Polling: Politicians govern without our consent

You might have heard that the electorate is angry this year... but angry about what?  Well, it seems that it is beginning to dawn on voters that they don't matter and that politicians govern without their consent. 

First, take the Princeton University study released in April 2014 that confirmed what many suspected already...

A new study from Princeton spells bad news for American democracy—namely, that it no longer exists.

Asking "[w]ho really rules?" researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page argues that over the past few decades America's political system has slowly transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where wealthy elites wield most power.

Using data drawn from over 1,800 different policy initiatives from 1981 to 2002, the two conclude that rich, well-connected individuals on the political scene now steer the direction of the country, regardless of or even against the will of the majority of voters.

To understand this better, take a look at the resumes of the folks who run the party organizations in New Jersey.  It will quickly become clear that party politics in New Jersey isn't an altruistic or even an ideological occupation -- it is a business venture controlled by people who serve as conduits between those who seek to influence government and the elected officials who exercise power over government.  Lots of money changes hands in direct payments to the conduits who, as party leaders, exercise power over elected officials who want to stay elected; and in contributions made directly to candidates or political committees.

Read these headlines and weep:

Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy

Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy - BBC News

New Princeton Study Confirms US Is No Longer A Democracy

Princeton makes it official — USA Has Become Oligarchy

America is an oligarchy, not a democracy or republic

US is No Longer a Democracy – Princeton Study

How the US Became an Oligarchy - Truthout

Princeton study: US is no longer a democracy

Now new polling from Rasmussen suggests that voters are beginning to understand this, with just 12 percent of Republicans, 20 percent of Independents, and 30 percent of Democrats believing that "the federal government has the consent of the governed."  Black voters are less likely than white voters to believe that they are governed with their consent.

Voters also question the election process itself, with just 24 percent of black voters, 44 percent of white voters, and 40 percent of other minority voters believing it to be "fair."

Only 27 percent of voters now believe that "the government does the right thing almost always or most of the time."  67 percent of all voters describe themselves as "angry" towards the current policies of their government.

It is no wonder that groups like RepresentUS are growing by leaps and bounds: