Who makes decisions in washington? Congress is a VERY wrong answer to the question....?

Question

well, and please try to forget junior year US History class or
Schoolhouse Rock....thanks, and good luck!

I can't say I have an exact answer to the question myself..I just know what isn't running washington....congress is 100%
proxy for other interests.....and only one branch of gov....if you say lobbyists, you're
getting warmer, but remember that they are
only proxies as well.....get behind the endless veil of proxies and you may have the answer the the above question......

.05% of the working population are lawyers ny profession, and 65% of the members of
Congress are lawyers by profession! And
you wonder how anything gets done in Washington!

Oian, are you sure that that you weren't channeling WIllie Wonka in that dream, for that would prob answer my question.......never thought that I'd find the answer in the wonka world, but that's prob as good of an explanation as any per the ineffectiveness of congress and the power structures that be....now if only I could snag a golden ticket!

Aunt, forgot about the DNC and RNC.
Yes, there is indeed some top-down strategizing, but we still don't pull the veil
very far back in that case, as they are both
100% beholden to campaign cotributions,
which come with expectations, as you and I know!

Can anyone pull the veil all the way back?
Where is that infernal Wizard behind the curtain, and what knobs is he pulling? LOL

Answer 1

There are people referred to as "power brokers." They have connections. They get these connections in any number of ways. Many of them are paid lobbyists, but that's not the only sort of power broker in DC.

Yes, Congress must take responsibility for the decisions they make. But that's not the same thing as saying they are really making those decisions free of influence. For example, people high in the command structure of the major political parties have enormous power, whether or not you even find their names in the newspapers.

And sometimes it is their second assistant or suchlike who has the REAL power, in the ability to control his or her boss. That happens a lot, too. And sometimes it is the person who coaches the pizza delivery girl, you know what I mean?

See, once you accept the idea that not everyone in DC is nice and honorable and has worthy motives for what they do, you almost need to go to the opposite extreme and assume that there are no such people in DC. That is, no people for whom you could have any respect at all. But fortunately, it's not quite that bad. There are probably at least a dozen or so honorable people in the entire city. Good luck finding them.

Answer 2

I recently dreamt that George Clooney got elected president in 2008 (I'd just watched Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck).
He started walking out of the Oval Office and telling a couple of his advisors, "I'm gonna go out there and put an end to all this shady stuff that's been going on for at least the past 8 years."
His advisors kept telling him that it was a bad idea to try to do that, but he wouldn't listen. He got into his presidential elevator and descended to the ground, leaving the advisors on the second floor.
The advisors shrugged and said, "Well, we'd better go tell the Head." They then stepped on top of the roof of the presidential elevator and were lifted through a hole in the ceiling, a hole which was always covered whenever the president and his elevator were on that floor.

Answer 3

Well, since you already seem to know the answer, why don't you tell us?