2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Bernie: Dems lost because they "took they bait," meaning "Wall Street money." [View all]JCanete
(5,272 posts)to be put in any of those forms. Political contributions are legal. Super-pacs are legal. Lobbyists are legal. And often enough you don't need to have a conversation with a lobbyist to know what makes his corporation tick. Politicians understand the terrain well enough, and they are perfectly capable of adapting to signals...like..."whoops you misstepped there and a big chunk of money just went to an attack ad on you..."
The point is there are a lot of ways to signal each other. Suggesting somebody from Morgan Stanley for a post at the federal reserve would be a good example. It says, "we're friends. I just want you to come around and be a better person, but on your own time...and you can do it from Washington."
Again, I don't think our Democratic Leadership is breaking any laws. And for the most part, I think our Democrats have good intentions. I just don't think our party can compete when trying to play the game as laid out and officiated by, the oligarchy.