Change Back Election

Among those sufficiently brazen to speak the truth about American politics, like say Noam Chomsky, it's long been apparent that the great majority of Americans see the country as dominated by a few, big-moneyed interests looking out for themselves.

Presidential elections as seemingly diverse as 1984 and 2008 saw the percentage of the American electorate voting in presidential elections swing from Republican to Democratic by single digits, as measured by the percentage of those eligible to vote.

As media pundits ignore the few, big-moneyed interests looking out for themselves, and instead debate the likelihood of a wave-hurricane-storm-surge [pick your metaphor], it is perhaps useful to note that this big-money truism remains, irrespective of the electoral results.

So, whether Democrats can use their get-out-the-vote, voter-contact apparatus to bring out more Americans of a different hue; or the GOP can work their divisive magic and convince a few-million Americans that gays-working poor-Muslims-blacks-Latinos-others are to blame for whatever moral, economic problems Americans face, the big-money interests will have the last laugh until the American people wake up and vote on what poll after poll over decades say they believe: America is effectively an oligarchy.

Relatively small citizen movements can effect massive social change in America. But this democratic dynamic needs to be employed constantly, and not just during corporate campaign season.