“They want you to cheer your own demise, mistaking it for someone else’s.
Do not fall for it.”
It is crushing to watch the betrayal of the legacy Democrats. You were so right.
I’m sorry I could not believe you before that the Democrats were 100% in on it.
But goddam Biden and Pelosi and the rest.
But I have important questions:
Since Biden, Pelosi, Schumer and Trump are all on the same page, with the same objective to seize American assets and sell them to foreign interests why did they put on a show of disagreement? Pelosi and Schumer looked genuinely scared after Harris lost. If they have disagreements what are they?
And is Harris part of Biden’s mob too?
There is so much to keep track of. Your links to Trump‘s pardons kept me occupied for about 45 minutes. What astonishing revelations. It’s sickens me that you seem to be so alone when you deserve to have legions of Americans on your side.
Please remind me to return to this comment later because it’s really interesting and there’s lots I want to say but my kids are calling me at the moment! Be back later
This is my question too. How does this all benefit Biden, Pelosi, etc. Are they going to make money off of all this? Power? Or is the power they gain only in their perceived resistance to fascism?
I do not think Pelosi or Schumer are scared or surprised over Trump's return to the presidency. My guess is that they are pleased. Their interests have never been with protecting the US or the American public. Some reasons why are laid out in this article: https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/bearing-witness-to-the-disappearing
Pelosi, in particular, has said that if Capitol crumbles and the US collapses, her greatest priority -- and the priority of the US -- would be Israel. It was because of *Pelosi*, not Trump, that I first suspected the Capitol would be soon attacked, since she spoke about it openly in December 2018. Schumer was next to her, along with their donors, and they nodded as if this were a foregone conclusion. I was shocked at the time, because I could not understand why they would be so cavalier -- even happy -- about the destruction of the US.
I began digging into Pelosi's finances, which include the illicit stock trades many have noticed, but also contributions from oligarch/mafia proxies like Len Blavatnik. For a brief period, from around 2017-2018, it seemed like the Democrats would put up a fight against Trump and his crime cult. That ended in spring 2019 after Pelosi became Speaker of the House and in particular when the DCCC and individual Democratic representatives began taking enormous donations from billionaires supporting Trump. These include Russian oligarch proxies, but also AIPAC, which funds the seditionists. And those are only the donations that are documented in public -- what happens behind the scenes is likely much worse. This is why both parties are trying to destroy Open Secrets and other sites that provide campaign finance histories. (The finance information is still on the FEC website.)
I do not think all Democrats were in on the plan. Some are likely shocked. Other Dems were openly opposed, which is why AIPAC primaried them out of office. But the top officials were in on it, or at least aware -- and that includes Harris. My question regarding Harris is that for about a month, it appeared there was a genuine effort to make her president. This was followed by a flagrant display of her willingness to go to war with Iran, to rehabilitate the worst US war criminals, and to abet Israel in its genocide, which I wrote about here: https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/birds-of-a-feather
Whatever this effort was directed at -- it certainly wasn't directed at winning over voters! -- it failed. My guess is that initial powerbroker interest in Harris may have been due to trepidation over Trump as Commander in Chief, since he is an unpredictable actor due to his ceaseless greed and tendency to blurt out the plan. If Harris could be controlled and the wars could proceed as planned, then she would do. But she could prove an obstacle to other parts of the agenda: the domestic aspects of Project 2025, which Biden approved (he didn't care about Roe being overturned, for example) but which she seems to have sincerely opposed. There was also the matter of who she would appoint. My guess is powerbrokers prefer Trump's choices -- by which I mean behind the scenes players like Kushner or Bannon, not flagrant controversy magnets like Gabbard and Gaetz.
The real power here has always been behind the scenes. The people most important to look at are the hardest to see.
I wrote about all of this in HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT and THEY KNEW. Those books would never be allowed to be published now, so I suggest folks get them while they can. They detail Trump's backstory in particular, but it's key to remember that the Democrats have been aware that Trump was a national security threat with a stated intent to destroy the US the entire time -- and they knew it and abetted it. Their behavior is partially motivated by resource shortages that will get worse due to climate change over the next few decades, and I wrote about that extensively in THEY KNEW. There is also bribery, blackmail, religious fanaticism, and more involved in keeping people in line. It's an awful, terrible plan, and I wish it were otherwise. I'm refusing to go along with it. I will always refuse.
This is the short answer to your question. I'm hoping now that the election is over more people will speak honestly about what was done, the long histories of betrayal, and what lies ahead.
Sarah, I have learned the hard way to re-read your sentences and your paragraphs multiple times. There’s something about the information you are giving that is just so shocking I can’t take it all in at once.
"Their behavior is partially motivated by resource shortages that will get worse due to climate change over the next few decades"
To me, this is the elephant in the room that isn't getting addressed or acknowledged enough, simply because the vast majority of people either 1) don't even think about climate collapse or 2) think it's still a distant future thing. It's not. We're in it, probably way further along than the conservative climate science consensus will admit. We're also in the early years of full-on smash-and-grab time and our latest Yeltsin (Trump) is going to accelerate it to the next stage. Biden's slow Yeltsin lulled the base back into complacency for some continued, down-throttled ransacking while the next relay team regrouped for the next phase. The goal is to clean out the store while we're fighting amongst ourselves & occupied with struggling through a variety of disasters that have no tangible author. Mother Nature....the market....all huge, amorphous forces that can't be tamed so "our hands are tied. Good luck out there! Don't call us, we'll call you!" That's how I see it anyway.
My complicity theory about Democrats, in general, is that their primary role in controlled opposition is to stabilize ("preserve"), or even adjust, the institutions as Republicans work proactively for the donor class invested in both parties. This explains why they don't fight. Genuine fighting would be chaotic, and chaos does who knows what to the institutions. Stable institutions would allow big donors to invest in politics more confidently and reliably, like how investors prefer stable pricing in the stock market.
