I nearly wrote a post called It’s The Voters, Stupid. Venting feels good but it means that I’m engaging in that which I decry: the circular firing squad. I’ll leave that to smug pricks like James Carville and Ezra Klein who are unwilling to blame low information voters and the real villains of the 2024 election cycle: American oligarchs.

To sane observers, Putin’s Russia is a failed state, but insane MAGA Republicans see it as a role model. Why? It’s the oligarchy, stupid.

In the past, our homegrown oligarchs dabbled in politics while focusing on making money. With one of their own returning to power, they see politics as a way to make some easy money:

The most villainous of these oligarchs is Elon Musk. He was more responsible for the Insult Comedian’s victory than the low information voters he helped to con. I’d rather take a few shots at the oligarchs than other Democrats. Enough with the circular firing squad.

The American oligarchy poured millions into dark money PACs that spread MAGA misinformation and lies. Twitter X was a main source of mis and disinformation. It’s why I’m winding down my presence there. I cannot post without being set upon by trolls. I hate trolls. I wish they’d move into vans by the river like this guy:

Elon Musk is the personification of everything that’s rotten in our political system. His reward from Trump is to lead a fake agency with the dread Vivek Ramaswamy as his sidekick. I suspect the Kaiser of Chaos expects Elmo to pay the freight for his fakakata fake department. Interestingly enough, there’s a 2026 deadline for the work of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. It’s not a department, it’s a commission but they can wreak havoc as well.

You say wreak; I say wreck. In lieu of calling the whole thing off, let’s consult with Tom Petty:

Musk and a few other oligarchs were involved in a failed takeover of the Senate GOP leadership by one of their own: Medicare and Medicaid fraudster Rick Scott. Florida is the current capitol of American political weirdness. They elected this crook governor, then senator. The oligarchy is in the saddle riding us. I dread the spur marks they’ll leave on the country.

In the wake of the immunity decision I wrote a post called Trump Found His Roy Cohn. The Cohn in question is Chief Justice John Roberts. Roberts is not an oligarch, but he’s been enabling them for years. The Citizens United decision opened the way for dark money to drown our political system in dirty tricks and even dirtier money.

I was inspired to write about the American oligarchy by the person who brought me into the First Draft family, Scout Prime.

All the recriminations of the Dem party come from a position that this was like playing fields of the past. Instead this was unlike anything ever seen before. We were running against a party financed by oligarachs, leaning into fascism, with deep apparatus to disseminate disinformation. And the

— Scoutprime (@scoutprime.bsky.social) 2024-11-10T04:47:37.742Z

interference of a foreign enemy with several years now of waging war with us in this manner. And all for a candidate more like a mob boss. The analysis right now that I see isn't evenin the ball park of what actually was

— Scoutprime (@scoutprime.bsky.social) 2024-11-10T04:50:51.574Z

Thanks, Scout.

That was my first BlueSky cut and paste. We’re not posting Twitter X links any more. I don’t want to give that dangerous dipshit Elon Musk any hits. Fuck him sideways.

These are perilous times for our country. I’ve been seriously bummed out since the election outcome became clear. A reminder: It was NOT a GOP landslide. If you don’t believe the numbers, Jamie O, or me, read this post by Josh Marshall.

Uh oh, I just indulged in some circular firing squad activity. Sorry about that, y’all.

Joe Biden ran a squeaky clean administration. The outgoing president is so honest that he didn’t intervene in the trumped up charges against his son. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris deserve better than this.

The FOR SALE sign will return to the White House on January 20, 2025. We fought to prevent it, but the power of the oligarchs and the idiocy of  low information votes won out in the end. The sell-out of Ukraine is nigh. Moscow On The Potomac is back.

Finally, this is the third in the On The Potomac series. We’ve had Glengarry Glen Ross On The Potomac and Freedonia On The Potomac. Both were good enough to merit a second appearance. Will we revisit Moscow? Beats the hell outta me.

The last word goes to Peter Gabriel with Kate Bush followed by Herbie Hancock with Pink and John Legend: