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American Oligarchy

Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by poncho, Aug 3, 2015.

  1. poncho

    poncho Well-Known Member

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    400 Families Represent 50% of Money Raised by 2016 Presidential Candidates Thus Far

    Ever since I started this website in 2012, one of my primary objectives was to convince readers that the American system of government is nothing like what we are told in school and via the oligarch-owned mainstream media. That the country has become so captured and corrupted by sociopathic oligarchs, that a neo-feudal modern serfdom was emerging where the opportunities to enjoy rising standards of living for the vast majority of people was rapidly becoming a pipe dream.

    I think many readers appreciated my warnings, but it wasn’t until an academic study from Princeton and Northwestern came out and factually proved it, that it become undeniable to many people. Here’s a brief excerpt from that post titled, New Report from Princeton and Northwestern Proves It: The U.S. is an Oligarchy:

    < snip >

    Meanwhile, just today, I came across the latest shocking proof of how bought and paid for “our” political system really is. We find out from the New York Times, that only 400 families account for nearly half of all spending on the 2016 Presidential election so far. The Dark Ages almost look democratic by comparison.

    From the NY Times:

    http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/08/03/american-oligarchy-400-families-represent-50-of-money-raised-by-2016-presidential-candidates/#more-26005


    Pervasive corruption in modern America has been thoroughly documented.

    There are some very juicy quotes from high-level insiders about corruption in the USA.

    Jon Schwarz has rounded up a good collection of recent quotes on corruption from both sides of the aisle:

    http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/08/politicians-from-both-sides-of-the-aisle-corruption-has-destroyed-america.html
     
    #1 poncho, Aug 3, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 3, 2015
  2. poncho

    poncho Well-Known Member

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    Referring to Citizens United, Sanders said on Sunday: "We must overturn that decision before it's too late. We are increasingly living in an oligarchy where big money is buying politicians."

    The senator from Vermont compared politicians to NASCAR drivers with their sponsor's logos emblazoned on their uniforms, suggesting some politicians should wear signs saying, "I'm sponsored by the Koch brothers" or "I'm sponsored by Big Oil."


    http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/08/03/topple-us-oligarchy-sanders-calls-publicly-financed-elections

    Oligarchy, so simple even a democrat can understand it.

    Like the idea of seeing politicians with their corporate sponsor's logos plastered all over them. Then we could clearly who see owns them.
     
    #2 poncho, Aug 4, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 4, 2015
  3. The American Dream

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    The United States is a Constitutional democratic-republic. Your problem is you have this hobby for lack of a better term, that defines the United States by its present leaders. That is baloney. Our form of government remains the same. So what you will do between now and November 2016 is post here hammering Clinton on one side, and Rand Paul on the other. Yet doubt you will lift one finger to help out a worthy candidate like Ben Carson. Ninety percent of the posters on here would vote for a Bush a third time, which says a lot. It says no one here has a clue as to what the Constitution demands of our government. Do you represent we the people or we the keyboarders of Baptist Board.
     
  4. poncho

    poncho Well-Known Member

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    You know that thing I said earlier about democrats? I take it back.

    Apparently not all democrats can understand it. :smilewinkgrin:
     
    #4 poncho, Aug 5, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 5, 2015
  5. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    AD, dont you realize that the ONLY man in America who can save the USA is RON Paul?
     
  6. poncho

    poncho Well-Known Member

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    Now why don't you tell him the truth Salty?

    No one man can save America.

    Scholar Behind Viral 'Oligarchy' Study Tells You What It Means

    A new political science study that's gone viral finds that majority-rule democracy exists only in theory in the United States -- not so much in practice. The government caters to the affluent few and organized interest groups, the researchers find, while the average citizen's influence on policy is "near zero."

    "[T]he preferences of economic elites," conclude Princeton's Martin Gilens and Northwestern's Benjamin I. Page, who work with the nonprofit Scholars Strategy Network, "have far more independent impact upon policy change than the preferences of average citizens do."

    TPM spoke to Gilens about the study, its main findings and its lessons.