When Trump came on the scene both establishment Democrats and establishment Republicans were freaked out at first, which I assumed was because no one knew how the equilibrium above would be affected (rather than, say, because they were concerned about his effect on democracy). Once it became clear it could still work with Trump, the game resumed.
That seems to explain the backstop IMO. Of course actively participating is a whole other dimension.
Yes, it became clear with the Harris campaign turn to the right and embracing the Cheney’s and courting “moderate” Republicans that the Dems would lose the election and seemingly wanted to. It just seemed so obvious to me to be political suicide. SMH, we are deep in the weeds with evil now.
I am alarmed to hear you do not think your books would be published today. Things are already that far gone. I have read them both, but somehow missed some of these details about Pelosi and Schumer - such a high level of corruption against our national sovereignty just stops my brain from functioning. It creates a blind spot I am only barely becoming aware of.
I have seen reports that Pelosi, upon resigning from her position of speaker and handing the job to Jefferies, also approached Biden and tried to encourage him to get out of the race. But Biden refused at the time.
It is such a shock to discover there are almost no fighters for Democracy in our Congress. The whole fight against Trump was just for show.
At the podium, Pelosi recounted her father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr.‘s acquaintance with Jewish culture, saying he was a “Shabbos Goy” who “spoke Yiddish” and “had a love for the idea of a Jewish state in what was then called ‘Palestine’.”
Pelosi said her father “worshiped at the shrine of Franklin Delano Roosevelt - he was a New Deal Democrat” who disagreed with the then US President on “only two things” - the treatment of Europe’s Jews and the establishment of Israel.
Bernie? Not corrupt perse, but also not that aware of how racism effects class struggles.
Hillary? Probably, but she's not really involved
AOC- definitely not
Jasmine Crockett- highly unlikely
Jamie Raskin? No
The older Dems need to let power flow to the new generation and stop infecting them with bipartisan disease. Working across the aisle should be seen as a possible means to an end, not your north star.
I wonder if it is simpler than this. Greed, cognitive dissonance and narcissism. You have to have an inflated sense of self to think you are the one to fix the world. AOC is a perfect example - her Met GALA episode showed a complete disconnect - she wanted the money, attention and invite more than being professional. The country is being run by weak people - some more charming than others - who are so easily motivated by wealth and image. They will never stand up against the people who control these two things so they play both sides to get our votes and their payoff. The younger ones are no better. America was created so that a very specific group of people could make money. Slave labor (not just Black) is key to that wealth - somehow we keep forgetting this and believe we are something greater.
I don’t think AOC is what you say she is- imo. She's one of the very few genuine ones. A bit misguided (she’s a Social Democrat, not a Socialist), but one of the few good ones. Likewise Jasmine Crockett.
Please know -I am not saying she is corrupt - only that politicians have certain psychological traits that make them vulnerable and not necessarily introspective to what is motivating them. It is necessary to compromise in politics and and this may cause many to blur the ethical lines - which aren't as clear these days - if they ever were. I have long stopped believing there are "good ones" and only ask if the work they do favors the community. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/alexandria_ocasio_cortez/412804
The lack of introspection is one that applies to the public as a whole. I'm in the UK and lived in the US for nearly 6 years from 2008-2014; so have a unique perspective on this.
As a Millennial, my generation is the first whose economic conditions are worse than the Generation before me. That Generation, having been let down by their predecessors, forgot to do something important- keep power and not return it to the boomers.
My generation came of age with President Obama in the whitehouse - someone who promised change and yet turned out to be more of the same. A lot in my generation took cues from him and became domesticated as a result.
Gen Z voted in larger numbers for the gop because my generation isn't equipped to seize power in the way we should because Gen X never fully seized power from the boomers.
More to the point, the UK and USA have both been run by conservative governments since 2010. Another problem is the fact that the majority of Millennials and Gen X are clinging to white supremacy and avoiding introspection like the plague. They insist on normalisation despite communicating how dire the situation is. Never want to confront their own (or that of their family/friend circle's) complicity in this.
White pride is terminal to liberal democracy and white liberals love hiding behind norms rather than focusing on enforcing the laws being broken by those in power.
Moreover, Gen Z in both countries grew up with Boris Johnson, Theresa May, Drumpf, Biden, Corbyn and Starmer leading the major parties. None of these are good role models and have never been held accountable because my generation and the one before us have refused to. If you see such undeserving, overly privileged people in power committing crimes and never being held accountable (voting them out isn't accountability), why would you believe that behaving decently is something you should vote for?
I bet Raskin yes. He's ascended too well to be clean.
Schiff? Absolutely. He was clearly instructed to run for Feinstein's seat, as he announced about 24 hours after Katie Porter did. Porter is someone who needed to be stopped. Pelosi clearly forced her off House Financial Services to stop her white board grilling of the players BTS; it appeared she wanted to escape by moving to the Senate and that was stopped too. Now Schiff is about to begin his first term as a senator and Porter is out of elected politics entirely.
I bet AOC yes, too (lied point blank on a ceasefire), Crockett as well-- I think they're all corrupt in power, anyone who wasn't has long since been ousted is my theory (O'Rourke, Bowman, Bush, etc. to name a few no longer in office, among many others).
I think many are being too kind/assuming good faith where there is none among the Dems in office, Castro-- Julian, not Joaquin-- is probably clean too *now* but was corrupt in the past though that's changed.
Don't get me wrong, the Dems at the top are the MOST corrupt of the bunch though, that's for sure and I agree with Sarah there (Biden, Harris, Schumer, Pelosi, etc. to name a few).
There are 2 absolute consistent among the Capitulation Cast who have been in elected office since before I was born and still are- President Biden and Nancy Pelosi.
