The War on the Middle Class, Part 5: Is The Economic Elite Really In Control of the Debate?

Re:  Part V: Overcoming the Divide and Conquer Strategy — The Economic Elite Vs. The People of the USA | Amped Status, By David DeGraw, AmpedStatus Report, Posted on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

“The conflicting propaganda of opposing parties is essentially what leads to political abstention. But this is not the abstention of the free spirit which asserts itself; it is the result of resignation, the external symptom of a series of inhibitions. Such a man has not decided to abstain; under diverse pressures, subjected to shocks and distortions, he can no longer (even if he wanted to) perform a political act. What is even more serious is that this inhibition not only is political, but also progressively takes over the whole of his being and leads to a general attitude of surrender.” — Jacques Ellul, Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes

The primary reason why the Economic Elite have gained such dominance is their commitment to psychological operations that divide-and-conquer the US public. They use their overwhelming influence over mainstream media outlets and political candidates in very clever ways to divide us.

It is known among political scientists that powerful forces always seek to gain control of pre-existing social and political institutions so they can usurp their powers. The Economic Elite gained control of both the Democratic and Republican political parties because they knew that hardworking Americans loyally followed these parties, and we believed these parties were looking out for our best interests. We have, for the most part, been lifelong Republicans or lifelong Democrats, but until we see that our favored party has been seized by power and greed addicted interests, we will all continue to lose. These are extremely hard truths to face, but until we face them, we will continue our decline.

With half the US population loyal to Democrats and the other half loyal to Republicans, gaining control of both these parties meant total control for them. The past decade is testament to their total control of both parties.

In manufactured public opinion, Obama represented a far left swing in US politics, and Bush represented a far right swing, and these two supposed polar opposites also had a Congress overwhelmingly run by members of their own party. Did we get drastically different policies? In what matters most, in both cases, the results were the same: more money and power for the Economic Elite and the continued decline of the US middle class. This fact is now undeniable.

Yes, there are definite differences in their rhetoric and on some social issues, but this is the key to the psychological operations, to the divide-and-conquer strategy that they use so effectively.

Not so fast! Obama’s attempts at bipartisanship have been historic! The entire nation thinks so! He appointed Robert Gates, who served under several Republican presidents but not actually registered as a Republican, as Secretary of Defense. He appointed  Ray LaHood – a dyed in the wool Republican, as Secretary of Transportation. He appointed Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to his Intelligence Advisory Board.

The obstructionist Republican party is dismayed by the recent defection of five Republican Senators voting with the Democrats to advance a jobs bill over the filibuster. Surprisingly, newly elected Senator Brown from Massachusetts joined Olympia Snowe and voted for the bill. A conservative Democrat, Ben Nelson of NE was the lone Democrat to uphold the filibuster. The final vote was 62-30.

To distract and divide us, they use rhetoric on social issues like religion, gay marriage, abortion, etc., all serious and significant issues that we bitterly disagree on, but in the overall picture, these issues are secondary to the larger, more fundamental political and economic issues that lead to our wealth being stolen from us, and ultimately, our lives being increasingly dominated by a small few.

Bush appealed to conservative Republicans and then ran up the deficit to record levels. Obama appealed to liberal Democrats, but increased war spending and support for Wall Street billionaires. In both cases, the candidates severely divided the US middle class, but in the policy decisions that mattered most, they both sided with the economic top one percent at the expense of hardworking Americans.

Just look at the last few election cycles. In 2006 and 2008 US citizens rose up in record-breaking numbers to kick out the Republicans in power, whom they felt had betrayed them. Now, with the Democrats in power, the consensus seems to be that in the 2010 mid-term elections we will vote for Republicans and kick out the Democrats who have failed to deliver on the much needed and promised changes.

Do you not see the ridiculous nature of this divide-and-conquer strategy? This is a vicious cycle that will continue to lead to our destruction.

