12.30.2008

Accountability in government?

Glenn Greenwald rightly takes to task those duopoly politicians who publicly support Israeli state terrorism in the Gaza. After writing about the consensus among America's political elite on the Israel question, Greenwald then points out that:

By itself, the degree of full-fledged, absolute agreement — down to the syllable — among America's political leaders is striking, even when one acknowledges the constant convergence between the leadership of both parties. But it becomes even more striking in light of the bizarre fact that the consensus view — that America must unquestioningly stand on Israel's side and support it, not just in this conflict but in all of Israel's various wars — is a view which 7 out of 10 Americans reject. Conversely, the view which 70% of Americans embrace — that the U.S. should be neutral and even-handed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict generally — is one that no mainstream politician would dare express.

In a democracy, one could expect that politicians would be afraid to express a view that 70% of the citizens oppose. Yet here we have the exact opposite situation: no mainstream politician would dare express the view that 70% of Americans support; instead, the universal piety is the one that only a small minority accept. Isn't that fairly compelling evidence of the complete disconnect between our political elites and the people they purportedly represent?

Indeed…

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