What is your stake in the FISA memo? In the Russia investigation? In the political intrigues dominating the news?

Nothing. You have as much to do with these factions grandstanding as peasants might care which faction won the War of the Roses.

If only the white rose guys win the midterms, things will really be better for us peasants…

If the FBI gets abolished or reformed, that would be different.

White Rose, Red Rose?

A: Republicans are outraged about the “improper surveillance techniques” revealed in the Nunes FISA memo. Carter Paige, foreign policy advisor to Trump, was under government surveillance without clear probable cause of a crime and without being able to see the charges against him. B: However, these same Republicans just re-authorized the whole surveillance state apparatus.

A + B = complete hypocrisy.

Republicans don’t care about the principles of the 4th and 5th amendments, privacy and protecting citizens from Big Brother. They’re just protecting their own.

Meanwhile…

A: The Democrats and their allies in the media are offended that Trump is not imposing sanctions on Russia. This defiance of the law is a constitutional crisis. B: However, these same Democrats are not troubled at all the Barack Obama started a war in Libya that destabilized a third of Africa with no congressional authorization.

A + B = complete hypocrisy again

But there’s more!

A: In 2016, we hear from Democrats and the like, somehow (maybe money, maybe leaks, maybe hacking machines, maybe Twitter bots), Russia influenced the election. Outrage that foreigners and other nefarious entities mess with our elections! B: When evidence emerges of foreigners bribing the Clintons, or clear evidence of a quid pro quo for Obama to give CitiBank 469 billion in TARP funding while taking their money, or the DNC spiking the 2016 primary, these same people don’t seem upset about the integrity of the electoral process at all.

A + B = same again

Yup, they really are fighting. But not for you.

They look like they’re fighting… well, they are!

You look at these two partisan groups and they do really seem to be engaged in a struggle. The Democrats and Republicans really do seem to be opposing camps. Yet, clearly, neither represents the people. So what is it? Are they faking their battles and secretly colluding and the whole thing is a show? Or are these real parties, with real ideological differences and it matters whether Democrats or Republicans win elections? Is Russiagate and the memo and all this stuff just partisan struggle over nothing? Is there no issue of substance in here somewhere?

The answer is, it seems to me, that it matters to the politicians themselves whether Democrats or Republicans win elections. It matters to people who want promotions and contracts from the parties. It matters to the professional journalists who know that being independent and honest is not good for your career.

Does it matter to the people? Are real constitutional issues of principle at stake?

No. None.

For us, the constitutional protections we think we have or would like to have were suspended long ago, if we ever had any rights to begin with. Our “papers” can be searched at will by the government. Even if it matters to politicians in Washington that Carter Paige got swept up in the surveillance state, it will never matter to this crowd that Barrett Brown was also so entrapped. Our property can be seized without due process. We can go to jail or even be executed without a fair trial. We can be shot dead by the state in the street. Free speech is fine, unless you actually endanger the power structure, then all of a sudden, shut up. And you don’t have freedom to HEAR a full range of opinions, not in the corporate media.

You see what we have for constitutional protections? Nothing but illusion. As long as you don’t get too big for your britches, you can yap for awhile… play pretend… you even get to vote!

What about the restrictions on the government side? Well, war without end, without congressional approval, war resolutions that last forever… and the president can murder anyone he wants and claim it was an act of war for some secret reason… and the president can make money off of his office… violate treaty obligations to torture… send spy agencies out to listen to us…

But Trump not sanctioning Russia is a constitutional crisis? But whatever happened to allow the government to spy on Carter Paige is an outrage?

Save me your crocodile tears for your own political cronies and neo-McCarthyite witch hunts.

Democrats and Republicans and their allies do care which party wins, the same way one faction in court might kill the king’s son to get their own guy on the throne. Does it matter to the peasant which faction wins? Of course not.

At least the aristocracy had the decency not to pretend that some high moral principle affecting the general population was at stake.