and to expand a bit. The republican politicians are nothing than phone bankers in a boiler room for a con.
I read an article a year or so ago about a guy who ran these cons/boiler rooms and why the scams continue to work. You have the big honchos (people like the Koch's, the Robertson's, et al.) They put in the initial investment, which seems like a lot of money, but isn't to them in comparison to the return. The investment in this case are politicians. Mostly republicans. What they are looking for is a person who will sell their grandmother's soul for a dollar to run the con. They can't be too smart so they look appealing to the mark/voter. Yet they have to be smart enough to pull it off and have the credentials to appear legit. Like Harvard degrees.
These people run the boiler rooms. They hire people who are desperate and down on their luck who will do anything to make a living. In a standard con they are usually drug addicts and ex-cons who can't hold a job. In the republCON these people are the spouses of the boiler room managers, people on the lower rungs of the game willing to do anything to move up etc. I used to have a list of reporters who were married to boosh white house advisers and such. I lost it 2 computers ago and the website went behind a pay wall. Andrea Mitchell is married to Greenspan and Campbell Brown is married to Dan senor. There were about 20-30 more on that list. These people are the ones on the phone/media outlets selling the product to the marks.
The marks who fall for this. He admitted it was easier to con older well off men. He said he preyed on these men's insecurities. The patriarchal belief that men are responsible to fully provide for their families even after death was something he honed in on. He played on their emotions. What is the most reliable demographic for the republiCON party? Older well off white men. Mostly for the exact same reasons.
The poor don't have enough money to offer, so they don't focus on them for the con. Don't get me wrong, if a poor person came knocking at their door with a few hundred or thousand dollars they will take it. They just don't focus on getting that money/vote. The same with women. Woman are less risk takers financially. They ask questions and questioning is not good. Again though, there are women who will come knocking at their door because of the lure of easy money/protection from evils.
If a person comes in to buy the gold coins and wants to take their time and read the contract, the con man pushes them out the door. He knows that looking at the details of the contract will expose the con and is not going to waste his time. He tells them take it home, read and get back to him. He has another appt. If they call him back, he knows he has them on the hook. he will not waste his time calling those who want to read the contract. The statistics that they will fall for it are not there.
How do these statistics play into the republCON game? They know they aren't going to fall for the con, so they use them to perpetuate it. Throwing out just enough red meat to get enough of them to vote or them.
Playing to the patriarchal fears of the older white male voter. He has to protect his family and be the financial provider, even after death. Here is the bait and switch. If it wasn't for social programs used to feed the lazy poor, your taxes would be lower, more money in your pocket to provide for your family. If women are treated equally and have control over their own body you will no longer be able to be the macho man, who takes care of his family. If minority racial groups are to be treated equally and enjoy the benefits you did growing up, how will your children and grandkids succeed?
This is how I can spot a republiCON a mile away. They say things like "taking from." That single mother who's not getting child support and may or may not have a job who needs government programs to survive. She is taking from them. That AfAm, who is succeeding took an opportunity away from them. The poor person wants more money, lower taxes will accomplish this. Trickle down has not been tried hard enough. I am one of the guys on the inside, they won't take from me. I'm special. It feeds into the ego that I am smarter. They listen to the con man and don't read the fine print.
By the time they realized they have fallen for the con, it is too late. Their pride will keep them from admitting it. That rarely minted gold coin that decreased in value- the head honcho took his money and ran. Moved on to another con, closed that boiler room and opened another under a different name/politician and started all over again. The boiler room manager sometimes even gets caught and goes to prison. The head honcho has insulted himself by use of dummy corps/superpacs to not be noticed. Even if they are noticed they have enough money to buy their way out of suspicion. Enough "friends" in the right places.
The rest read the details and know that issues are not cut and dried.
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