Both are over 80 and have been responsible for the following between them:
1. The confirmation of Clarence Thomas via slut-shaming of Anita Hill.
2. Not contesting the 2000 Election in the Senate
3. Not pursuing impeachment of Bush/Cheney for War Crimes
4. Slow walking trump's first impeachment
5. Not allowing evidence to be presented at the 2nd for the public to see
6. Appointing and not sacking merrick Garland as ag
I don't think AOC lied about the ceasefire perse, I genuinely think that Kamala wanted a ceasefire, Biden did not. Not saying Kamala is good and didn't make mistakes (when asked what she'd have done differently, she could have touted the positives of the administration and how they'd serve as building blocks for her administration) and don't get me started on the incessant bipartisanship peddling.
Politics is like a team sport and you won't win by offering to give the other side some points out of some misguided notion of fairness. In a final, only 1 team can win the Cup. If your opponent cheats, don't be afraid to remind the ref. Just because they play-act, doesn't mean that you complaining about legitimate foul play makes you just like them- optics be dammed.
I do think you're in denial, Harris never wanted one and people who looked like her called her out on her BS the most- she did badly with minorities vs past Dem nominees, ask why that is-- AOC lied point blank to cover for her, we just found out today:
I don't disagree on anything else, though, I won't give them any excuses for their gaslighting and lying point blank to the American people though personally. This bipartisanship with fascists crap won't work, never has- never will.
Chuck Schumer was the speaker at my daughter's State University graduation in 2023. Shared a story about he came into politics to fight for the little guy or something to that effect. I shouted out 'yeah well what happened?' Someone sitting near me gave me a high five in agreement. It is disgusting how those many believed were going to save us are actually in on it!
I knew, intuitively, in February or March of 2021 that we were doomed, and being a faithful reader of Sarah K certainly contributed.
But anyone with a brain could see that the matter of J6 was not being given the treatment that a coup d’etat merits. At some point people would even say “well it wasn’t that bad; the government would be pursuing all these bad actors if it were.”
I had to concede at that point . Couldn’t come up with a rational or reasonable justification for the lackadaisical treatment. Had zero comeback.
I'm always in awe of how you transition from your travels and experiences to the deeply concerning political subject matter. The analogy between a cracking parking lot and our cracking government is perfect. Many people will fall through the cracks but we must hang on to each other in a personal way and not lose a grip on our humanity.
Sarah, thank you for focusing so much on Kushner. I feel he is easy for many to gloss over and forget about.
As a person with a military background, it was deeply concerning (to put it lightly) nearly eight years ago when his SF86 kept being rejected, revised, and then ultimately forced through by his father-in-law. There was clearly enough there that his tangled web of “business” ties was, at very least, a big concern for national security to some.
I think it is notable that he has clearly elected to stay out of the light the last few years. Probably like nearly all of the shameful appointees announced to the Cabinet this week, he would not pass for a security clearance.
Better to operate in the shadows than be burdened by more nuisance paperwork and red tape.
I knew he’d be bad at the job, but I didn’t know he’d be THIS awful though- he’s defied even my worst expectations tbh.
That aside…
“Biden was a place holder President designed to fill the four years between two terms of Trump while plutocrats shifted American political culture sharply to the right. Media gutted, Twitter decimated, activism destroyed, books censored, minorities demonized, public health annihilated, victims blamed, empathy scorned.
That is the main thing they are after now: your empathy. They want you to hate each other so you don’t hate them first.
They want you to buy into every cheap cliché and every manipulated poll. They want you to hate each other so much, you agree to their plan of tearing this country into warring fiefdoms for oligarchs to plunder. They want you to prey on the vulnerable, even though you are vulnerable too, so that the powerful can escape scrutiny.”
Biden is one of the worst Democratic presidents of my life, possibly the worst, and I have never understood how people defended him. His main task was acclimatizing Americans to mass death and mass murder and then streamlining fascism. I've long considered the 2024 election to be a reinstallation -- that's what happens in countries that countenance sedition! -- but Biden deserved the terrible approval ratings he had that spurred him to drop out of the race. His track record prior to the presidency was terrible, too.
I sent a comment to Biden using the White House portal after I saw the images from his meeting with Trump. I commented that his decision to hold this stage-managed press event, which has as much to do with a presidential transition as the idiotic annual pardoning of the turkeys, was appalling. I commented that his choice to debase himself, the office of the presidency, and democracy, by cowering in front of an adjudicated rapist, a convicted felon, the same criminal who had conspired to overthrow an election, then instigated a deadly insurrection at the Capitol, was clear evidence of extremely poor judgement. I encouraged him to resign immediately, and apologize to the American people for his betrayal of his office. I also commented that the photos from this grotesque sideshow would forever be his legacy. Of course, absolutely nothing will come of it. But at this point, leaving one star reviews on the White House version of Yelp is about all we can do.
Biden was certainly locked into the old ways of thinking about how America related to the rest of the world. And never a word about the decline of our empire, which is what we face each day and most of use refuse to see it, and never speak of it.
I'm not without empathy, but leaning on "it's a stutter!" and "his family died!" that BidenWorld utilized to browbeat dissent & doubt and Teflon that shambling old Zionist ghoul has been disgusting. In the past couple weeks, I've finally ditched my socials. The discourse quickly revealed itself to be happy to stick to this 9 year political doom loop we seem to be eternally mired in. I'm peaceing out of it. I got more than enough to keep me occupied in my little corner of New England, namely continuing to grow more than enough food and chilling with my hobbies. So, I say to Donald & his feckless Dem buddies: thanks for the detox.
Oh crap! When I read "A Pale Horse Race" again and re-read the following lines:
"I warned you for nine years, because I wanted you to be prepared. Biden was a Placeholder President designed to fill the four years between two terms of Trump while plutocrats shifted American political culture sharply to the right."
