Democracy? Did Someone say Democray? Princeton Report: American Government Isn’t a Democracy

I was working until my hone blasted off tens of text messages. Told me to turn on the tube. So I went onto CNN and their coverage of the Washington DC "occupation"

All they keep saying was Democracy and Trump. So here we go:

I was drudging though the Richard Dolan members site and came across something that was filmed in 1974. It then led to a link about an FBI agent which led to another link titled; Princeton Report: American Government Isn’t a Democracy

On the heels the the situation in Washington DC yesterday where "some people did something" I took a look into what the Princeton Report was
all about. First, it appears that it never morphed its way onto ATS even though it was written in 2014.

So here we go; In brief, post WWII most presidents play the game. President Eisenhower spoke about it, President JFK lost his life over it and President Trump got in the way of it. So just what is it? Here's a snap shot of "it"

Princeton Report: American Government Isn’t a Democracy

When the preferences of economic elites and the stands of organized interest groups are controlled for, the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.”

After systematically reviewing key variables for over 1,779 policy issues, Gilen's and Page found that the impact of the everyday citizen is practically negligible. It was nearly impossible to find cases where the general populace actually had a true impact. That is not to say that average Americans never get their way:

To be sure, this does not mean that ordinary citizens always lose out; they fairly often get the policies they favor, but only because those policies happen also to be preferred by the economically elite citizens who wield the actual influence.”

This report when read will explain a lot of who what where when and how in the on going's of the USA today as its all about the rich, famous and the elites. Plus at the end of the day you and I sir and madam, are toast. That's why Trump showed up. So is it over? Probably, but sheet happens even to the best well thought out plans. That's probably why the Masters of our world along with the Bilderberg Group never publish much about their meetings.

At the end of the day, President Donald Trump was supposed to just graciously fade away. Just Like Al Gore, Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton before him. But Trump is Trump whose anger was fuel by those other cash heavy elites who never accepted him into their circles. Folks its way beyond some mental illness definition. Its internal rage of being excluded so he went on a crusade of shaking the bushes in Elitesville. Sort of like a real time version of Whoville.

Actually Trump and his family were subjected throughout their life to social exclusion by elite racism.

Think about it and ......................


Wake up America

I didn't say "Democray"!

Did you?

a reply to: Waterglass
Our form of government has never been a democracy. It is the propaganda machine that has droned the word democracy into the heads of generations of citizens who have never read, or even knew they needed to read, the constitution.

And no, I didn't say "democray" either.

Let's face it we need an ai overlord humans are corrupt and inefficient.

as an aside...I am so sick of hearing people refer to our government as a "democracy". It is a Republic!
Stupid people in the msm and the ruling elites of govt keep referring to it as democracy for their own reasons...is it just to simplify the concept? Are we too stupid to understand the difference?
...whew...feel a bit better

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Are you looking to inject yourself into my headline here? OK, and welcome.

No, nothing to do with you. Unless, you know something.

Hell no brother but yesterday, CNN announcers were falling all over themselves saying Democracy Democracy and more Democracy.

a reply to: Lysergic

CNN its all on CNN yesterday. Take a look at the tape if any. The ET aliens are here and like culture. They call the shots.

a reply to: Zrtst

They $$$ like to hear about it the old fashioned way. Its proper.

a reply to: Waterglass

Wake up America

We are awake. I don't think anyone is looking around saying, "All's well in America!"

The problem is finding and implementing solutions. The only way to reduce their power is to increase our power.

I can -- and have -- given at least a dozen ways that we could do so over the years. So have others. To very little response or discussion.

And the root problem is two-fold: 1 -- People tend to put their trust in candidates to do the right thing for them, rather than assume the power for themselves; 2 -- People would rather blame their fellow Americans than the critters we elect.

We are our own worst enemy.

a reply to: Waterglass

Well, remember the pledge of allegiance they removed from schools? Everyone use to know it was a republic not Democratic.

Another reason it shouldn't have been removed from schools.

a reply to: Waterglass

The Princeton research (which I read in 2014) demonstrates empirically why there is such widespread disaffection with elected representatives in America.

I'm sure it does account for the success of a political outsider and chancer like Trump, who was clearly not the GOP'S preferred candidate, was independently wealthy, and advertised himself as the antidote. His campaign would not have been successful without the partnership of media mogul, Rupert Murdoch (who, incidentally, also helped secure Tony Blair's prime ministership).

Rupert Murdoch and President Trump: A Friendship of Convenience

Of course, neither of these gentlemen had a history of representing the common man or woman - quite the opposite of in fact. So it should have been no surprise that one of the first things Trump's government did was to reduce the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent. Or that he supported, over the heads of smaller businesses, his own businesses, and those that donated to his campaign, under the $669 billion Paycheck Protection Program amid the coronavirus outbreak. Trump-tied companies receive millions in small business aid

To add insult to injury, the GOP moved $8.1 million of donor money into Trump's business. Since losing the election, a further $207.5 million has been donated such is the blindness of those who cannot see.

Evidently there was no shortage of economic elites prepared to donate to Trump's campaign again this time: Revealed: RNC and DNC awash with corporate cash from donors seeking access

It's a travesty of a democracy, but it's all you have. Overthrow it and you have turmoil, volence, suffering and anarchy, probably followed by something worse.

But how do you employ a system so thoroughly rigged to serve the interests of oligarchs and international corporations to reform that system?

I don't pretend to know the answers.

Doing away with the GOP/DNC Commission on Presidential Debates duopoly, which disadvantages third party candidates would be a no-brainer, but wouldn't scratch the surface.

Clearly to achieve a democracy worthy of the name you must find a way to insulate the electoral process from big money. You cannot expect the general interest of the American public to be represented when, in order to compete, candidates are beholden to corporate sponsorship. The media's symbiotic relationship with corporate power and politics is at the core of this.

A Harvard University seminar provides illumination: Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex Is Destroying America