The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Eric Zuesse
Joe Lauria at Consortium News headlined on February 21st, “Apparent US Intel Meddling in US Election With ‘Report’ Russia is Aiding Sanders”, and he noted that,
If the story is true and if intelligence agencies are truly committed to protecting U.S. citizens, the Sanders campaign would have been quietly informed and shown evidence to back up the claims.
Instead the story wound up on the front page of the [Washington] Post, “according to people familiar with the matter.” Zero evidence was produced to back up the intelligence agencies’ assertion.
“It is not clear what form that Russian assistance has taken,” the Post reported. That would tell any traditional news editor that there was no story until it is known.
Instead major U.S. media are again playing the role of laundering totally unverified “information” just because it comes from an intelligence source. Reporting such assertions without proof amounts to an abdication of journalistic responsibility. It shows total trust in U.S. intelligence despite decades of deception and skullduggery from these agencies.
Despite the untrustworthiness of the intelligence agencies that had told President George W. Bush that they would be able to present to the American public a “slam-dunk” case that Saddam Hussein had WMD and was to blame for the 9/11 attacks, and despite their similar serial lying up to the present time, Senator Sanders issued a public statement that “Unlike Donald Trump, I do not consider Vladimir Putin a good friend. He is an autocratic thug who is attempting to destroy democracy and crush dissent in Russia.” Regardless of whether he actually believes that Putin is an “autocratic thug,” his saying this was necessary in the context of the ceaseless anti-Putin propaganda in America’s ‘news’-reporting and from America’s ‘intelligence’ agencies, all of which have for decades been effectively controlled by America’s billionaires, who are now terrified that Sanders might actually become President. Their agents are consequently smearing him. America’s hundreds of billionaires ARE America’s Deep State, and those hundreds of individuals are the only people who are actually represented by their media and ‘our’ Government.
This is the reason why we invaded and occupy and destroyed Iraq, all on the basis of lies.
This is the reason we invaded and destroyed Libya, all on the basis of lies.
This is the reason why we hired Al Qaeda in Syria to lead the hundreds of jihadist groups that have since been trying to overthrow and replace Syria’s secular non-sectarian President Bashar al-Assad.
None of the American billionaires’ fronts — not the CIA, nor any others — have publicized, but they instead all have hidden, all of these realities and basically all of the really important historical events during the past twenty years which shape the international world in which we all are living. Democracy in America is impossible under such circumstances as this.
Back in 2002, Sanders was able to refuse to authorize George W. Bush to invade Iraq and yet still not have his career in Congress destroyed by that ‘unpatriotic’ (actually courageously patriotic) act. But in today’s environment, any member of Congress who fails to demonize Vladimir Putin is ‘unpatriotic’ — as if the Cold War which was ended by Russia in 1991 has secretly continued by America ever since — which it HAS.
America’s billionaires are even more opposed to ending the Cold War than they are opposed to increasing taxes on the rich up to international standards for industrialized nations. They will accept high taxes — and during the 1950s the super-rich accepted even a 90% marginal rate of taxation — but they will not, under any circumstances, accept ending America’s recent quest to replace the U.N as the basis of international law and order; they DEMAND that the U.S. Government, which they control, must control the entire world, including Russia. This is essential to their all-encompassing global empire, the global dictatorship by America’s international corporations. That is the core belief of the Deep State, and no Sanders Presidency will be able to succeed unless a President Sanders will strip America’s billionaires of the control they enjoy over the American Government through the Deep State. The Deep State is the U.S. billionaires; it is the control they have over the U.S. Government. Only by ending that control will America’s Deep State be brought to an end. Sanders is the only viable U.S. Presidential candidate who authentically does threaten the billionaires’ control over ‘our’ government; and the only way that he will be able to succeed is by destroying their Deep State, their control over the Government and over their press or ‘news’ media. This is an internal U.S. war, right now, between the Deep State and not only Donald Trump on the right (who constantly caves to their demands) but also Bernie Sanders on the left (who has yet to be in a position really to challenge their control over America).
So: how can Sanders do it, if he becomes the President? Fight like hell and be willing to sacrifice even himself, if need be, so as to destroy their control over America. Be what Trump only pretends to be. This is the only way that it might be able to be done. Sincerity. Determination. Mono-focus. And great courage. Never backtracking.