I have to admit to my own naivety. Sarah's original words didn't really stick. When I thought of Biden as a placeholder president, I thought it meant that he was holding a place for the next BETTER candidate who would put the country on the right track, one that would lead to "a more perfect union."
Oh crap, this essay reminds me how my optimism, once again, is unwarranted. (When I read this comment to my wife she said, "How could you think this? Sarah has been clear from the beginning."
21 hrs ago·edited 21 hrs agoLiked by Sarah Kendzior
Yeah, unfortunately Biden's Covid policy of letting it rip - with massive support from everyday liberals - was also a placeholder for the bird flu train barreling down on us. I've been dreading the inevitable outcome ever since Jill Biden's insipid "And doesn't the air smell so much sweeter without our masks?" Unmistakable warning bell of the uniparty's death cult final push for capital, IMO.
I owe you an apology, Sarah, for writing some time ago that I thought the fact that Kamala Harris was a child of civil rights activist parents, and went to civil rights rallies when she was very young meant she really would prosecute Trump. But to see that she has basically disappeared since the election … combined with Joe Biden being ridiculously friendly when Trump visited him … shows me that Kamala Harris lost her prosecutorial drive when she went from being California’s Attorney General to being a United StatesSenator. Of course I don’t really know when she lost it, but that’s my guess. She definitely lost it. Otherwise she would be giving interviews every day about how we can resist what Trump is going to do to us.
I didn't want to admit it, but this country was done after the Massacre at Sandy Hook took place in 2012. No one, Congress, House,. POTUS did anything. Lots of dog & pony shows, lots of "We Need This or That" but zero was done. We were finished as a nation IMO. Thanks for trying to wake America up.
Oh Sarah, you’ve outdone yourself with this one. You’re the special doctor who sees right through the symptoms and diagnoses the problem!! I know you’re fearless, but I fear for your safety! The Mafia has bad players who enact vengeance! I can feel the deterioration of our Days Inn as you so clearly described! Now, I’ve got to check out the weeds while I still can!
He’s a useful idiot for Thiel, Leonard Leo, etc, but he’s made them their useful idiots because what Trump wants he intends to get from them at all costs in turn.
A lot of his lackeys (you know, Abbott, Cruz, DeSantis, Rubio, Scott, etc. etc.) are just waiting for his fall so they can snatch his cult base for themselves is their endgame, and sold their souls to the devil for power.
Yes -- and don't forget the billionaire behind Leo, Barre Seid. I am wondering what happens when Trump meets his end, assuming he doesn't pull a Kissinger. There will indeed be a battle and so far all the aspiring GOP cultists have failed.
Also Kissinger lived to age 100, so if they’re waiting for nature to take its course with Trump so that one of them can have a personality cult instead, they may be waiting a long while…
If the plan was to get us to hate each other, the plan is working. It was bad enough before the election and it’s much worse now. If you’re a Democrat, it’s no longer enough to hate the hardcore MAGA crowd. Democrats are now hating on Latino and young Blacks who voted for Trump.
After the election, AOC asked voters in her district who voted for both her and Trump to explain why. The comments were revealing. There is a swath of voters who will vote for anyone perceived to be outside the system. That’s the good news, the bad news is …………..
I'm a new subscriber, just found your work via BlueSky. Not from or living in the US, just a concerned observer from across the pond, desperately trying to understand why Trump keeps getting away with things for which ordinary people would already be imprisoned. I've read 4-5 articles so far and finally, it's all starting to make sense, including how it couldn't happen without Dems' assistance and betrayal, which has been shocking and horrifying to read. I'm so angry, sad and scared for what is going to happen, not just in America but in the wider world, including Europe and the Middle East. Thank you, Sarah, for your excellent and thorough writing and reporting - I'm happy to contribute a little to help this continue.
Why are you still alone, our lighthouse in this storm? Where are the other brave people like you? Where are the visionary like you? Why they all are not supporting you by openly writing like you?
I have a high hope that someone will be as courageous and visionary like you and our hope will grow one by one.
Till then, take a bow, Doctor 🙏
Thank you for clarity of thoughts and getting us into the habit of thinking clearly about money tracking.
Hey Sarah, thanks for all you do. I reread They Knew last week, one year later.
You were the first person I thought of on November 5, which I know you get a lot.
That helpless dread we felt on Jan 6 never left me. And that dread was your consistent warnings of ZERO accountability and ultimate transition to spring autocracy.
Still, I loaded up on Hopeium the past 90 days, with your words continuing to linger. Post election, after exploring the Savior state / normalcy bias content on Twitter, I sent excerpts of your book to my family.
Another wonderful piece that reveals their biggest weakness, us. They need to keep us divided in order for their criminal schemes to work smooth and effectively. A country where the people drop their political labels and unite is a country that they fear. We the people is what they fear most.
Oh Sarah,
“They want you to cheer your own demise, mistaking it for someone else’s.
Do not fall for it.”
It is crushing to watch the betrayal of the legacy Democrats. You were so right.
I’m sorry I could not believe you before that the Democrats were 100% in on it.
But goddam Biden and Pelosi and the rest.
But I have important questions:
Since Biden, Pelosi, Schumer and Trump are all on the same page, with the same objective to seize American assets and sell them to foreign interests why did they put on a show of disagreement? Pelosi and Schumer looked genuinely scared after Harris lost. If they have disagreements what are they?
And is Harris part of Biden’s mob too?
There is so much to keep track of. Your links to Trump‘s pardons kept me occupied for about 45 minutes. What astonishing revelations. It’s sickens me that you seem to be so alone when you deserve to have legions of Americans on your side.
Thank you for everything.
Please remind me to return to this comment later because it’s really interesting and there’s lots I want to say but my kids are calling me at the moment! Be back later
The depth of the Democratic Party complicity is what I need to understand. Please help me sort this out. How much of our Congress is in the know?
