The following excerpt is drawn from an early chapter of Stealing America, where the foundations of modern political power are established.
"To the victor belong the spoils"
– Senator William L. Marcy, 1832Spring 1828
Washington, D.C.The city reeked of mud and manure. It was not yet a capital worthy of a great nation, let alone one hosting what many believed to be a political revolution. But to Andrew Jackson, the “People’s General,” the stink of the streets only made the moment more real. Here, among the ramshackle buildings and swelling crowds, a new power was rising—one built not on principle or tradition, but on pure, unrelenting populism. Jackson wasn’t just here to win an election. He was here to destroy his enemies.
The “Democratic Party,” though not yet formally christened, was already being born—an amalgam of Jackson’s resentments, Martin Van Buren’s political cunning, and a movement of voters disillusioned by what they called the “corrupt bargain” of 1824. It wasn’t ideology that bound them. It was vengeance.
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This excerpt comes from a later chapter, where the long-term consequences of institutional control are fully visible.
"A government big enough to give you everything you want
is a government big enough to take everything you have."
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Washington, D.C.
When Elon Musk walked into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building wearing a black hoodie and aviator sunglasses, the room didn’t know whether to laugh or panic. He wasn’t there to pitch a new product or launch a rocket. He was on a mission: to expose the biggest racket in American politics—federal waste, fraud, and bureaucratic bloat. He didn’t bring a lobbyist or a lawyer. He brought a laptop, a whiteboard, and three of the sharpest coders from his private “DOGE Crew”—a tongue-in-cheek nickname for the team of data scientists, engineers, and forensic accountants who had turned private-sector tech into a weapon against public-sector corruption.In less than six months, they would do what decades of congressional hearings, Inspector General reports, and GAO audits never had: shine a light on the golden goose of the Democratic Party—the bureaucracy.”