"There's not a dime's worth of difference between the two major parties."
“I do think that part of your job is to inflame the public about -- with anger and outrage and indignation toward President Trump. Over at FOX, they think their job is to do the same thing at President Biden. So you have two cohorts of people in this country that are relatively even, and that's what they're hearing every night.”
—Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) to MSNBC’s Ari Melber
What do Donald Trump, RFK Jr., Afroman, and Vivek Ramaswamy all have in common?
In less than two weeks, all four will be attending the Libertarian Party’s 2024 National Convention.
Trump and RFK Jr. will be answering questions and courting votes from the libertarian faithful, while Ramaswamy will be debating whoever the Libertarian Party (LP) selects to be their vice presidential nominee (probably Clint Russell.)
Afroman, who is also running his own independent presidential campaign, will be performing his new release, “Hunter Got High.”
The theme of this year’s LP National Convention is “Become Ungovernable.”
Indeed, the 2024 presidential election is shaping up to be one of the most ungovernable in a generation, as Americans are increasingly frustrated with the two major parties — a two-faced uniparty that has a stranglehold on America through undemocratic and immoral means.
One of the most insidious effects of America’s two-party system has been the illusion of choice between the lesser of two evils, an illusion long managed by both parties and the corporate press. Every election cycle, billions of dollars are spent on propaganda to fraudulently inflame Americans’ profound and petty hatreds of the other side.
“The other side is evil. The other side is stupid. The other side is hypocritical, tyrannical, and morally perverse!” they say.
“The other side is playing politics. The other side is corrupt. The other side is in the pocket of special interests, lobbyists, and hostile foreign governments!” they whine.
“The other side lies. The other side cheats. The other side will steal your rights and liberties!” they squeal.
“The other side hates you, so you might as well join our side in righteously hating the other side!”
Both major political parties engage in such atavistic messaging. Their greatest deceit is usually telling the truth about one another, while never admitting it about themselves.
Truth is always the most effective propaganda – if your opponent is actually a hateful, lying, incompetent, hypocritical, aged, incontinent stooge, you might as well say so – but the primary purpose of propaganda isn’t always the truth. Propaganda’s primary purpose is to achieve a certain practical end.
What’s the practical goal for the American establishment? To build up power within a predictable set of parameters no matter who wins on Election Day. By selling the other side’s sins, the two-party establishment almost always wins – unless some outsider candidate upsets their bipolar game.
George Wallace in 1968, Ross Perot in 1992, and now RFK Jr in 2024 – all three fit the mold of outsider, but the most successful outsider was, of course, Donald Trump in 2016. By hijacking the GOP, Trump was able to beat the two-party establishment at their own game. No wonder that same system has been trying to destroy him ever since.
Yet, it isn’t just outsider candidates who can cause a headache for the entrenched establishment. An effective third party, with a large enough voting bloc, can ruin the two-party illusion in a close race.
Third parties never outright win in modern American politics, but they can play spoiler, complicating the electoral map much to the establishment’s chagrin. The complexity of a multi-polar game is much harder to manage than a simple head-to-head matchup. Every vote now counts all that much more, even the votes of libertarians.
Something of a libertarian myself, I’m quite aware of how swiftly Democrats and Republicans unite in common cause against libertarianism. A “moderate” in mainstream American politics has long been someone who supports a big warfare and (corporate) welfare state, both antithetical to libertarians. That said, I am also aware of how annoying libertarians can be, and now that their votes will count more than ever this cycle, I suspect they’re going to become even more insufferable.
“The reason that this is happening … Donald Trump and his campaign – and Kennedy too, to a lesser extent – they realize that we are the most powerful voting bloc in the country, the Libertarian party and the people who vote for us.” Angela McArdle, the Chair of the LP recently said in an interview about her decision to invite the other major candidates in the race to the LP convention. “We command who wins this next election. So they’re going to do everything in their power that they can to win every libertarian vote.”
Upon accepting the Libertarian Party’s invitation to speak, Trump released this statement:
Libertarians are some of the most independent and thoughtful thinkers in our Country, and I am honored to join them in Washington, DC, later this month. We must all work together to help advance freedom and liberty for every American, and a second Trump Administration will achieve that goal. I look forward to speaking at the Libertarian Event, which will be attended by many of my great friends. We all have to remember that our goal is to defeat the Worst President in the History of the United States, BY FAR, Crooked Joe Biden. If Libertarians join me and the Republican Party, where we have many Libertarian views, the election won’t even be close. We cannot have another four years of death, destruction, and incompetence. WE WILL WORK TOGETHER AND WIN!
May I suggest, at least for one night when addressing the Libertarian Party, that Trump does his best George Wallace impersonation by calling out both major parties for their sins rather than just Biden? RFK Jr. will certainly be criticizing both sides for their mere penny’s worth of difference, as he’ll be courting those libertarian votes too.
Joey Clark is a native Alabamian and is currently the host of the radio program News and Views on News Talk 93.1 FM WACV out of Montgomery, AL M-F 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. His column appears every Tuesday in 1819 News. To contact Joey for media or speaking appearances as well as any feedback, please email joeyclarklive@gmail.com. Follow him on X @TheJoeyClark or watch the radio show livestream.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819news.com.
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