I HAVE COME UP WITH AN ANALOGY that I think makes sense of the whole political scene.  There’s a circle of events and behaviors that when put together, paint a picture.  A surreal picture for sure, but perhaps because it’s so seemingly far-fetched, maybe there’s something to it.

If we look at politics as if it were a game show, some of the fuzziness clears almost immediately.  Let’s start with the candidates:  They are the contestants.  Like a game show, there can be only one winner.  At the primary level, contestants are virtually chosen at random.  In politics, this is called throwing one’s hat into the ring.  The successful ones make it to the stage and compete against one another to win the big prize.  The prize winner moves on to elective office.  But that isn’t the real prize.

No, the real prize winning is the wealth, luxury and power that comes with the office.  For those unaware of how the game is played, the fabulous wealth that accrues is due in large part to two sources:  taxpayer money and large donors.

Massive fraud now coming to light indicates how the taxpayer money is funneled to politicians.  Reports have surfaced that House members like Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) have increased their personal wealth in exponentially massive ways that simply don’t pass the sniff test of “investing” and the like.  This too, is part of the game.

The figure $9 billion is being floated as the amount of fraud perpetrated by the Somalis in Minneapolis.  That’s a lot of money!  Too much money to go unnoticed by the organizations and agencies responsible for overseeing commercial enterprises.  When daycare is at issue, multiple regulatory agencies must inspect, certify, validate and approve operations.  There is the question of attendance; health checks, curricula and more.  Investigation reveals that no children have been in evidence, yet billings for government subsidies are in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars.  So, why haven’t any of these organizations thrown a flag?

Because it’s part of the game.  The “daycare” operators grease the palms of the officials.  Maybe they don’t hand out cash directly (but maybe sometimes they do) but there are other ways of greasing the skids.  Call them “donations.”

On a recent podcast, Cenk Uygur, a leftist political activist, stated that only 33 members of the current Congress have not accepted donations from pro-Israel groups.  Which raises the question, why do pro-Israel lobbyists donate to nearly every member of Congress, regardless of party?  The answer is “leverage.”  Uygur said that if a member of Congress who has been “paid” votes against bills favoring Israel, that money is then withdrawn.  However a member of Congress spends money, whether it’s on re-election campaigning or “official travel” (the term used instead of “junket”), losing income can cost a politician his office, and thus his gravy train.

Reportedly Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of Oracle Corporation (and a rival with Elon Musk as the world’s richest man), donated $5million to Israel, and then later found it was easier and more discreet to donate $16.6m to the non-profit Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.  This is not an anti-Israel screed, but merely a way to point out how intertwined and deep the money game goes.  Ellison can’t be named and thus be held responsible for the way FIDF spends money.  Pontius Pilate was the first in recorded history to “wash his hands” of spilled blood (Matthew 27:24).

“Money laundering” is the term that is used to describe how money from illegal or suspicious sources is passed through seemingly legitimate businesses and banked as actual income.  Restaurants, laundries, and perhaps even child care centers can be set up as money laundering “nodes.”  A restaurant that serves only 100 customers a week, can deposit the equivalent of 1,000 customer checks.  The unraveling of the childcare fiasco in Minnesota and elsewhere is an example.  No children seen at these centers, but billing (for remuneration by the government) amasses in the tens of thousands of dollars.  This strongly suggests that government officials are taking a “cut of the action” as no irregularities are ever reported.  And thus the cycle continues.

When President Trump tasked Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) the result was the ending of the USAID program, which it turns out, had been spending money on frivolous (and quite likely fraudulent programs) programs, which very likely served merely as money laundering operations, which fed money into politicians’ pockets.

In short:

TAXPAYER MONEY –>  GOVERNMENT “PROGRAMS”  –>  KICKBACKS TO POLITICIANS

or

WEALTHY DONORS –> NON-PROFITS/LOBBYISTS –> POLITICIANS

“Plain” folks like you and me aren’t invited to the party.  George Carlin said, “It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it. You and I are not in the big club.”  There are only two things one can do about this:  Ignore the clamor and distraction and focus on making the best life possible, or strive to rise above it, and get invited to the party.  Choose the latter, and welcome to the game show!

EVERYONE WHO SEEKS PUBLIC OFFICE PURPORTS TO DO SO seeking the “public good.”  Whether they wish to right an injustice, Improve the lot of the poor, hungry and homeless, or stand up to oppression, they take to the stage with pronouncements of good intent.

Sure, there are some who simply want the trappings of power and control, but not all politicians start that way.  But they all wind up that way.  Why?  How?  When?

Lord Acton once observed

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of corruption by authority.”

This explains the “why,” and perhaps the “how,” but not the when.  Are some politicians more corruptible than others?  Reversing the question, are there some politicians who are less corruptible?  Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), is known to vote against nearly every form of government spending.  This draws the ire of many from both sides of the aisle, but he stands resolute.  On his website, he shows the Nation Debt “clock” in real time, a stark reminder that with every passing second, the nation’s debt climbs astronomically.  Paul’s resistance to spending is based on his wish to not add more to the debt.  Is he incorruptible?  He may be the only one.

Or perhaps he hasn’t yet reached the “when” stage.  Newer members of Congress have displayed almost no resistance to the siren call of power and corruption.  The latest darling of the Democrats is Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) who has quickly transformed herself from a middle-class educated attorney to a trash-talking guttersnipe.  Buoyed by her constituents’ acclaim, she has now chosen to turn her attention from the House of Representatives (whose district was gerrymandered out of existence) to the Senate.  Crockett has tasted the ambrosia of power and the wealth that comes with being a member of Congress, and has thus succumbed to its blandishments early in her career.

Once the domain of higher elected office, the trickle-down effect has now reached local levels, most notably at the school board levels.  Making national headlines seemingly on a weekly  basis, the Loudoun County, Virginia, school board has inserted itself into local affairs encompassing transgenderism, Title IX, and at times the misappropriation of funds.  Housed in an impressive building with modern electronics, wood paneling, and a host of advanced features, one might understand why someone might want to run for school board.

The LCPS Administration building at 21000 Education Ct, Ashburn, VA 20148

Completed in 2005 at an estimated cost of $26 million, the 200,000 square foot building was partially renovated in 2023 at an additional cost of $4.12 million.  Taxpayer money, let’s not forget!  So, is the attraction the position on the board, or the building in where one holds court?  Er, office?  And while the average school board member earns only about $20k per year for a part-time job, the superintendent makes about $425k a year, plus a $20k yearly bonus.

A new breed of office-seekers has arisen mostly due to the rise of the Internet and social media:  The “attention whores.”  The same Jasmine Crockett mentioned above, has been seen as wanting the attention public office brings more than the responsibility.  Podcaster Matt Walsh has opined that if she were given a choice between two buttons, the first being “President of the United States” and the second of having 50 million followers on Instagram, she’d opt for the second button without hesitation.  Given that when some elected officials open their mouths they reveal their room temperature IQs, that they continue to do so rather than slink away suggests they enjoy the publicity more than the public embarrassment.

It may be too early to tell, but even Donald J. Trump may not be immune.  A billionaire, Trump does not need the salary of the president (which is less than the Superintendent of Loudoun County’s School Board!) and in fact, donates it to veterans causes.  A CEO several times over, one might assume he doesn’t lust for power.  However, being in command of the world’s greatest military and having world leaders look to him for advice and guidance (as well as support), could be swinging the pendulum.  In the sense of this discussion, Trump is a cypher.

Cigar smoking, painted-on-mustache comedian, Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx once said he didn’t care to belong to any club that would have him as a member.  It’s no wonder he never ran for office.