"The United States has only one political party, the Property Party, and it has two right wings." – Gore Vidal
"The [post WWII] fixation upon mobilization and rearmament inspired the gradual disappearance from the national political agenda of the regulation and control of corporations. … Once the identity and security of democracy were successfully identified with the Cold War and the methods of waging it, the stage was set for the intimidation of most politics left of right" – Sheldon Wolin, Democracy, Incorporated (2006)
"In other words: Not Left OR Right, but “No Left OF Right. Or ...”
No Left, Just Right
(in the terza rima style, with apologies to Dante Aleghieri and Percy Bysshe Shelley)
As witty Gore Vidal described this kind,
They’re neither “hawks” nor “doves” but capons: clipped
(Castrated) roosters in a double bind.
These hen-house harem eunuchs, safely stripped
Of all hormonal urge (To mate? Or fight?),
Agree, according to the menu-script,
That (with both wings located on the Right)
They’ll wear (for show) the “shameful” label “Left”
To keep the truth of No Choice out of sight.
And so the for-rent “Democrats,” bereft
Of any reason to exist, are stuck
Abetting crony corporation theft.
Force-fed “the Center” like a Peking Duck,
These fattened fowl can only pass the buck.
So rob tomorrow now, no better time,
‘Cause none have ever heard the future yell:
“Stop Thief!” So take a dollar, take a dime;
If tired of thieving, sit and rest a spell
And soon enough the Fed will lower rates
That “Quantitative Easing” show-and-tell
Which hedge-fund gamblers know as lovely fates
While workers and retired on incomes fixed
Stare at the words upon Inferno’s gates:
“Abandon Hope,” your savings have been nixed
By zero interest. Still, take out more loans.
With fees and fines you’ll find yourself deep-sixed.
But don’t suppose that Congress hears your groans.
The banks bought them with money from your moans.