American politics is kinda scary. The left can't deal with the right, and the right keeps drifting further right, and the bill of rights is starting to look more tattered than Bin Laden's compound.
For that, I have a
CRACKPOT THEORY!
So. Let's say you and some buddies of yours are insanely rich.
And you look at the mess of a political system in the US and think you can do better.
Maybe you can.
So how do you gain control so you can manage the country properly?
Step One:
First, make sure the most watched news outlet supports you and your agenda.
Added bonus, have them keep winking and nodding about how "mainstream media" is out to get them. This makes sure your viewers believe your lies even when contested by other news outlets. Never mind they are the most watched, everyone loves an underdog.
Step Two:
Now, make it not just OK to be rich, but a good thing. Paint rich people as innovators, leaders, job-creators. Ignore trust-fund babies, people who's parents bought them ivy-league business degrees, bailed them out of jail, and got them off the hook from serving in the military, rich people are the people who have done the most, worked the hardest, and the people who make America great.
Likewise, poor people are lazy scoundrels out to mooch off YOUR hard working tax dollars. Sick people are those who did not take care of themselves and lacked the foresight to buy health insurance, never mind many got turned down by the insurance companies.
Step Three:
Demonize people who think differently. Liberals have a sinister agenda to turn America into a communist society. Smear the definitions so that liberal = progressive = socialist = communist = fascist = Hitler.
If a friend of a friend back in 1974 did something bad, paint all liberals with the same brush.
Whenever the national conversation starts to go against you, change the subject to something sure to get people riled up. War against religion! Apologizing for America! Obama is a Muslim! Where's the birth certificate? What other people do in their bedroom is an threat to you! Victory Mosque! A rise in gas prices is wonderful news!
Step Four:
Religion. Make it all about that old-time opiate of the masses, religion, and use many of the same fear tactics. How dare they teach kids real science! Let's force kids from families that are not Christians to participate in Christian rituals, any argument is against my freedom of religion, and any affront to their freedom of religion is for their own good.
Ta Daa!
You've done it! At this point, compromise is impossible. You have a captive audience who identifies with your agenda, and believes with a religious fervor anything you want to say about anything.
You can lead the public discourse and make any lie into truth in the eyes of a hundred million voters.
But really...
Nobody is talking about the War against Science. Nobody is fighting back at the slippery-slope liberal = nazi fallacy. Only a small handful of politicians are talking about the bill of rights (other than the 2nd amendment, which is not threatened no matter how much the conservatives want it to be) and the handful of people calling these guys insane are mostly comedians, not serious pundits or politicians.
Frighteningly...
The sad truth is, they are not insane. They are simply plutocrats.