A couple of good books to read that will blow your mind about government complicity are Chaos by Tom O'Neill and Triple Cross by Peter Lance.
Second the rec for Chaos. What a book.
This is my question too. How does this all benefit Biden, Pelosi, etc. Are they going to make money off of all this? Power? Or is the power they gain only in their perceived resistance to fascism?
Controlled opposition has the cake and eats it, too.
Reminder to come back to this!
I do not think Pelosi or Schumer are scared or surprised over Trump's return to the presidency. My guess is that they are pleased. Their interests have never been with protecting the US or the American public. Some reasons why are laid out in this article: https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/bearing-witness-to-the-disappearing
Pelosi, in particular, has said that if Capitol crumbles and the US collapses, her greatest priority -- and the priority of the US -- would be Israel. It was because of *Pelosi*, not Trump, that I first suspected the Capitol would be soon attacked, since she spoke about it openly in December 2018. Schumer was next to her, along with their donors, and they nodded as if this were a foregone conclusion. I was shocked at the time, because I could not understand why they would be so cavalier -- even happy -- about the destruction of the US.
I began digging into Pelosi's finances, which include the illicit stock trades many have noticed, but also contributions from oligarch/mafia proxies like Len Blavatnik. For a brief period, from around 2017-2018, it seemed like the Democrats would put up a fight against Trump and his crime cult. That ended in spring 2019 after Pelosi became Speaker of the House and in particular when the DCCC and individual Democratic representatives began taking enormous donations from billionaires supporting Trump. These include Russian oligarch proxies, but also AIPAC, which funds the seditionists. And those are only the donations that are documented in public -- what happens behind the scenes is likely much worse. This is why both parties are trying to destroy Open Secrets and other sites that provide campaign finance histories. (The finance information is still on the FEC website.)
I do not think all Democrats were in on the plan. Some are likely shocked. Other Dems were openly opposed, which is why AIPAC primaried them out of office. But the top officials were in on it, or at least aware -- and that includes Harris. My question regarding Harris is that for about a month, it appeared there was a genuine effort to make her president. This was followed by a flagrant display of her willingness to go to war with Iran, to rehabilitate the worst US war criminals, and to abet Israel in its genocide, which I wrote about here: https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/birds-of-a-feather
Whatever this effort was directed at -- it certainly wasn't directed at winning over voters! -- it failed. My guess is that initial powerbroker interest in Harris may have been due to trepidation over Trump as Commander in Chief, since he is an unpredictable actor due to his ceaseless greed and tendency to blurt out the plan. If Harris could be controlled and the wars could proceed as planned, then she would do. But she could prove an obstacle to other parts of the agenda: the domestic aspects of Project 2025, which Biden approved (he didn't care about Roe being overturned, for example) but which she seems to have sincerely opposed. There was also the matter of who she would appoint. My guess is powerbrokers prefer Trump's choices -- by which I mean behind the scenes players like Kushner or Bannon, not flagrant controversy magnets like Gabbard and Gaetz.
The real power here has always been behind the scenes. The people most important to look at are the hardest to see.
I wrote about all of this in HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT and THEY KNEW. Those books would never be allowed to be published now, so I suggest folks get them while they can. They detail Trump's backstory in particular, but it's key to remember that the Democrats have been aware that Trump was a national security threat with a stated intent to destroy the US the entire time -- and they knew it and abetted it. Their behavior is partially motivated by resource shortages that will get worse due to climate change over the next few decades, and I wrote about that extensively in THEY KNEW. There is also bribery, blackmail, religious fanaticism, and more involved in keeping people in line. It's an awful, terrible plan, and I wish it were otherwise. I'm refusing to go along with it. I will always refuse.
This is the short answer to your question. I'm hoping now that the election is over more people will speak honestly about what was done, the long histories of betrayal, and what lies ahead.
Sarah, I have learned the hard way to re-read your sentences and your paragraphs multiple times. There’s something about the information you are giving that is just so shocking I can’t take it all in at once.
THANK YOU! Jesus christ what a mess we are in
"Their behavior is partially motivated by resource shortages that will get worse due to climate change over the next few decades"
To me, this is the elephant in the room that isn't getting addressed or acknowledged enough, simply because the vast majority of people either 1) don't even think about climate collapse or 2) think it's still a distant future thing. It's not. We're in it, probably way further along than the conservative climate science consensus will admit. We're also in the early years of full-on smash-and-grab time and our latest Yeltsin (Trump) is going to accelerate it to the next stage. Biden's slow Yeltsin lulled the base back into complacency for some continued, down-throttled ransacking while the next relay team regrouped for the next phase. The goal is to clean out the store while we're fighting amongst ourselves & occupied with struggling through a variety of disasters that have no tangible author. Mother Nature....the market....all huge, amorphous forces that can't be tamed so "our hands are tied. Good luck out there! Don't call us, we'll call you!" That's how I see it anyway.
My complicity theory about Democrats, in general, is that their primary role in controlled opposition is to stabilize ("preserve"), or even adjust, the institutions as Republicans work proactively for the donor class invested in both parties. This explains why they don't fight. Genuine fighting would be chaotic, and chaos does who knows what to the institutions. Stable institutions would allow big donors to invest in politics more confidently and reliably, like how investors prefer stable pricing in the stock market.
When Trump came on the scene both establishment Democrats and establishment Republicans were freaked out at first, which I assumed was because no one knew how the equilibrium above would be affected (rather than, say, because they were concerned about his effect on democracy). Once it became clear it could still work with Trump, the game resumed.
That seems to explain the backstop IMO. Of course actively participating is a whole other dimension.
Yes, it became clear with the Harris campaign turn to the right and embracing the Cheney’s and courting “moderate” Republicans that the Dems would lose the election and seemingly wanted to. It just seemed so obvious to me to be political suicide. SMH, we are deep in the weeds with evil now.
