Rendering public opinion irrelevant

One of the most striking aspects of our political discourse, particularly during election time, is how efficiently certain views that deviate from the elite consensus are banished from sight — simply prohibited — even when those views are held by the vast majority of citizens.

That remarkable dynamic of debate-suppression is most conspicuous — and most urgent — when the policies favored by the political establishment are ones that are vigorously rejected by the citizenry.

About Palestine for example.

Don’t miss the part on Iranian public opinion either.

There are all sorts of reasons why our presidential elections center on personality-based sideshows.

But one principal reason is that so many of the government’s most consequential actions are concealed behind a wall of secrecy and thus not subject to public debate.

From LRC.