Behind the Curtain

The Republican party is a quasi-fascist outfit at this point - seriously - and so is highly structured (as opposed to the Democratic party which is really a co-op amongst dozens of vested interest groups, often with conflicting agendas.). The structure is, from top to bottom, as such: Money.

 Two of the worst things ever to happen to America - Corporations were somehow declared actual people, just like you and me. Then, free speech was applied to political spending - that is, you can't restrict it. And so we have the Koch Brothers, heirs to Daddy's fortune. Their two claims to fame are 1. Increasing Daddy's fortune, considerably

and 2. Mainstreaming the mentality of the John Birch Society, of which their Father was a founding member. These are the crazy "FLUORIDE!" folks from the 50's, who were mocked and marginalized till Nixon, then Reagan took it to the next level. And all along the way were the Koch boys, spending freely. They are now the de facto power of Conservative America, coupled with Murdoch (and a few others), and they have two major means of control. 1. "Think Tanks", like ALEC listed above. ALEC is great - they essentially write laws whole cloth, then present these writings to Republican controlled State houses, who pass them. All the anti-Union laws that burst out of nowhere since 2010 are all ALEC written. There are many Think Tanks, and the Kochs fund quite a few of them.

There's some legitimately good stuff they do too, but consider that PR cover for their main aim. Here's another one of their Think Tank flunkies:

 Grover Norquist. Have you heard of him? Look him up if not. Basically, his "Think Tank" gets Republican officials to sign a pledge to never raise taxes. Literally - they sign a pledge to this guy, and it's taken very seriously. Why? Because if you break your word to Grover (AKA to the Kochs), they will pay big money to fund an opponent for your next primary election, which you will probably lose since you now have little money. And so everyone bends the knee to this bespectacled pudgeball with no apparent skill at anything. Odd! Again, there are many Think Tanks and they perform a variety of acts, all intended to enforce rich people's agendas. The second leg of their control is the media:

Fox is the obvious example, but I would argue all national media is duly corrupted by the power of these politically motivated billionaires - CBS, ABC, even the liberal MSNBC. The Washington Post, even NPR. They all carry the billionaire's water in one way or another. For an easy example, consider the next time you see/hear an interview with someone from a Think Tank talking about the need to reduce the deficit. You have a spokesperson for billionaires talking on a media channel owned by billionaires about ways to give these billionaires more money. It happens every day, and it's so common now as to not stand out. It's how our system works - their system. Next on the list, lower down the chain you'll note:

The politicians. Batboy here is Rick Scott, Governor of Florida and should be felon, but hey! Liberal lies. Scott was elected during the terrible year of 2010 and has followed the ALEC agenda to a T - consider that. All the Republican governors who swept to power that year were following orders from ALEC, AKA the Koch Brothers. Think of what that means for our country, you, and your family. It means we're pawns, sources of funding, dupes and goons and consumers to buy crap they've outsourced to the cheapest place they can find.

Now, many of us are waking up. I have a faint amount of confidence that the worm has turned and a majority of folks are realizing how screwed they've been by this "Conservative" movement. But not everyone, not the 27%, for sure:

Think of this: In the weeks following the massacre of Kindergartners at Sandy Hook, gun sales have set another record. They've been setting records, coincidentally enough, since 2008. Think of what it means that there are people out there who's reaction to that massacre is to immediately go out and buy a ton of assault weapons and ammo, on the assumption the Government (read: Barack Obama, the Enemy. If it was a Republican in charge there would be no panic) will take their guns. Consider these folks spend many thousands of dollars a year on guns, money they probably would be wiser saving/spending elsewhere. These are our future Brownshirts, and FSM help us if a Republican of this fold wins the White House again.

If you're still reading, you probably agree with me so far. Thus, let me conclude with an entreaty: Get involved. Get active. We can make a difference, and we must. We can't cede this country, and this world, to a handful of selfish rich fucks who would see us all burn to put a few more dollars in their portfolios.

Are you with me?