I am alarmed to hear you do not think your books would be published today. Things are already that far gone. I have read them both, but somehow missed some of these details about Pelosi and Schumer - such a high level of corruption against our national sovereignty just stops my brain from functioning. It creates a blind spot I am only barely becoming aware of.
I have seen reports that Pelosi, upon resigning from her position of speaker and handing the job to Jefferies, also approached Biden and tried to encourage him to get out of the race. But Biden refused at the time.
It is such a shock to discover there are almost no fighters for Democracy in our Congress. The whole fight against Trump was just for show.
https://baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=2&ARTICLE_ID=116309
At the podium, Pelosi recounted her father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr.‘s acquaintance with Jewish culture, saying he was a “Shabbos Goy” who “spoke Yiddish” and “had a love for the idea of a Jewish state in what was then called ‘Palestine’.”
Pelosi said her father “worshiped at the shrine of Franklin Delano Roosevelt - he was a New Deal Democrat” who disagreed with the then US President on “only two things” - the treatment of Europe’s Jews and the establishment of Israel.
I am wondering about Obama, Hillary, Bernie, and younger progressive Democrats as AOC. Are they all complicit?
President Obama? Yes
Bernie? Not corrupt perse, but also not that aware of how racism effects class struggles.
Hillary? Probably, but she's not really involved
AOC- definitely not
Jasmine Crockett- highly unlikely
Jamie Raskin? No
The older Dems need to let power flow to the new generation and stop infecting them with bipartisan disease. Working across the aisle should be seen as a possible means to an end, not your north star.
I wonder if it is simpler than this. Greed, cognitive dissonance and narcissism. You have to have an inflated sense of self to think you are the one to fix the world. AOC is a perfect example - her Met GALA episode showed a complete disconnect - she wanted the money, attention and invite more than being professional. The country is being run by weak people - some more charming than others - who are so easily motivated by wealth and image. They will never stand up against the people who control these two things so they play both sides to get our votes and their payoff. The younger ones are no better. America was created so that a very specific group of people could make money. Slave labor (not just Black) is key to that wealth - somehow we keep forgetting this and believe we are something greater.
I don’t think AOC is what you say she is- imo. She's one of the very few genuine ones. A bit misguided (she’s a Social Democrat, not a Socialist), but one of the few good ones. Likewise Jasmine Crockett.
Please know -I am not saying she is corrupt - only that politicians have certain psychological traits that make them vulnerable and not necessarily introspective to what is motivating them. It is necessary to compromise in politics and and this may cause many to blur the ethical lines - which aren't as clear these days - if they ever were. I have long stopped believing there are "good ones" and only ask if the work they do favors the community. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/alexandria_ocasio_cortez/412804
The lack of introspection is one that applies to the public as a whole. I'm in the UK and lived in the US for nearly 6 years from 2008-2014; so have a unique perspective on this.
As a Millennial, my generation is the first whose economic conditions are worse than the Generation before me. That Generation, having been let down by their predecessors, forgot to do something important- keep power and not return it to the boomers.
My generation came of age with President Obama in the whitehouse - someone who promised change and yet turned out to be more of the same. A lot in my generation took cues from him and became domesticated as a result.
Gen Z voted in larger numbers for the gop because my generation isn't equipped to seize power in the way we should because Gen X never fully seized power from the boomers.
More to the point, the UK and USA have both been run by conservative governments since 2010. Another problem is the fact that the majority of Millennials and Gen X are clinging to white supremacy and avoiding introspection like the plague. They insist on normalisation despite communicating how dire the situation is. Never want to confront their own (or that of their family/friend circle's) complicity in this.
White pride is terminal to liberal democracy and white liberals love hiding behind norms rather than focusing on enforcing the laws being broken by those in power.
Moreover, Gen Z in both countries grew up with Boris Johnson, Theresa May, Drumpf, Biden, Corbyn and Starmer leading the major parties. None of these are good role models and have never been held accountable because my generation and the one before us have refused to. If you see such undeserving, overly privileged people in power committing crimes and never being held accountable (voting them out isn't accountability), why would you believe that behaving decently is something you should vote for?
I bet Raskin yes. He's ascended too well to be clean.
Schiff? Absolutely. He was clearly instructed to run for Feinstein's seat, as he announced about 24 hours after Katie Porter did. Porter is someone who needed to be stopped. Pelosi clearly forced her off House Financial Services to stop her white board grilling of the players BTS; it appeared she wanted to escape by moving to the Senate and that was stopped too. Now Schiff is about to begin his first term as a senator and Porter is out of elected politics entirely.
I bet AOC yes, too (lied point blank on a ceasefire), Crockett as well-- I think they're all corrupt in power, anyone who wasn't has long since been ousted is my theory (O'Rourke, Bowman, Bush, etc. to name a few no longer in office, among many others).
Mostly likely. At least that's what we must assume. Since Citizens United my view has been guilty until proven innocent. Where possible to prove.
I think many are being too kind/assuming good faith where there is none among the Dems in office, Castro-- Julian, not Joaquin-- is probably clean too *now* but was corrupt in the past though that's changed.
Don't get me wrong, the Dems at the top are the MOST corrupt of the bunch though, that's for sure and I agree with Sarah there (Biden, Harris, Schumer, Pelosi, etc. to name a few).
I bet they're all complicit and corrupt in power, no exceptions: it's why you see them pointing fingers at each other.
There are 2 absolute consistent among the Capitulation Cast who have been in elected office since before I was born and still are- President Biden and Nancy Pelosi.
