The enshittification of politics [View all]

[EarlG]

The "enshittification of the Internet" is a phrase to describe what has happened to the Internet over the last twenty years or so. Back in the mid-aughts, "disruptive" companies like Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, etc. released lean, free/low-cost products, which became very popular. During this time, these companies took massive financial losses just so they could grab as much market share as possible. Once they'd sucked in as many users as they could, they had to start making money, and so their services declined in quality while becoming ever-more loaded with ads (even if you're paying for the service) and regular price increases. (Side note: I believe these money-grubbing practices go a long way towards explaining why so many people are down on the economy these days.)

The enshittification of politics is the logical conclusion of Congress's failure to enact campaign finance reform and turbocharged by the radical Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision. With no limit on how much money can be spent on U.S. elections, the sums required to run just get higher and higher -- it's essentially an arms race. Politicians in high-profile races can no longer run a campaign with just small donor contributions. They HAVE to take big donor money, or they might as well not bother.

2008 election cycle (prior to Citizens United)

The 2008 campaign was the costliest in history, with a record-shattering $5.3 billion in spending by candidates, political parties and interest groups on the congressional and presidential races.

2024 election cycle

A new report from AdImpact predicts that the 2023-24 election cycle will be the costliest of all time, with candidates expected to spend cumulatively more than $10 billion in political pitches across various platforms.

This obviously gives big donors a massive amount of leverage over politicians. Politicians cannot compete without their money, so they're forced to take it. Then, if the politician doesn't do what the big donor wants, the big donor simply kills their campaign by withdrawing their money. It's insanely corrupt.

Follow the money and connect the dots...

May 6, 2024: US Crypto Super PACs Have Raised More Than $100 Million, Report Says

Outside political groups tied to the cryptocurrency industry have raised more than $102 million to spend on the upcoming U.S. congressional elections in order to elevate candidates who are friendly to digital assets, according to a report from Public Citizen.

Only two other political groups, or super PACs, have raised more money than the crypto sector this election cycle, Public Citizen said. The money raised by crypto-backed super PACs shows how crypto companies are hoping to influence policies in their favor as the industry is facing increased scrutiny from regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as lawmakers.

May 26, 2024: As crypto cash floods Washington, Congress eyes gentler regulations

Cryptocurrency companies and investors have spent at least $149 million over the past four years to thwart tough regulation, elect new allies to Congress and defeat lawmakers seen as potential threats, a campaign that culminated this week with a House vote to soften federal oversight of the embattled industry.

June 29, 2024: Binance must face bulk of US SEC crypto lawsuit, judge rules

A federal judge ruled late Friday that the majority of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, can proceed.

The decision by Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia deals a blow to Binance, which had asked the court to toss the SEC's lawsuit that alleges Binance and its founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao broke securities laws.

July 2, 2024: IRS Issues Crypto Broker Regulations

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued its final draft of rules for crypto brokers to report income, offering clarifications on the scope of industry participants required to follow the regulations. ... IRS commissioner Danny Werfel stated, “We reviewed thousands of public comments and believe this new guidance addresses those concerns while striking a balance between industry implementation challenges and closing the tax gap related to digital assets.”

(snip)

Werfel also mentioned how the new rules will ensure high net worth individuals (HNIs) do not evade taxes using cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

July 12, 2024: Cryptocurrency is One of The Most Overlooked Threats Against our Democracy

Tech and finance titans in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street are building an ever-larger war chest with the same goal Bankman-Fried had: to create a Congress that turns a blind eye to their shady practices – including rampant money laundering, vanishing investor money, and weaponized dark money – that do harm to the American public and our democracy.

They’ve announced that they will spend significant money in the Montana, Ohio, Michigan, and Maryland Senate races—crucial states that will decide who controls Congress.

July 12, 2024: Democratic Party strangling itself': Rage at donors 'bribing politicians' to oust Biden

"....Never-Trumpers were rattled Thursday amid a report that a group of Democratic donors pledged millions to lawmakers who've defected or criticized President Joe Biden. A group of 30 donors in New York — including crypto billionaire Mike Novogratz, Hollywood filmmaker Andrew Jarecki, and donor and operative Gideon Stein — have pledged $2 million to a House Democrat Super PAC to support Democrats who criticized Biden, Jake Sherman reported for Punchbowl News...."

