It is impossible to understand what is happening in American politics today unless you understand this book's central topic: how over the past few decades the billionaires behind the rise of the radical right have built an integrated network that has gradually but systematically shifted control of the Republican Party to them. They currently have full control of policy at the federal level, and the majority of control at the state level, in all three branches of government: the executive, the judiciary and the legislative. It is no understatement to claim this: the US has come under a form of stealth fascism as a direct result of this campaign by Dark Money, led by the Koch brothers.
This book provides dramatic evidence of the following:
- how a handful of conservative billionaire families have imposed their selfish, archaic values on the Republican Party, forcing it radically to the right, and helped to engineer its current dominance
- how this is the result of a focused, long term strategy, going back at least three decades, but came to a culmination in the 2016 presidential election
- that the resources available to this integrated, secretive network dwarf those of both the Democratic and Republican parties combined, yet its operations are carried out largely in secret
- Trump is just a pawn in their strategy, who was not even part of their original plan, but has played into their hands
Business interests now dominate policy, reversing decades of laws and regulations based on science and improvements in environmental quality.
Republican Party: no mandate yet it dominates politics
At this time (January 2018) the radical right of the Republican Party controls both houses of Congress, the presidency, and, ostensibly, the SCOTUS, since, with the Gorsuch appointment, has added a radical conservative voice to the bench for the rest of his life from his current fifty years of age, and seals a conservative majority there, at five justices to four. Republicans dominate at the state level, with 32 legislatures and 33 governors. This has not happened since the Civil War (when the Republican Party was very different), and the evidence will be shown how this is the result of a systematic drive by the Dark Money network to gerryrig and otherwise influence even low level elections. This despite the fact Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by over three million votes.
What this indicates is not so much a radical shift in the American political mind as a radical strategy to influence American politics -- and how it is succeeding. So if you don't have the time to read the book, but want to learn how that happened, this blog will show exactly that; more importantly, I hope it will continue to serve as a reference from which you can inform others.
What is Dark Money?
More detail will be provided on how this flood of political money started influencing political campaigns since 2010, and how it is likely to continue to increase, and how it has opened the influence of US politics to foreign channels of influence.
Why does Dark Money matter?
The evidence this book provides is conclusive: Dark Money and its influence of extreme conservatism has captured the Republican Party leadership -- and things are likely to get worse before they get better. Here are a few of the topics that will be addressed:
- Political spending skyrocketed after Citizens United: the effect of the Supreme Court stating that political spending by corporations on political campaigns is equivalent to First Amendment rights by private citizens means that vast sums are pouring into US politics, particularly in federal levels races, much more so from conservative sources (see "How Citizens United changed politics, in 7 charts")
- Dark Money has made a big difference in how people vote: it is on the verge of creating a stealth fascist state in the US, hiding in plain sight, to make the government serve big business only. It is doing this by securing control over the Republican Party, and then by getting Republican majorities in as many levels of government as possible, and then deconstructing any government programs that do not conform to their extreme view of how government should function.
- Dark Money has been around for decades: it took off after Citizens United in 2010 but existed since efforts began in the 1970s
What can we as individuals do about it?
Dark Money's influence can't be stopped but it can be counter-acted -- if there is a concerted effort to raise awareness and demand political change, which is my purpose behind this blog, and my other personal efforts to get involved politically. Developing your own political awareness and communicating this, to your community, on social media, in letters to the editor, and to your legislators, can make a difference. After all, that is how Dark Money got its way: getting people politically involved and electing their politicians. And it is going to be how the majority of the American people make their voice heard again. I will be blogging about what I'll be doing to get involved politically, with the goal of uniting with other Democrats to make a comeback in the 2018 and 2020 elections.
For that is the real purpose of this blog: to reach out and influence others, by pulling away the shadow of darkness under which the Dark Money network operates. I will continue to refine and focus this blog, as my way of contributing to the political change that needs to happen in this country to overcome this disastrous takeover of our government by an extremist, but extremely influential, minority.
Why else should I read the book and/or this blog?
Because the author, Jane Meyer, shines a light on what had been a largely invisible campaign to reshape American politics over the past several decades. The success of these efforts was hit and miss, but cumulative...until the triple whammy of Citizens United, the Tea Party movement with the gerrymandering of 2010, and the election of Donald Trump has created a perfect storm of an opportunity for the Dark Money network to strike -- and start to win big.This threat is real and growing....the resources behind this move are vast...and it won't go away even if Trump resigned tomorrow. I am concerned that this threat represents nothing less than a stealth form of facism taking over our federal government, and many of the state legislatures, from within...with stealth, secrecy and quiet efficiency. If it not exposed, condemned, discussed and ultimately overturned by vigorous public awareness and democratic debate, I fear this secret mission will succeed in turning America backwards, to the days of the Robber Barons, when there was literally no government regulation on what the wealthy ran their business empires, and used their wealth as a naked power to stripe democracy from our government, and use the political process like a toy to their own ends.
I hope this blog will scare you into action...the threat to our government is real...and that if what you learn here makes you angry, or afraid, that you channel that anger or fear into action, real political involvement -- because the only way this threat will be removed is by enough people like you and me changing the political climate in our country.