Both are over 80 and have been responsible for the following between them:
1. The confirmation of Clarence Thomas via slut-shaming of Anita Hill.
2. Not contesting the 2000 Election in the Senate
3. Not pursuing impeachment of Bush/Cheney for War Crimes
4. Slow walking trump's first impeachment
5. Not allowing evidence to be presented at the 2nd for the public to see
6. Appointing and not sacking merrick Garland as ag
4.
I agree, but I'm certain AOC etc. are corrupt too as is Raskin-- AOC lied about a ceasefire, it's all a show imo from the most prominent Dems.
I don't think AOC lied about the ceasefire perse, I genuinely think that Kamala wanted a ceasefire, Biden did not. Not saying Kamala is good and didn't make mistakes (when asked what she'd have done differently, she could have touted the positives of the administration and how they'd serve as building blocks for her administration) and don't get me started on the incessant bipartisanship peddling.
Politics is like a team sport and you won't win by offering to give the other side some points out of some misguided notion of fairness. In a final, only 1 team can win the Cup. If your opponent cheats, don't be afraid to remind the ref. Just because they play-act, doesn't mean that you complaining about legitimate foul play makes you just like them- optics be dammed.
I do think you're in denial, Harris never wanted one and people who looked like her called her out on her BS the most- she did badly with minorities vs past Dem nominees, ask why that is-- AOC lied point blank to cover for her, we just found out today:
https://newrepublic.com/post/188320/biden-state-department-30-day-deadline-israel-gaza
I don't disagree on anything else, though, I won't give them any excuses for their gaslighting and lying point blank to the American people though personally. This bipartisanship with fascists crap won't work, never has- never will.
Chuck Schumer was the speaker at my daughter's State University graduation in 2023. Shared a story about he came into politics to fight for the little guy or something to that effect. I shouted out 'yeah well what happened?' Someone sitting near me gave me a high five in agreement. It is disgusting how those many believed were going to save us are actually in on it!
I knew, intuitively, in February or March of 2021 that we were doomed, and being a faithful reader of Sarah K certainly contributed.
But anyone with a brain could see that the matter of J6 was not being given the treatment that a coup d’etat merits. At some point people would even say “well it wasn’t that bad; the government would be pursuing all these bad actors if it were.”
I had to concede at that point . Couldn’t come up with a rational or reasonable justification for the lackadaisical treatment. Had zero comeback.
I'm always in awe of how you transition from your travels and experiences to the deeply concerning political subject matter. The analogy between a cracking parking lot and our cracking government is perfect. Many people will fall through the cracks but we must hang on to each other in a personal way and not lose a grip on our humanity.
A superbly written and entertaining article!
Thank you!
Sarah, thank you for focusing so much on Kushner. I feel he is easy for many to gloss over and forget about.
As a person with a military background, it was deeply concerning (to put it lightly) nearly eight years ago when his SF86 kept being rejected, revised, and then ultimately forced through by his father-in-law. There was clearly enough there that his tangled web of “business” ties was, at very least, a big concern for national security to some.
I think it is notable that he has clearly elected to stay out of the light the last few years. Probably like nearly all of the shameful appointees announced to the Cabinet this week, he would not pass for a security clearance.
Better to operate in the shadows than be burdened by more nuisance paperwork and red tape.
Can I just say Biden is a disaster, once again?
I knew he’d be bad at the job, but I didn’t know he’d be THIS awful though- he’s defied even my worst expectations tbh.
That aside…
“Biden was a place holder President designed to fill the four years between two terms of Trump while plutocrats shifted American political culture sharply to the right. Media gutted, Twitter decimated, activism destroyed, books censored, minorities demonized, public health annihilated, victims blamed, empathy scorned.
That is the main thing they are after now: your empathy. They want you to hate each other so you don’t hate them first.
They want you to buy into every cheap cliché and every manipulated poll. They want you to hate each other so much, you agree to their plan of tearing this country into warring fiefdoms for oligarchs to plunder. They want you to prey on the vulnerable, even though you are vulnerable too, so that the powerful can escape scrutiny.”
Well said, this explains so much.
Biden is one of the worst Democratic presidents of my life, possibly the worst, and I have never understood how people defended him. His main task was acclimatizing Americans to mass death and mass murder and then streamlining fascism. I've long considered the 2024 election to be a reinstallation -- that's what happens in countries that countenance sedition! -- but Biden deserved the terrible approval ratings he had that spurred him to drop out of the race. His track record prior to the presidency was terrible, too.
I sent a comment to Biden using the White House portal after I saw the images from his meeting with Trump. I commented that his decision to hold this stage-managed press event, which has as much to do with a presidential transition as the idiotic annual pardoning of the turkeys, was appalling. I commented that his choice to debase himself, the office of the presidency, and democracy, by cowering in front of an adjudicated rapist, a convicted felon, the same criminal who had conspired to overthrow an election, then instigated a deadly insurrection at the Capitol, was clear evidence of extremely poor judgement. I encouraged him to resign immediately, and apologize to the American people for his betrayal of his office. I also commented that the photos from this grotesque sideshow would forever be his legacy. Of course, absolutely nothing will come of it. But at this point, leaving one star reviews on the White House version of Yelp is about all we can do.
I agree he will go down as one of the worst
Biden was certainly locked into the old ways of thinking about how America related to the rest of the world. And never a word about the decline of our empire, which is what we face each day and most of use refuse to see it, and never speak of it.
Yes
I'm not without empathy, but leaning on "it's a stutter!" and "his family died!" that BidenWorld utilized to browbeat dissent & doubt and Teflon that shambling old Zionist ghoul has been disgusting. In the past couple weeks, I've finally ditched my socials. The discourse quickly revealed itself to be happy to stick to this 9 year political doom loop we seem to be eternally mired in. I'm peaceing out of it. I got more than enough to keep me occupied in my little corner of New England, namely continuing to grow more than enough food and chilling with my hobbies. So, I say to Donald & his feckless Dem buddies: thanks for the detox.