Right now, America accounts for about half of the entire world’s military expenditures, and that can’t go on if America is to take care of its real problems. Those corporations, such as Lockheed Martin, are not going to yield without there being now a second American revolution, a revolution of control. It will have to be a total revolution of control — not just over Wall Street, and not just over the hedge funds, and not just over the private equity funds, and not just over the healthcare system, and not just over the universities, and not just over the private foundations and other ‘non-profits’ (which largely privatize to billionaires the decisions as to what ‘needs’ to be done for the good of the entire country). Why do billionaires get tax-breaks for funding ‘nonprofits’ which expand their own power not only over commerce but especially over national priorities and the government itself? The corruption is so deep and so pervasive.
Right now, the corruption is focused on getting the Democratic Party’s superdelegates, instead of the voters in the primaries and caucuses, to choose whom the Party’s nominee for the U.S. Presidency will be.
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Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The US Deep-State, the corrupt Political Establishment from Dems+Reps alike and the rotten corrupt Elites + Oligarchs….will rather destroy the remaining pathetic rest what’s left of the little bit US-Style Democracy…instead of let someone like Bernie become President, who could change everything, it’s also obvious they despise the 99% and give a fuck what they want.
Tragically, it’s true; they all are psychopaths. They have always been at war against the public; they are determined to control the entire world.
Fee Fi Fo Frum.
I smell neocons is your description, and more than some.
The documentary “Everything is a rich man’s trick” explains all this perfectly well!
Bernie Sanders couldn’t even call out the DNC for rigging the election — he’s not going to destroy the deep state. And given the level of his blatant Russophobia and gullibility for the “intelligence community,” he’ll fit right in with the neocons when he gets a little power.
He has also said he would “consider” pre emotive strikes on Iran and N Korea. Nice knowing where his priorities lie.
JanetC, Truth.
That’s like an 8th up-vote for JanetC’s idiotic comment.
Please explain. I found “her” comment making sense, seeing as how it describes bernie perfectly.
If Bernie had done that the (back in 2016), do you really think that he’d still have the following among Democratic Party voters that he has retained? Of course, his core voters would still be with him, but his core voters have never been anywhere near a majority of the voters in Democratic Party primaries. His career as a Democratic Party candidate would already be over. He would not be where he is today. He made a calculated bet: that his publicly abandoning the Democratic Party and running in 2016 as Jill Stein’s replacement in the general election would be… Read more »
That was hardly an answer to Bob’s point – or indeed Janet’s. Sanders – like Trump and Obama before him – is saying what he needs to get elected. Even if we assume he’s sincere, he has not a cat in Hell’s chance of resisting the Deep State – they will kill him if necessary. I would bet you a sizable sum that even if Sanders is elected (and I would probably vote for him – as I would’ve for Trump – if I were American, faute de mieux) the wars will continue as before. The only thing that will… Read more »
The military disaster already happened and is generally ignored by what’s left of the sentient public in the US. The successful and unanswered Iranian ballistic missile attack in January 2020 on 2 US bases in Iraq ended post WW2 US global military dominance. Full stop. This means that short of a US nuclear attack on either China or Russia that elicits a response in kind, we will be watching, if not experiencing a combination of bio and financial warfare on steroids. Combined with the transmogrification of the US into the one of the leading exemplars (the EU is the nearest… Read more »
Eric, so we are NOT to believe a candidates words, just speculate as to his behavior based on political reality? How is that different then any other politican? And isn’t the issues involved more important then the candidates success? I recall, getting all choked up, at Obamas win, and then he proceeded to trash ‘hope and change’. I would prefer to hear a politician say that American imperialism, is wrong, not support it, and educate the public. I am reminded of 3rd party politics. Eugene Deb was not elected, yet government social programs were enacted, labor laws passed, woman suffrage… Read more »
Credibility is an “all or nothing” philosophical concept. It only takes one breech of truth, and credibility is lost. Bernie breached his credibility IN A FUNDAMENTAL WAY after the 2016 DNC, its a moral high ground he can no longer claim. Trump on the other hand has never made his credibility an issue, if fact, he has presented himself as a “great dealmaker” which is an implicit rejection of credibility, its taking the position that “I do what I need to do, to get the results.” Sanders is a VERY different candidate that he was in 2016. This isn’t to… Read more »
Nah, I don’t think so. He’s a stubborn ol’ 60’s era socialist. We might even see a Hippy resurgence and burning effigies of deep state actors at Woodstock. Never say never.
Though 7 up-votes now grace JanetC’s comment, Sanders would have antagonized the very same voters (Democrats) whom he needs in order to win, if he had taken the foolish advice of JanetC. He needs to be accepted by Democratic Party voters.
