Grifters Only Party

 I've spilled ample pixels arguing that the GOP has become an undemocratic, white supremacist party. It's a radical outlier among major right wing parties in the developed world, closer to the French National Front than to Britain's Conservative Party.

It's worth noting that "conservatism" is increasingly a grift, a con, corrupt in it's basic operating structures. This article is a great example of the grift at the heart of the GOP. First, you find a "face," in the case of this article, African Americans who repeat the "Democratic Plantation" line. You run them in districts where they are going to get smoked. You fundraise off the fact that you have a Black Republican who is taking on a liberal Democrat like Ilhan Omar. You funnel that fundraising into massive consultant fees.

It's basically Republican politics in a nutshell: rile up the rubes and the donors and then channel the money to a few elites. It's GOP fiscal policy as a business operating model. 

It's also worth noting that there are apparently significant numbers of Republicans who are willing to light their money on fire by supporting these long shot candidates. Democrats fell into this trap, too, as millions were sent to Amy McGrath in order to lose to Mitch McConnell by 20 points. However, I was not aware of people funneling 8 million dollars to someone running against Matt Gaetz. Spending money in Kansas or Iowa Senate races makes a lot more sense that sending massive amounts to a safely Blue House seat.

There is no doubt that money corrupts our politics, but I think we can safely question whether money corrupts our elections. By that, I mean we assume that these billions of dollars sluicing creates an undue influence over election results. It seems to me more that these billions create a bifurcated political landscape where each side his their agreed upon reality. Those sides are mostly set in stone. Elections in the US are no longer persuasion campaigns designed to convince voters to choose the best person to implement a policy portfolio to improve their lives. Elections in the US are about partisanship and cultural signifiers. Every election that middle tranche of voters who are up in the air shrinks more and more. 

In this environment, spending millions on "viral advertising" is a grift. You aren't going to win that race, no matter how clever your ads are. In most House districts - in most Senate races - your chances at winning are entirely dependent on the letter after your name. But we are so wedded to the idea that we have an enlightened, informed citizenry exercising critical judgments about candidates that unwinnable campaigns are winnable with "one weird trick" that we ignore the reality that most aren't.

If you want to give money to elect Democrats, find the next Stacey Abrams, not the next Amy McGrath. You might hate Mitch, but organizing and registering voters is all that will win you elections.