Oh crap! When I read "A Pale Horse Race" again and re-read the following lines:
"I warned you for nine years, because I wanted you to be prepared. Biden was a Placeholder President designed to fill the four years between two terms of Trump while plutocrats shifted American political culture sharply to the right."
I have to admit to my own naivety. Sarah's original words didn't really stick. When I thought of Biden as a placeholder president, I thought it meant that he was holding a place for the next BETTER candidate who would put the country on the right track, one that would lead to "a more perfect union."
Oh crap, this essay reminds me how my optimism, once again, is unwarranted. (When I read this comment to my wife she said, "How could you think this? Sarah has been clear from the beginning."
Yeah, unfortunately Biden's Covid policy of letting it rip - with massive support from everyday liberals - was also a placeholder for the bird flu train barreling down on us. I've been dreading the inevitable outcome ever since Jill Biden's insipid "And doesn't the air smell so much sweeter without our masks?" Unmistakable warning bell of the uniparty's death cult final push for capital, IMO.
I owe you an apology, Sarah, for writing some time ago that I thought the fact that Kamala Harris was a child of civil rights activist parents, and went to civil rights rallies when she was very young meant she really would prosecute Trump. But to see that she has basically disappeared since the election … combined with Joe Biden being ridiculously friendly when Trump visited him … shows me that Kamala Harris lost her prosecutorial drive when she went from being California’s Attorney General to being a United StatesSenator. Of course I don’t really know when she lost it, but that’s my guess. She definitely lost it. Otherwise she would be giving interviews every day about how we can resist what Trump is going to do to us.
Shame on her!
I didn't want to admit it, but this country was done after the Massacre at Sandy Hook took place in 2012. No one, Congress, House,. POTUS did anything. Lots of dog & pony shows, lots of "We Need This or That" but zero was done. We were finished as a nation IMO. Thanks for trying to wake America up.
Oh Sarah, you’ve outdone yourself with this one. You’re the special doctor who sees right through the symptoms and diagnoses the problem!! I know you’re fearless, but I fear for your safety! The Mafia has bad players who enact vengeance! I can feel the deterioration of our Days Inn as you so clearly described! Now, I’ve got to check out the weeds while I still can!
Thank you!
Bless you and your efforts to keep us up to speed! Thanks for being a Substack friend too! Your courage is unmatched!
So good, Sarah, as always. Been struggling to figure out what the end game of all this even is and this definitely helps clarify things.
Simply brilliant. And so painfully accurate. Orange man is a Trojan horse - follow the (dark) money.
He’s a useful idiot for Thiel, Leonard Leo, etc, but he’s made them their useful idiots because what Trump wants he intends to get from them at all costs in turn.
A lot of his lackeys (you know, Abbott, Cruz, DeSantis, Rubio, Scott, etc. etc.) are just waiting for his fall so they can snatch his cult base for themselves is their endgame, and sold their souls to the devil for power.
Yes -- and don't forget the billionaire behind Leo, Barre Seid. I am wondering what happens when Trump meets his end, assuming he doesn't pull a Kissinger. There will indeed be a battle and so far all the aspiring GOP cultists have failed.
I need further explanation for each sentence in this comment :)!
Ok, I googled the information and discovered that Barre Seid is the biggest right-wing donor, and both parties venerated Kissinger.
Also Kissinger lived to age 100, so if they’re waiting for nature to take its course with Trump so that one of them can have a personality cult instead, they may be waiting a long while…
All these people feel like evil cartoon characters from some dystopian sci-fi comics.
Interesting rabbithole..would love to hear more about Kissinger..and never heard of Barre Seid
Thanks!
If the plan was to get us to hate each other, the plan is working. It was bad enough before the election and it’s much worse now. If you’re a Democrat, it’s no longer enough to hate the hardcore MAGA crowd. Democrats are now hating on Latino and young Blacks who voted for Trump.
After the election, AOC asked voters in her district who voted for both her and Trump to explain why. The comments were revealing. There is a swath of voters who will vote for anyone perceived to be outside the system. That’s the good news, the bad news is …………..
I'm a new subscriber, just found your work via BlueSky. Not from or living in the US, just a concerned observer from across the pond, desperately trying to understand why Trump keeps getting away with things for which ordinary people would already be imprisoned. I've read 4-5 articles so far and finally, it's all starting to make sense, including how it couldn't happen without Dems' assistance and betrayal, which has been shocking and horrifying to read. I'm so angry, sad and scared for what is going to happen, not just in America but in the wider world, including Europe and the Middle East. Thank you, Sarah, for your excellent and thorough writing and reporting - I'm happy to contribute a little to help this continue.
Thank you for reading!
Why are you still alone, our lighthouse in this storm? Where are the other brave people like you? Where are the visionary like you? Why they all are not supporting you by openly writing like you?
I have a high hope that someone will be as courageous and visionary like you and our hope will grow one by one.
Till then, take a bow, Doctor 🙏
Thank you for clarity of thoughts and getting us into the habit of thinking clearly about money tracking.
Thank you 🙏
Hey Sarah, thanks for all you do. I reread They Knew last week, one year later.
You were the first person I thought of on November 5, which I know you get a lot.
That helpless dread we felt on Jan 6 never left me. And that dread was your consistent warnings of ZERO accountability and ultimate transition to spring autocracy.
Still, I loaded up on Hopeium the past 90 days, with your words continuing to linger. Post election, after exploring the Savior state / normalcy bias content on Twitter, I sent excerpts of your book to my family.
Thanks again for doing a very hard job.
Thank you for reading, Matt, I appreciate it!
Another wonderful piece that reveals their biggest weakness, us. They need to keep us divided in order for their criminal schemes to work smooth and effectively. A country where the people drop their political labels and unite is a country that they fear. We the people is what they fear most.