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Media Circus Obsession: Obfuscating the Real Deficiencies of U.S. Democracy

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As for ordinary citizens, they may be able to meet with their member of Congress or Senate but the extent of their influence is often minimal.   There are exceptions when courageous, patient and persistent   people such as Barbara Kowalcyk apply pressure on their congressperson to act on a popular issue.   In this case, Barbara's 2 - year old son died from E. Coli.0157:H7 due to contaminated meat.   After a long uphill battle, she was able to persuade several House Members to introduce the "Food Safety Modernization Act" in 2002 although it was not signed into law until January 4, 2011.   Notwithstanding her success, the FDA has little power to enforce any of the measures contained within the Bill.

Lobbying virtually destroys political equality in the United States thereby undermining the principle of "by the people, for the people" and "dedicated to the principle that all men are created equal".   All lobbying should be banned.

By virtue of the above flaws, the public interest is at the very least frequently overlooked.   The bailout during the financial crises ignored those who suffered the most, namely those who lost their jobs, the poor and those who lost their homes.

Foreign policy is based on the principle of realism in which national interests usually take precedence over international and domestic law.   National interests is a euphemism for corporate profits.   The main objective of the sanctions, bombing and occupation of Iraq was to open the door for American companies to gain access to Iraq oil through PSAs that would favor American oil giants over Iraq's legal right to the lion's share of oil revenues.   The trillions of dollars wasted on this so-called war is money no longer available to meet the myriad needs of Americans during a time of economic and social crises.

Leadership in Congress has been accorded too much power which can be used to serve ideological ends rather than the public interest.   For example, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is responsible for the legislative agenda of the House, selecting committee chairs, selecting 9 out of 13 members of the powerful Committee on Rules, choosing speakers during debates and deciding when bills will appear on the floor for debate.    The Speaker and Committee Chairs can bury bills unless the House issues a "discharge petition" which is rarely utilized out of fear of alienating or showing disrespect for the leadership.

The executive branch, namely the president, has usurped power from the legislative branch mostly by violating Section 8 of the Constitution which grants the power to declare war to Congress.   War against Serbia in 1999 and Iraq in 2003 were authorized by presidential fiat.   Drone and Special Forces attacks in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and a number of other countries were also undertaken without the necessary authorization of Congress.   President Obama can define these uses of force as something other than war but military aggression against another country is still a war.

Supreme Court appointments are crucial in order for the principle of "separation of powers" or "balance of power" to operate efficaciously.   In the United States, Supreme Court appointments are tainted by ideological considerations.   Senate Hearings are reduced to questioning candidates about their positions on particular issues when the criteria should be based strictly on competence, character, knowledge of the law and analytical skills all of which apply to the process of arriving at a conclusion not about the conclusion itself.     The Citizens United and the Florida Recount cases demonstrate the role of ideology in the Court's judgements.

Rule of law is distinguished by its absence in the United States.   Every international law signed and ratified by the U.S. automatically becomes law in the U.S. through standard legislative procedures.   Every time that America has violated the UN Charter, Geneva Conventions, the Convention on Torture and the Convention on the use of Conventional Weapons on numerous occasions including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.   As well, the president has ignored the rule of law whenever he has bypassed Congress to embark on an illegal war.   Furthermore, the criminalization of dissent and militarization of the police have resulted in a multiplicity of violations of civil and legal rights not to mention the First Amendment.

A fair and balanced press is virtually non-existent in the United States.   Corporate ownership and advertising and the symbiotic relation between big corporations and the government have reduced the media to stenographers of power.   No example demonstrates this point more conspicuously then the lead up to the war against Iraq in 2003.   There was no skepticism about the lies of WMD despite the fact that UNMOVIC and the IAEA had submitted reports to the United Nations and were easily accessible.   Then the lies about al Qaeda were accepted without a critical murmur even though the intelligence agencies in the U.S. knew it wasn't true.   Then there were the myths about Iraq's responsibility for 9/11.   It's not just the media could have easily uncovered the truth about this propaganda but the constant change of rationale should have raised a few eyebrows.   When the administration searched desperately for new justifications to attack Iraq, it should have been blatantly obvious that the real motivation was being concealed.

Electioneering spectacles are both artificial and superficial but are really just a symptom of the underlying infringements of democratic ideals.   Paid advertising and corporate donations have spawned the potential for elections to become a farce.   It was Eisenhower who first realized the potential of television to manipulate voters by conducting on-the-street interviews.   The Kennedy, Nixon debates were notorious for their impact on television on the popular perception of candidates.   Joe McGinnis documented the extremely strong influence of public relations and advertising on the 1968 elections in his book Selling of the President.   When commenting on the impact of elections on democratic ideals, it is necessary to look beneath the symptoms and identify the real problems.

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I have been a professor of political science at Seneca College in Toronto. I have published five books the last of which "Selling Out: Consuming Ourselves to Death" was released in May/08. As well, I have been featured in CounterPunch, Z (more...)
 
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