But Eric, you can’t have it both ways. If he supports the position of the Democratic rank and file, that undermines the very narrative of your post, that he will take down the deep state. Either he is, or he isn’t. What you are saying effectively supports my position, he isn’t. Janet’s comment isn’t idiotic, it belies the ideological narrative that you are trying to cling to, so it upsets you. But its the cold, hard truth. Bernie could have left the Democratic party in 2016, and formed a meaningful party of the left. Pissed off Whiggs and anti-slavery Democrats… Read more »
“You say you wanna revolution, well you know, We don’t wanna change the world”
You hit the nail right on the head. Well said.
On top of all that you said I find it insulting that the writer of an article would name call a poster that he didn’t agree with. Disagreeing is one thing, but doing what he’s undercuts his credibility AND makes me want to avoid reading anything from him in the future.
Oh, Jeez…he just needs to advocate national health care, trimming university costs and taxing the uber-rich and he’s won the rank & file vote. Nobody in America cares about foreign policy, except for the deep state war-mongers and they’re slipping on banana peels all over the place.
Democracy can be really capricious like that.
I don’t agree with “If he supports the position of the Democratic rank and file, that undermines the very narrative of your post, that he will take down the deep state. Either he is, or he isn’t.” He’ll never be able to take down the Deep State unless he OBTAINS the support of the Democratic rank and file. Without their support he would surely fail. He needs to convert many of them to his side, the progressive side. Unfortunately, most of today’s Democratic Party voters are only liberals — mixing together progressivism and conservatism. After Reagan and 1980, even the… Read more »
OK, I’ll acknowledge your point. HOWEVER, I also see a trend here that’s intriguing. I’ll try to describe it with one blaring example, Assange. In past historical manifestations of the Democrat rank & file, there would be huge crowds of anti-war liberals demonstrating in support of Assange, as during Vietnam (Bernie’s political nascency) Why not now? Because the deep state (and MSM enablers) very effectively yet disingenuously painted Assange as a Russian asset and anti-Hillary agent. That killed him in their eyes. It’s the same technique used over and over, yet it’s a technique that’s extremely fragile and once it… Read more »
Eric, the Democratic rank and file SUPPORT the deep state. This is the entire point of what I posted. They have embraced John Bolton, James Comey and George Bush Jr. They have embraced suppression of free speech. They have embraced conducting a unsupportable coup d’état against a democratically elected leader simply because they don’t like him. They have embraced military intervention in Syria and Iran. They have embraced the concept of propaganda in employ of what THEY view as the “greater good” in other words, Fascism. They have endorsed forced regime change in the Ukraine, Libya and Venezuela. They have… Read more »
I didn’t express myself clearly there except to say that “Unfortunately, most of today’s Democratic Party voters are only liberals — mixing together progressivism and conservatism.” I agree with what you said. But I believe that Sanders has no chance unless he brings Democratic Party on board. He shouldn’t be insulting that Party right now. He shouldn’t be driving its voters away. That would be stupid.
Well, “right now” its too late, he threw his lot in with Clinton, his credibility is gone. But the right thing to do was to walk out of the convention and start a new party for 2020. That was the smart play, the moral play and the ethical play, and if he had done that, he stand an honest chance of being elected President in 2020. As it is, he will not even be the Democratic candidate, and nothing more than a historical footnote. History shows that when a political vacuum is created, someone appears to fill it. The Dems… Read more »
How will he do it, asks this writer? “Fight like hell and be willing to sacrifice even himself, if need be, so as to destroy their control over America. Be what Trump only pretends to be. This is the only way that it might be able to be done. Sincerity. Determination. Mono-focus. And great courage. Never backtracking.” Is Trump “only pretending”? What about the Deep State’s unstinting efforts to get rid of Trump? Is it also pretending? Yes, Trump has certainly backtracked often to everyone’s disappointment, but that may be unavoidable faced by the same pro-war pressures that forced Bernie… Read more »
If Sanders admitted now, during the primaries, that Russiagate is a hoax, he wouldn’t even stand a chance to win primaries and caucuses. He also will need to affirm Russiagate throughout the campaign. He is a practical politician. Look at what happened to Tulsi Gabbard — 2% support among Democrats. Sanders can read the tea-leaves. Only idiots expect him to do such stupid things, because they themselves don’t understand reality.
I want to see Tulsi in an important role. Reality makes her underdog run unlikely, so VP (or SS) to Sanders would be good competition for Trump.
I agree with that (Secretary of State, not VP because that would drag down the vote for nominee Sanders); but there are 3 up-votes for Wicher’s pro-Trump comment here, and this indicates that probably this site is more pro-Trump than pro-Sanders.