    Continue . . . http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/princeton-scholar-demise-of-democracy-america-tpm-interview
     
    #6 poncho, Aug 5, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 5, 2015
  7. wpe3bql

    wpe3bql Member

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    A couple interesting ideas here, but since the lunatics....I mean the incumbent politicians....No, I was right the first time....Since the lunatics (A word derived from Latin luna--"from the moon," a place where I'm sure most of us would be willing to send a bunch of them [One way, of course. :smilewinkgrin:]) have taken over the asylum--both ends of DC's PA Ave.--we WOULD to know where all these supposed "anti-big-money-contributors" (like Sanders & Clinton & Al Gore & dear old Jimmy Carter) get a big chunk of their monetary backing.

    Not only from individuals but also from PACs that hide behind such names as "Americans For Ethical Political Campaigning," etc., and other mysterious sources about which we'll never find out.

    Yeah, I'm sure politicians like Sanders tomorrow will don their proverbial coat of many $$$ whereby all can see from whence he gets the cash to bash everyone to the right of Mr. Socialist himself...and aren't socialists supposed to hate the free enterprise system whereby most of Sanders' supporters gain the $$$ to support him?

    And the loonies on the Left aren't the only ones guilty of this kind of blatant hypocrisy. Every day without fail I get pleas in my mailbox to support dudes like Cruz, and his bunch of self-righteous so-called conservatives. My answer to these right-wingers is this: Sure I believe in fiscal conservatism, that's why I'm conserving what little $$$....I'm conserving it by keeping it in my bank account & not yours!

    It'd be fun to see all our loony politicos wearing a coat displaying each & every donor who gave a single penny to that lunatic loser.

    Only problem with that is all of them would need a coat whose tails are long enough to put the logos of all the guilty dimwits who doled out their $$$ to these politicians--which of course will turn right around & blame y'all for allowing this sort of thing to happen in the first place!

    What's that old line about a voter should NEVER dis his politicians---they're the best politicians money can buy! :BangHead:
     
  8. poncho

    poncho Well-Known Member

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    I've had this urge to fire up my Photoshop and create a few corporate logo "emblazoned" NASCAR style uniforms for politicians. I think I'd start with John McCain.

    Here's a look at his top contributors . . . http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=Career&cid=n00006424

    Jeb Bush? http://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/contrib.php?cycle=2016&id=N00037006&type=f

    Hillary Clinton? http://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/contrib.php?cycle=2016&id=N00000019&type=f

    Just for fun I looked up La Raza's "corporate board of advisors" . . . http://www.nclr.org/index.php/about_us/governance/corporate_board_of_advisors/

    This Is How Little It Cost Goldman To Bribe America's Senators To Fast Track Obama's TPP Bill

    Using data from the Federal Election Commission, the chart below (based on data from the following spreadsheet) shows all donations that corporate members of the US Business Coalition for TPP made to US Senate campaigns between January and March 2015, when fast-tracking the TPP was being debated in the Senate.

    The result: it took a paltry $1.15 million in bribes to get everyone in the Senate on the same page. And the biggest shocker: with a total of $195,550 in "donations", or more than double the second largest donor UPS, was none other than Goldman Sachs.

    < snip >

    The summary findings:

    Out of the total $1,148,971 given, an average of $17,676.48 was donated to each of the 65 “yea” votes.
    The average Republican member received $19,673.28 from corporate TPP supporters.
    The average Democrat received $9,689.23 from those same donors.

    < snip >

    “It’s a rare thing for members of Congress to go against the money these days,” said Mansur Gidfar, spokesman for the anti-corruption group Represent.Us. “They know exactly which special interests they need to keep happy if they want to fund their reelection campaigns or secure a future job as a lobbyist.

    “How can we expect politicians who routinely receive campaign money, lucrative job offers, and lavish gifts from special interests to make impartial decisions that directly affect those same special interests?” Gidfar said. “As long as this kind of transparently corrupt behavior remains legal, we won’t have a government that truly represents the people.”

    In other news, following last week's DOJ crackdown on now openly criminal FX market manipulation and rigging by the big banks, in which precisely zero bankers have been arrested, we are happy to announce that "transparently corrupt behavior" in the Senate, and everywhere else, will remain not only legal, but very well funded.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-30/how-little-it-cost-bribe-senates-fast-tracking-obamas-tpp-bill



    "Constitutional democratic - republic"? :laugh:
     
    #8 poncho, Aug 5, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 5, 2015
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