Mancini, Mental Floss, mentalfloss.com, March 6, 2016.
Crypto firms contributed 48% of all corporate political donations in 2024: Report, By Turner Wright, CoinTelegraph, cointelegraph.com, August 21, 2024.
Feeding at the Public Trough, By Taegan Goddard, Political Dictionary, politicaldictionary.com, Last accessed October 12, 2024.
Kamala Harris Can’t ‘Cede Crypto to Trump’; Bybit Withdraws Services From France | CoinDesk Daily, By CoinDesk, YouTube, youtube.com, August 1, 2024.
Kamala Harris finally breaks silence on crypto: Report, By Jesse Coghlan, CoinTelegraph, cointelegraph.com, September 23, 2024.
Pork Barrel Politics: Definition, Purposes, Reform Efforts, By Will Kenton, Investopedia, investopedia.com, January 3, 2024.
Pork barrel, Wikipedia, wikipedia.org, Last accessed October 10, 2024.
Swine Semantics in U.S. Politics: Who Put Lipstick on the Pig?, By Arhlene Ann Flowers, M/C Journal, journal.media-culture.org.au, 2010.
Technologically Clueless: The Risks of Kamala Harris’s Misunderstandings in High Office, By Tammy Bruce, AMAC, amac.us, August 5, 2024.
The Early American Origins of Political Terms, By Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, daily.jstor.org, October 27, 2014.
The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions: Address before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, By Abraham Lincoln, Teaching American History, teachingamericanhistory.org, January 27, 1838.
What Are Examples of Pork Barrel Politics in the United States?, By the Investopedia Team, Investopedia, investopedia.com, October 5, 2024.