Hope springs eternal, but ideology blinds.
There’s basically three groups. There are those that believe Bernie’s rhetoric, and reject him because of it. There are those that believe Bernie’s rhetoric, and embrace him because of it. And there are those that listen to his rhetoric, compare it with his actions and how he votes, and think “wait a minute, something doesn’t add up here…..” The last group is the same group that looks at Tulsi, her membership in the Council on Foreign Relations and her ties to the RSS, which when confronted with, she didn’t even bother to challenge, and compare those positions with HER rhetoric,… Read more »
Correct, but it will come from replacing the Democratic Party, and not from replacing the Republican Party (which has been controlled only by the super-rich ever since John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln dead). The Republican Party has long been fascist. In other words: Sanders needs to become the President before he can have any hope of purging the billionaires from ALL Parties. After that, he can form the new Progressive Democratic Party and leave out of it the Clintons, Obamas, and their friends and major backers to dangle in the wind because billionaires will have been outlawed from politics… Read more »
And Dems have been fascist since the 1990’s, as I pointed out in my email re: Clinton and Philip Gould. The ONLY way forward was to form a new party, that opportunity was LITERALLY DROPPED in Bernies lap in late 2016/17, and he turned his nose up at it. Like I said, He says he wants a Garden, but he chose a lawn.
The democratic party cannot be saved, it is finished. It can, and WILL be replaced, and become a historical footnote, just like the Whigs, but it cannot be saved.
The party itself is complicit in the killing of Seth Rich, and it is complicit, along with the deep state, in an illegal coup d’état against a democratically elected President. Its finished.
In general, rank & file Democrats are dumb f_cks, easily manipulated. Republicans aren’t far behind.
The biggest threat to our democracy is having that observation exposed for all to see. We’re already there and then some, aren’t we? Don’t forget, denial’s only the first stage to final self-awareness. Patience, grasshopper.
Patience is an admirable virtue but these years of the rumblings of idiots have throughout history, almost without exception culminated in world wars. The clock is ticking and with each new event, another click on the sprocket.
I honestly believe you are under-estimating the American people Eric, I really do. Look at how much money Bernie raised from grass-roots support the first time around. He has thrown away a historic opportunity, because HE turned around and underestimated the intelligence of his supporters, and sold the one thing he had that the others did not, his integrity, by asking them to swing their support behind Hillary Clinton, and he did it again, even worse, when he swung his support behind Russiagate and impeachment. I am not an American, I don’t vote in your elections, but I was REALLY… Read more »
In other words Sanders is already trimming his sails to suit the prevailing MSM wind. If he does this as a candidate, what hope is it that he’ll stand up to them as a President? I would believe it if he were to appoint say Stephen Cohen (whom he might consult about Russia) as Secretary of State. If he is elected it will be a Neocon. He had no need to spout rubbish about Putin (who enjoys popular support in Russia any American politico can only dream about). He could have said he’s seen no evidence of Russian intervention. It… Read more »
A simple up-vote isn’t good enough, dead on post!
Keep slugging, AEW: you’re making good sense. Eric Zuesse has identified the problem: too much money & power in too few hands. US has effectively become an oligarchy, with both Rep & Dem parties bought & paid for, effectively minions for the bankster globalist hegemony project, which is failing. I see, from Britland, Trump as a Rothschild tool., with Wilbur Ross his minder. Perhaps they have realised they need Trump to give them time to reorganise their failing project? Climatologist Dr. Tim Ball has openly named the bankster Rockefellers & convicted felon George Soros as chief among the many multi-billionaires… Read more »
If Sanders were to become President, he would destroy America.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer shit hole.
Is that a vote of confidence or no-confidence?
Just an observation, based on the last 4 years.
I meant DarkMan’s comment.
Sorry to burst the bubble, because Sanders will do nothing of the sort. He is a Jew. Nutty’s wet dream would be a jewish us “president”. They are all PART OF the deep state, nothing less. One doesn’t get a foot in the door unless you swear alliegence to Israel. The dump can’t/won’t drain the “swamp” because he IS the swamp. All this kabuki theatre is window dressing designed to fool the idiot sheeple into thinking he will maga and “drain the swamp”, whilst they pour more and more of their tax dollars into the pockets of the 0.1% (the… Read more »
Sanders ‘the Jew’ refused to meet with AIPAC in 2016. That act of defiance alone earns him 3 stars in my book. The rest, well….a little socialism to trim back this predator oligopoly and runaway MIC of ours wouldn’t hurt too much I think, even if it meant his taxing the hell out of me. Health care and University costs, up by 10-15% per year every year for decades now. Somebody’s got to deflate that bubble before it bursts. Talk about existential threats. There’s your number one. Maybe I’m being overly naive. Well, certainly wouldn’t be a first for an… Read more »
Bloomberg scares me. He’s a Russian Jew oligarch and he’ll ending up making nice with all the Russian Jew oligarchs over there and selling America to their highest bidder.
