Learn by watching how Power rids itself of a dysfunctional Executive Branch.

[ConsAreLiars]

This take down is similar to how Nixon got dumped, and may very well follow the same path.

The goals are two-fold. (Well. it's more complex than that, but these are the two essentials.)

One is is to constrain the power of an Executive branch that is doing them more harm than good.

The PNAC plan once looked like Global Capitalism's best wet dream ever and the neocons were handed control of the US State machinery. And for the murder and oil industries it still is. But over time this grand scheme began looking more and more like a loser to more and more big players. At the same time the US State apparatus was being taken out from under the control of those loyal to monopoly capitalism and being turned into a rogue force instead of a potent tool.

The other is maintaining the democratic illusion.

It is far cheaper to manage a flock of contented sheep than a pack of hungry wolves. The neocons did well at first in raiding the national treasury, removing regulatory restraints, and pillaging the nation's commons to give those resources to the corporations and ultra-wealthy. But at the same time, the fiction of the government being "of, by and for the people" has been eroded to the point that beyond an attitude of general distrust, it is being exposed as a mechanism that is actively serving alien interests.

The method is to strip away control from the roque gang by cutting off assorted arms and replacing them with more trusted operatives. Gates is one example. Harriet Meier's replacement Fred Fielding seems to be another.

You can also watch this in how the Corpulent Media treats the "scandals" now in contrast to previous years when far greater crimes against the people were barely mentioned. Or in how Establishment Pundits spin things. A reliable weather vane is David Gergen, who is now trying to convince the masses that this problem is just a recent one and has to do with personalities rather than the delusional greed of the corporate backers of this gang of criminals.

(edit typo)

[babylonsister]

1. What is the democratic illusion? nt

[ConsAreLiars]

2. Chomsky has a book on the subject

Basically, it just means that the true mechanisms of power are hidden by control of the ideological framework through which we "see" the world we live in. Like theologies, only secular.

From the top-rated review on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Necessary-Illusions-Thought-Democratic-Societies/dp/0896083667

"Of all the articles and books of Chomsky that I have read, Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies is without doubt the most exhaustively researched (and footnoted), the most logically structured, and the most convincing. Chomsky reminds us that the majority of the populace rely on the various media institutions for their information about political affairs; both domestic and foreign. One can only hold an opinion on a topic if one knows about the topic.
...
"Chomsky's argument is that propaganda is to a democracy what violence is to a dictatorship. Chomsky points out that, in fact, propaganda is, contrary to popular postulations, more important and vital to a democratic society because people still have some rights. That is, since people can talk, the powers that be must ensure that only the correct words come out of the peoples' mouths. In a dictatorship it does not really matter too much what people think; for whatever they may think, they have to do what they are told, by pain of death. In countries such as the US (and the UK) other, more subtle, methods are required. People often critisise Chomsky for the sources of his information (the copious footnotes). No such critique can be levelled at this work. Chomsky's sources are declassified internal planning documents, naval proceedings documents, and the very institutions he examines, New York Times, Washington Post etc. If there was one Chomsky book I would suggest you to read, this would be it."

[aquart]

3. Yeah, Gergen, there's a voice I heed.

Your contempt for your government and the people of your country is nauseating.

[ConsAreLiars]

4. You respond with an insult??? Oh well. (n/t)