July 13, 2024: Wanna-be oligarchs. Silicon Valley and Crypto bros are major players in this election.

Under the average voter radar is extreme influence peddling, lobbying of of the Silicon Valley and Crypto bros, one of which is Rep. Jim Himes, who told Biden to step down.

Citizens need to keep an eye on this!

They are part of the big money donors trying to turn Dems away from Biden in order to get Crypto deregulated. If they succeed, the consequences are completely unpredictable. They stand to take over banking, and replace the dollar as an international currency. Could also usher in collapse of currencies, and a wave of untraceable financial crime.

July 18, 2024: Some threads: Polling and the Crypto boys

The polling that is freaking out Nancy and Adam, is being conducted by BlueLabs Analytics https://bluelabs.com

- BlueLabs received funding from Sequoia Capital, a Silicon Valley venture tech firm that funds crypto start-ups. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?vendor=BlueLabs+Analytics

(snip)

(Rep. Jim) Himes was the first to start the un-nominate Biden ball rolling. He is a former Goldman Sachs banker, and advocate for the US central bank to adopt digital currency.

July 18, 2024: Trump Requests $844,600 for Fundraiser Seat at Bitcoin Conference

Donald Trump is inviting supporters in the cryptocurrency industry to a private fund-raising effort in Nashville on July 27, including an asking price of $844,600 for a seat at a round table.

(snip)

Attendance will be limited to 100 to 150 donors, who “will enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres while mingling with influential guests,” according to the email. Following the reception, guests will get front-row seats to watch Trump deliver a speech on Bitcoin, the message added.

July 18, 2024: The Silicon Valley realignment leading tech titans to Trump

A wave of Silicon Valley leaders has publicly lined up behind Donald Trump since Saturday’s assassination attempt — including some who had previously denounced the former president or supported his rivals — cementing a political shift in the tech world years in the making. ... In recent months, many tech elites quietly latched on to Trump, the perceived front-runner, drawn by Trump’s promises of industry-friendly policies on cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence and driven away from President Biden by scrutiny of the sector they see as kneecapping innovation.

July 19, 2024: Tech/Crypto Bros bought Nate Silver "pollster"

Nate Silver was hired by Polymarket recently, Polymarket is funded by Peter Thiel and other billionaires. Vance is also a product of Peter Thiel, who has been grooming him for the takeover of the GOP.

July 19, 2024: Fmr Rep Sean Patrick Maloney former chr of DCCC is now a big cryto bro & may be behind today's anti-Biden text messages

Sean Patrick Maloney, an adviser to Coinbase, is nominated as the U.S. representative to the OECD, which is building regulatory frameworks for crypto.

(snip)

On the same day that Biden publicly announced Maloney’s nomination last May, cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase announced their appointment of Maloney to their five-person “Global Advisory Council.” Less than a month later, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Coinbase with operating as an unregistered securities exchange

In other words, it's not Biden's age that these big donors have a problem with, it's his policies (increase taxes on the rich, regulate cryptocurrencies). They want him out, and replaced with someone more friendly to their interests.

I think this is as good an explanation as any for why some highly experienced Democratic politicians are suddenly acting as if they know nothing whatsoever about politics. The strategic buffoonery of trying to toss out your incumbent president through a month-long campaign of leaks to the media and "death by a thousand cuts" announcements makes a lot more sense if you consider that these Democrats are under serious behind-the-scenes pressure to do this, or their campaigns are essentially over.

We keep hearing stories about how Democrats are worried that if Biden stays in, we'll lose control of the House, or the Senate. We've been led to believe that Democrats are concerned about Biden being a drag on down-ticket races. But what if it's even more straightforward than that? What if the real reason for their concern is that if they don't follow the orders of the billionaires, the billionaires will simply pull their funding and leave our candidates high and dry?

If only we had a non-complicit media who might be interested in investigating this further. But of course, they're part of the problem. The people who run media companies ALSO make massive campaign contributions to politicians. Not only that, but they benefit from these insanely huge sums of money flowing through our political system in the form of ad dollars, which are a major windfall for media companies. It is in their interest to not only keep this system alive, but to milk it for as much as they can. There's a reason why political campaigns in this country are now multi-year, 365 days a year, 24/7 activities.

It sure seems like there is some major extortion going on here behind the scenes.