Continuity of Agenda Revisited: The Three Power Brokers Behind the Policies

Aaron Good’s Book, American Exception, Explains How Continuity of Agenda Works

From the website:

American Exception seeks to explain the breakdown of US democracy. In particular, how we can understand the uncanny continuity of American foreign policy, the breakdown of the rule of law, and the extreme concentration of wealth and power into an overworld of the corporate rich. To trace the evolution of the American state, the author takes a deep politics approach, shedding light on those political practices that are typically repressed in “mainstream” discourse.

In its long history before World War II, the US had a deep political system—a system of governance in which decision-making and enforcement were carried out within—and outside of—public institutions. It was a system that always included some degree of secretive collusion and law-breaking. After World War II, US elites decided to pursue global dominance over the international capitalist system. Setting aside the liberal rhetoric, this project was pursued in a manner that was by and large imperialistic rather than progressive. To administer this covert empire, US elites created a massive national security state characterized by unprecedented levels of secrecy and lawlessness. The “Global Communist Conspiracy” provided a pretext for exceptionism—an endless “exception” to the rule of law.

What gradually emerged after World War II was a tripartite state system of governance. The open democratic state and the authoritarian security state were both increasingly dominated by an American deep state. The term deep state was badly misappropriated during the Trump era. In the simplest sense, it herein refers to all those institutions that collectively exercise undemocratic power over state and society. To trace how we arrived at this point, American Exception explores various deep state institutions and history-making interventions. Key institutions involve the relationships between the overworld of the corporate rich, the underworld of organized crime, and the national security actors that mediate between them. History-making interventions include the toppling of foreign governments, the launching of aggressive wars, and the political assassinations of the 1960s. The book concludes by assessing the prospects for a revival of US democracy.

Mortality Rate of US Presidents

Becoming the President of the United States is a great opportunity, both to get rich, as well as to have enormous power. However, you have to play by the rules. Including the two terms of Donald Trump, there have been 47 Presidents. Four have been assassinated: Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy, and several have had attempts:

Four US presidents have been assassinated. While the circumstance of each death were different, at least two wanted to limit the influence of private bankers. Lincoln printed ‘Greenbacks’ to finance the Civil War. And Kennedy printed US government silver certificates, with the likelihood of expanding the money supply. See, the Federal Reserve Bank which is NOT a US government owned bank, lends money at interest which we people have to pay.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was nearly deposed in a coup, the socalled “Business Plot”, concocted by US oligarchs, who despised the New Deal. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/coup-jan6-fdr-new-deal-business-plot-1276709/

The Business Plot

Smedley Butler and the 1930s Plot to Overthrow the President

…..FDR’s policies, particularly his plans to provide subsidizations and jobs for the poor, which businessmen and conservative politicians alike took as an indication of Roosevelt’s socialist leanings, or (even worse) a communist… the only way to save the country from FDR’s “ill-fated” policies was to create a military state run by former servicemen, with Roosevelt serving as a figurehead, rather than a true leader….Those implicated, ranging from the DuPont family to Prescott Bush, the grandfather of future President George W. Bush, laughed off Butler’s claims. Evidence of the validity of Butler’s testimony was not released until the 21^st century, when the committee’s papers were published in the Public Domain. No one was ever prosecuted in connection to the plot.

Assassination Attempts

In addition, Ronald Reagan was shot and nearly killed….Incidentally, his Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush, son of plotter Prescott Bush and former head of the CIA met for dinner with the brother of the shooter. Hmmm…

Before him, was Gerald Ford, who was shot at but escaped unharmed.

And Donald Trump, who had two assassination attempts.

Are you still interested in a job with that sort of risk?