Psychological Operations 101: Obama Vs. Fox News

For those of us who are strong enough to see beyond our propaganda-induced preconceptions and prejudices, the insidious nature of the Economic Elite’s divide-and-conquer strategy is on full display in the feud between Obama and Fox News. About half of the country loves Obama and hates Fox News, and the other half loves Fox News but hates Obama. They both use very effective propaganda to seduce their followers. However, as hard as it is for people who love one of them to admit, they both serve the same masters.

Once again, let’s look at Goldman Sachs. They financed Obama’s campaign and he has rewarded them with policies that have led to them making record-breaking profits, instead of investigating them for the many illegal activities they participated in and continue to take part in.

Not so fast! Goldman Sachs did not finance Obama’s campaign! In accordance with OpenSecrets.org, the most trusted source for campaign contribution information, of the $750 million raised for the Obama campaign, Goldman Sachs’ PAC bundled $994,795 from various sources including employees and their families. Goldman Sachs donations (second largest single donor) are miniscule compared to the small donor contributions and represent only .001% of total contributions. The largest single contributor to the Obama campaign was the University of California PAC which bundled $1,591,395.

On the other side of this psychological operation, you have Fox News. When was the last time you saw Fox News doing an investigation into the illegal practices of Goldman Sachs? Even the Obama-appointed Tim Geithner, the Economic Elite’s main man on the economy, escapes the significant focus of Fox News’ powerful attack force.

Looking at the Business Roundtable, a significant majority of Obama’s campaign funding came from Roundtable members and, as mentioned earlier, he frequently meets with Roundtable members. On the other hand, Fox News is owned by Roundtable member Rupert Murdoch, and Fox relies heavily on advertising money from Roundtable members. Rupert Murdoch even supported Obama over McCain. As someone who monitors Fox News, I can’t recall the last time I heard Fox reporting on the activities of the Business Roundtable, not that any mainstream “news” companies do.

The list of similarities between the two, when it comes to exposing and holding the Economic Elite accountable, is extensive. So here you have an excellent divide-and-conquer psychological operation. Fox News declares Obama the enemy, and Obama declares Fox the enemy, yet the Economic Elite remain in the shadows, behind the scenes, untouched and continuing their plunder.

Just think of all the misplaced outraged spent on these two puppets. Sure, people have many reasons to like and dislike both, but imagine if all the diehard Obama-haters focused their rage on the people who put Obama in power, and if the diehard Fox-haters stopped criticizing everything Fox says and focused on the Economic Elite who control the media environment in which Fox News operates.

Here’s what I think. I think that the “Economic Elite” that promote the warfare between FOX and Obama (This war is mostly an invention of the author. But, there is a war between FOX and Keith Olbermann at MSNBC, not Obama.) are out to make a fast buck. Hyperbole and vitriol sells. It gets viewers to tune in, then that attracts sponsors, and sponsors pay for their ads. It’s as simple as that. There is not as much hate going on at the top as you might think. Ed Schultz, an energetic progressive liberal, has a talk radio show that is syndicated by Dial Global. They also distribute the radio talk shows of Neil Boortz and Michael Smerconish, both of whom are rabid conservatives.

If the Fox-haters and the Obama-haters united and focused their combined outrage on the common forces behind the both of them, we would all be much better off.

The most significant bias in the mainstream media is not the liberal or conservative views propagated to divide, distract, confuse and create apathy among the populace; the ultimate bias is in what is missing from the coverage. The investigative reporting on the most powerful forces within our society is left out of the discussion.

McClatchy, one of the few real journalism news organizations, has repeatedly reported on the illegal activities of Goldman Sachs and the crime syndicate they operate in. Yet, an overwhelming majority of mainstream news outlets ignore these reports and nothing is done to hold Goldman Sachs accountable. In fact, two of the leading figures in the outright theft of our money have recently been lauded in their propaganda press. When you see Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke become the Person of the Year in Time Magazine and Goldman Sachs CEO Llyod Blankfein become the Financial Times Man of the Year, you begin to see where the real media bias lies.

