Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Video & Multimedia
Related: About this forum
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
5 replies, 895 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (12)
ReplyReply to this post
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Inside Washington's Shadowy Power Elite (Original Post)
cantbeserious
Jan 2016
OP
Yes - Know Thy Enemy - Oligarchs, Corporations, Banks And Their Media Minions And MIC Henchmen
cantbeserious
Jan 2016
#2
Yes - Know Thy Enemy - Oligarchs, Corporations, Banks And Their Media Minions And MIC Henchmen
cantbeserious
Jan 2016
#4
erronis
(15,382 posts)1. This shadow government has been going on since forever
We think that it is something that started with Reagan.
It was warned about by Eisenhower as the MI(P)C - the P for Political was dropped by Ike's advisors.
The U.S. has done this since the Revolutionary War. Profiteers have made profits since the first recorded wars in written history - and before that.
cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)2. Yes - Know Thy Enemy - Oligarchs, Corporations, Banks And Their Media Minions And MIC Henchmen
eom
erronis
(15,382 posts)3. This cites a paper by Gilens and Page
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-us-no-longer-democracy
Very disheartening and yet seems to mirror what we are seeing in these current election horse races.
"The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy," they write, "while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence."
As one illustration, Gilens and Page compare the political preferences of Americans at the 50th income percentile to preferences of Americans at the 90th percentile as well as major lobbying or business groups. They find that the governmentwhether Republican or Democraticmore often follows the preferences of the latter group rather than the first.
The researches note that this is not a new development caused by, say, recent Supreme Court decisions allowing more money in politics, such as Citizens United or this month's ruling on McCutcheon v. FEC. As the data stretching back to the 1980s suggests, this has been a long term trend, and is therefore harder for most people to perceive, let alone reverse.
"Ordinary citizens," they write, "might often be observed to 'win' (that is, to get their preferred policy outcomes) even if they had no independent effect whatsoever on policy making, if elites (with whom they often agree) actually prevail."
As one illustration, Gilens and Page compare the political preferences of Americans at the 50th income percentile to preferences of Americans at the 90th percentile as well as major lobbying or business groups. They find that the governmentwhether Republican or Democraticmore often follows the preferences of the latter group rather than the first.
The researches note that this is not a new development caused by, say, recent Supreme Court decisions allowing more money in politics, such as Citizens United or this month's ruling on McCutcheon v. FEC. As the data stretching back to the 1980s suggests, this has been a long term trend, and is therefore harder for most people to perceive, let alone reverse.
"Ordinary citizens," they write, "might often be observed to 'win' (that is, to get their preferred policy outcomes) even if they had no independent effect whatsoever on policy making, if elites (with whom they often agree) actually prevail."
Very disheartening and yet seems to mirror what we are seeing in these current election horse races.
cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)4. Yes - Know Thy Enemy - Oligarchs, Corporations, Banks And Their Media Minions And MIC Henchmen
eom
99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts)5. Not a hopeful picture, but at least it's the damn truth. n/t