I’ve started chugging vodka by the gallon, trying to put a damper on my angst. Donnie, Bernie, now Mikey……..and Russian is such a hard language to learn. What to do. What to do?
Somebody doesn’t like my sarcasms.
I did, but I am a notorious iconoclast, I thrive on that kinda shit! LOL!
Its a nice thought but Bernie won’t make it. Even if, and its a big ‘if’ Bernie makes it all the way to the Presidency, the Machiavellian beasts that manipulate American political discourse will destroy him, they are simply to powerful.
Yep. No less effective than the USSR’s total internal machine of control in its heyday.
Sorry, Eric, but I wouldn’t count on Bernie Sanders being able to deal with a nest of mud wasps in my back yard, never mind the Deep State.
I suppose in our current “State of Desperate Affairs,” “Dream Government” and “La La Land” offer some respite.
Nevertheless, you write well and say important things, so keep up the good work.
Totally agree with the last line. I may not always agree with what you say, but I ALWAYS read your posts, unlike InfoBrics for instance! LOL!
Good luck with that. The DNC will probably screw him first since it is clear the party elite will not support Bernie’s candidacy. Sooner or later it has to penetrate even the most obtuse among American voters they really have no positive control over the electoral process.
The DNC has a serious problem. If Bernie maintains his momentum, they’ll be forced to nominate him. If they don’t, he’ll likely split off and run anyway, totally decimating the Democrat’s ticket. Even if he doesn’t split off, his base will, twice burned, absolutely decimate the party ticket anyway, by not voting. What’s the DNC gonna do, try to swing his twice-burned supporters over with the lame ‘that’s what Putin wants’ story? It was a pathetic ploy then, it’s doubly pathetic now. Its 15 minutes in the spotlight are long gone and no billing to follow. Human nature’s fickle yet… Read more »
I pick door #3. Personally, and maybe its just an emotional reaction to the horrendous disillusion I felt spawned by his actions after the 2016 convention, But I think he’s a flat-out sheepdog. Personally, I think he’s “in on the fix”.
a suggestion for Bernies 2020 campaign song…hehehe
https://youtu.be/x1_69AAX-OY
Obviously Sanders is in on the fix, massively. Let’s hear one halfway plausible explanation for his repeated pledge, in 2020, to throw all his vote to the party anointed — after the events of 2016. “Flat-out sheepdog” as oldandjaded says. But you are deluding yourself something fierce about his “twice-burned supporters”. They aren’t twice burned: they’ve been burned as many times as there were elections. Since 1946 at least. There is always a sheepdog, Wallace, Jackson, Kucinich, you name him. Sometimes the sheepdog is also the anointed by the Owners of the Country, like Obama. And instead of turning against… Read more »
Bernie is on the blame Russia for everything bandwagon. Also bought into green new deal scam. Nobody can or wants to break up the deep state. He can’t be trusted.
Mr Zuesse seems to forget the last president who took on Deep state and its thugs: JFK. Bernie may be brave but he’s no fool. The matter is irrelevant, since he’ll never be elected. You don’t let a man into your club if he won’t follow the rules.
Alex is DEAD ON THE MONEY here, and Bernie has finally fully exposed himself. Eric, HOW can you listen to BERNIES comments here, and not realize, he isn’t going to dismantle FUCK ALL, he is the deep states BITCH.
https://theduran.mystagingwebsite.com/same-lame-russia-meddling-bs-trump-bernie-react-in-completely-different-ways-video/
Another bone to pick about Sanders: “Back in 2002, Sanders was able to refuse to authorize George W. Bush to invade Iraq and yet still not have his career in Congress destroyed by that ‘unpatriotic’ (actually courageously patriotic) act.” Sanders enthusiastically voted yea to the AUMF 2001. The only opposition in all of Congress was Barbara Lee’s. The 2002 authorization vote was not relevant for the rape of Iraq. AUMF was already in place and has since been used some 19 times for aggressions. Sanders just used it for grandstanding, while he voted all the budget appropriations for the war… Read more »