The main bias is in favor of the thieves who stole our country and economy, and own the mainstream media companies. The omni-present mainstream media is the greatest weapon of oppression humanity has ever known.

Although the Internet has had an impact, television news is still by far the most influential news medium. Despite all the new information platforms, this year we have set a new record by watching an average of four hours and 49 minutes of TV per day. We have been subjected to heavy doses of propaganda on a daily basis, for hours a day, every day of our lives.

The mainstream media creates what is known in mass psychology as the “spectrum of thinkable thought.” By constantly discussing and debating surface issues, they limit the range of debate. Having the Republican vs. Democrat paradigm leads us to never debating the underlying Economic Elite who control both of the parties, not to mention their ownership of the media platform on which this debate is taking shape. The more important underlying issues are never discussed, and therefore never enter public consciousness.

The censorship that is most prevalent today is the most dangerous form. Not the censorship of explicit words, sex, or violence, but the censorship of any thoughts outside of elite corporate ideology. Any debate that leads to critical thought on prevailing elite economic dominance is not allowed to enter into the mass media or mainstream public consciousness.

“We must conclude that a changeover is imminent and ineluctable in the co-opted caste who serve the interests of domination, and above all manage the protection of that domination. In such an affair, innovation will surely not be displayed [in the mainstream media]. It appears instead like lightning, which we know only when it strikes.” — Guy Debord, Comments on the Society of the Spectacle

David DeGraw defined for us “Economic Elite” as being members of the Business Roundtable. According to McGraw, they purposefully operate the main stream media in nefarious ways to control the debate in America, or the world, in such a manner as to limit the debate to right vs. left, conservative vs. liberal as a curtain to hide the maneuverings of the guy pulling the controls. McGraw says this is a way to divide and conquer.

I believe that to give this topic its due, to justly cover the topic of how the economic elite are controlling our politicians like puppets, a look to the past is appropriate. During the Civil Rights debates, there were sharp divisions within the Democratic Party over just how many rights that black people should have. The southern Democrats, or “Dixiecrats” were against the bill, and the southern white population was with them. Senators Jesse Helms and Strom Thurman switched from Democratic to Republican because of the Civil Rights Act. The Democrats, who had been in the majority in the south was now in the minority and the Republican Party took over those states for good.

Rush Limbaugh was not around then, neither was FOX Infotainment, nor the Ed Schultz Show for that matter. The lines between left and right became blurred during the turmoil of the sixties, but the hatred and vitriol existed then, and at other times during our past such as the troubles that FDR had with the conservatives passing sweeping social reforms to recover from economic ruin brought on by a lack of investment and corporate regulation.

My point here is the question, how did the “Economic Elite” control both parties during those aforementioned troubled times, if they did at all?

This is where the author and I differ. Maybe the “Economic Elite” have pulled some strings to take advantage of the debates, but they have not invented the right v. left debate, nor have they set in motion some nefarious scheme to keep us from understanding how money plays a role in politics.

I think that there are genuine differences at the core of our beliefs that have fueled the debates going on now as well as the past. You have to consider world views to understand how we are divided. The conservative world view is that of a strong father archetype who rules with a clenched fist. Everyone complies and everyone’s thoughts and behaviors are in lockstep. The conservative world view considers social issues as weaknesses that we must be rid of, i.e. we should save and invest toward retirement rather than have another entitlement like Social Security. The Liberal worldview, on the other hand, is one of a loving set of parents that nurture our development. The liberal worldview believes that the government must do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, i.e. the organization, training, and maintenance of a “common” which, through revenues gained through local taxes provides us our public education, police and fire departments, and highways.

These two opposing worldviews have been established in our society for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Any conversation about what actually drives these worldviews, whether it be an “Economic Elite” or plain ole human nature must include episodes of our past that points to the divide. If we see no involvement of a nefarious economic conspirator, then the only conclusion is that the debate is driven solely by ideology and worldview.

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