Leave Us Alone: America's New Governing Majority

Can a country be a democracy if its government only responds to the preferences of the rich? In an ideal democracy, all citizens should have equal influence on government policy--but as this book demonstrates, America's policymakers respond almost exclusively to the preferences of the economically advantaged. Affluence and Influence definitively explores how political inequality in the United States has evolved over the last several decades and how this growing disparity has been shaped by interest groups, parties, and elections.

With sharp analysis and an impressive range of data, Martin Gilens looks at thousands of proposed policy changes, and the degree of support for each among poor, middle-class, and affluent Americans. His findings are staggering: when preferences of low- or middle-income Americans diverge from those of the affluent, there is virtually no relationship between policy outcomes and the desires of less advantaged groups. In contrast, affluent Americans' preferences exhibit a substantial relationship with policy outcomes whether their preferences are shared by lower-income groups or not. Gilens shows that representational inequality is spread widely across different policy domains and time periods. Yet Gilens also shows that under specific circumstances the preferences of the middle class and, to a lesser extent, the poor, do seem to matter. In particular, impending elections--especially presidential elections--and an even partisan division in Congress mitigate representational inequality and boost responsiveness to the preferences of the broader public.

At a time when economic and political inequality in the United States only continues to rise, Affluence and Influence raises important questions about whether American democracy is truly responding to the needs of all its citizens.

One of the most renowned Washington insiders of the twentieth century, Clark Clifford (1906--1998) was a top advisor to four Democratic presidents. As a powerful corporate attorney, he advised Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Jimmy Carter. As special counsel to Truman, Clifford helped to articulate the Truman Doctrine, grant recognition to Israel, create the Marshall Plan, and build the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). After winning the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination, Kennedy asked Clifford to analyze the problems he would face in taking over the executive branch and later appointed him chairman of the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Johnson named Clifford secretary of defense in 1968, but their warm relationship was strained when Clifford concluded that there was no plan for victory in the Vietnam War and that the United States was in a "bottomless pit." Even Carter, who kept his distance from Washington insiders, turned to Clifford for help. In Clark Clifford: The Wise Man of Washington, John Acacia chronicles Clifford's rise from midwestern lawyer to Washington power broker and presidential confidant. He covers the breadth and span of Clifford's involvement in numerous pivotal moments of American history, providing a window to the inner workings of the executive office. Drawing from a wealth of sources, the author reveals Clifford's role as one of the most trusted advisors in American history and as a primary architect of cold war foreign policy.

So what do you believe? The Political Primer will help you to determine what it is you politically believe and which Worldview you already embrace. You will soon realize politics is not about what other people think or what other people believe. Politics is about what you think and what you believe.

Here are three of the facts that politicians and elected officials do not want you to know: 1. Politics is not complicated. 2. Only four basic political philosophies exist. 3. Politics is entirely about you!

Fundamental political concepts introduced in Part One are used to develop four political philosophies. There are only four! Part Two uses both trivial and controversial issues to illustrate the application of the political concepts of Part One. Part Three will illustrate the power of the political concepts presented and will further clarify how politics is utilized to change the structure of society. The Epilog is both a commentary and a test. The test is not to determine whether you agree or disagree with the Author?s commentary. The test is to determine for yourself whether you now understand why you agree or disagree. The Political Primer will have accomplished its goal if you know why. You will have become politically astute.

There are four possible future worlds. Which one do you want to build?

When discussing politics, why do you believe what you believe? Do you have the historical data to back it up? How many times have you argued over politics with family or friends just to have them agree with you or you agree with them? You're Not A Democrat, You Just Think You Are! addresses those encounters and says the more you know the more you're not going to vote Democrat. Read the book, take the test, where do you truly stand on the issues? You might be surprised.

Contreras was, and is, so controversial and passionate that his views draw pain, rage and disbelief from the "fruited plain." He has been called an agent provocateur, a racist, a hater of Blacks, a hater of Whites, a hater of Chicanos, a paid agent of the CIA, a Sandinista Communist, a criminal, a traitor, a sellout, and, unbelievably, a "coconut-Brown on the outside, White on the inside."

That's just from his family.

The columns in this collection were published at www.calnews.com between 1998 and 2002, causing apoplexy among the people written about, and among others, because of the vital issues that Contreras brings to the surface.