Honestly none of the progressive political commentators are meeting the moment.

Not Kyle, not Krystal, not Sam Seder or Emma Vigland, not anybody.

Democracy died right in front of our eyes, every day brings new confirmations that the oligarchs have successfully taken over. And these people are acting like we're still going to have elections and that the Democrats need to get their act together so that people will start voting for them again. News flash: even if the Democrats became true ideologically leftist economic populists who rightfully called the billionaires out as the bad guys, it wouldn't matter. They'd never take over any branch of the government again. It's too late.

The MAGAdministration is obliterating the government. What parts of it aren't getting destroyed are getting stocked full with MAGA loyalists. The news media is completely and utterly captured. Social media is almost completely captured, and it's only a matter of time before YouTube changes its policy to start banning voices on the left. There's reason to suspect that Elon might have successfully managed to rig the election even outside of normal voter suppression shenanigans, but even if he didn't the voter suppression is only going to get worse now that Republicans have full control. The so-called opposition party is largely bought out by the same oligarchs and corporate interests and are largely bending the knee. Even if a Democrat did win the election, the current administration isn't going to just give up power and the Democratic Party clearly wouldn't actually fight back once they inevitably refuse.

We're not a democracy anymore. We're an oligarchy on its way to becoming a failed state. We can't vote our way out of this. Either we rise up and take actual action out on the streets, or things are going to snowball out of control until society collapses and if we're lucky, maybe something better will rise from the ashes. But probably not, at least not in our lifetimes.

We've got another great depression looming on the horizon, and if we're going to come out the other end we're going to have to engage in political action that does not begin and end at the ballot box, if it even includes the ballot box at all. But these guys aren't saying that. Nobody is saying that. It's like it hasn't dawned on them how thoroughly fucked this country is.

And honestly, part of that may be because they'll be insulated from the worst of it. Krystal and Kyle are affluent, probably even wealthy, so they'll be fine. Sam Seder and Emma Vigland will be fine. Vaush will be fine. David Pakman will be fine. They can all just flee the country and live comfortably in New Zealand if it gets bad enough while the rest of us remain trapped here, dying of starvation or concentration camps. Everyone with considerable wealth in their coffers will be fine while we will remain forever fucked, and that fact will invariably make them more and more out of touch with the rest of us as we suffer from where this country is headed.

Of course, even if they did have more revolutionary thoughts about what needs to happen, they couldn't ever say as much on social media. But I don't get the impression that they're hiding their power level much, I think they're genuinely still deluding themselves into thinking it's not too late to vote our way out.