There are no Rules after Election (p242-p244)

(Setting:  The Head Honcho explains to Freeman why the federal government will never have enough power to limit its power.)

"While you were feigning death and screwing nurses in Vhaicam, I came up with a brilliant idea. I’m going to campaign against the unconscionable power and scope of the federal bureaucracy."

Freeman looked surprised. "That’s uncharacteristic of you."

"Not really. My proposal increases my staff tenfold and doubles my powers."

Freeman looked confused. "Isn’t it a contradiction to publicly oppose big government while your own power and administration grow exponentially?"

"No. For me to effectively diminish the power and influence of the federal government, I must acquire enough power and influence to order myself and my fellow bureaucrats to stop being so powerful and influential."

"When will you be powerful and influential enough to curtail your power and influence?"

"Never", said the Honcho matter-of-factly. "The more powerful and influential I become, the more power and influence I will further need to prevent myself from being so powerful and influential. I'll never catch up with myself."

"Then what's the point?"

"There is no point. This is a question of politics, not logic."

"Okay, but why would your proposal compel people to vote for you?"

"It's all about advocacy. Voters want to believe someone in the bureaucracy is on their side. It doesn't matter whether my proposal makes sense or even has a chance of succeeding. As long as they believe I'm campaigning to protect their interests, everything else is irrelevant."

"So what happens if you win the election?"

"The same thing that happens after every election I win", said the Honcho. "I start campaigning for the next election."

"Won't people feel betrayed when they eventually realize that you will never achieve enough power and influence to squelch your power and influence?"

"Nah. Voters are like sheep. Once the election is over, they’ll go back to nibbling grass and surrendering their wool. Occasionally one of them will bleat out a protest, but other sheep will nudge the recalcitrant one until he eventually shuts up and rejoins the flock. German Nazis understood this very clearly. In 1920, they ran on a platform that many Americans would still call decent and reasonable. They advocated full employment, profit sharing with big business, expanded care for the aged, broadened public education, public health programs, and placing the common good above individual concerns. When the Nazis got elected, they abandoned every campaign promise. Instead, they built a fearsome war machine, attacked nations on all sides, and committed racial genocide. They demonstrated that the object of all politics, no matter what the venue or era, is to get elected. There are no rules governing what happens after that. Just ask Clinton."

"Doesn't that make democracy a sham?" protested Freeman. "What about the Constitution?"

The Honcho chuckled ominously. "Our Constitution is safely tucked away in a museum. It says that the powers of the federal government should be few and defined, but the reality is that the people who get elected make the rules. Just like water always runs downhill, governments always seize more power. I don’t think that makes democracy a sham, but I'm in power looking down, not a subject looking up."