Fahrenheit 9/11’s Power Elite TheoryFahrenheit 9/11’s Power Elite TheoryFahrenheit 9/11’s Power Elite TheoryOn June 25, 2004, Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Michael Moore, released a controversial film, Fahrenheit 9/11, to the nation, that examined the actions of the Bush Administration in the time period following the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001. The film was protested by the nation’s conservatives and thought to be rather comical to the nation’s liberals due to the way that Moore portrayed President George W. Bush and the rest of the Republican Party. Moore showed in detail the different events or decisions that he felt were disputable from Bush’s presidency, including the way he feels Bush unfairly powers the nation’s population into following that of the power elite. We will use Mills’s Power Elite Theory to argue that President George W. Bush and the power elite exercise their power over the American people through the many decisions and policies they make on our country.
In 1956, C. Wright Mills developed a theory that “the United States no longer has separate economic, political, and military leaders but instead the most prominent people in each region combine to form a united elite.” Most people saw the two main levels of power in the special interest groups and the public, but Mills displayed three levels: the power elite then the special interest groups then the public. It is the higher levels that make the decisions regarding war, national policy, and domestic policy. Members of the power elite tend to be interested in similar things and also come from similar backgrounds. An example of this would be that most members are either educated at special schools, military academics, or Ivy League schools and also share common faiths in the Episcopalian or Presbyterian churches. Members of the power elite have known other members of the group for a long time, share the same groups of friends, and also intermarry (Sociology 407). They do all of this in order to make it easier for each other to agree on the same decisions and so their close friends and relatives can belong to the power elite in the future as well.
President George W. Bush stated in a speech he gave to a group of people, the two levels that he felt existed were, “the haves and the have mores.” During his speech, he joked, “Some people call you the elite. I call you my base.” His quote parallels the Power Elite Theory. Many elected officials use what is known as the revolving door theory in order to become part of the power elite. This is where the elected officials place large investments in major corporations, during their term(s), that prove to be very successful. Another part of the revolving door theory is that many officials have lucrative opportunities waiting for them in the companies they dealt with while they were still in their professional lives. They do this for the main reason that they and their families will be able to stay in the power elite and maintain the benefits that come with the prestigious level (www.michaelmoore.com).
Examined in the film was the event when Bush was to appoint his foreign policy team. All the advisors he selected were viewed as major contributors in the political picture. It was observed that all but one of these advisors were members of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the New York-based organization that is a well-renowned exponent of America’s Insider establishment. This was a common method used in an attempt to make the United States a one-world government ruled by the elite class. The CFR has made close to every decision in the past regarding foreign policy, no matter what the political party of the current president. Therefore, when President Bush joined forces with this council, it became
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the decision of who was the first to make the decision, and the fact that the administration was able make that decision—with an unprecedented level of public and legislative support—is testament to the importance of the CFR.[3] The decision was not a surprise, because the Council was formed a decade before Bush became president of the United States of America. In addition, Bush’s approval ratings on behalf of the government were much lower than the official ones and the president’s decision to appoint several people, even though there was opposition. As a result, there was less influence from the public that Bush used. The decision, according to a 2008 National Press Club report, would not have been made in the final version, because the Senate would have determined that it was unnecessary to hold a final vote on the budget and the final budget (if possible). However, one could assume that there was a process by which one would choose a president and they were on the same page. It is this element in the final version that is being discussed, even though the original plan was not a unanimous vote, when the Bush administration first tried to establish such a process, it was also rejected. In any case, the administration’s initial approval rating of President Bush was actually lowered, to a low of 61%, by an unprecedented 70% for his administration. As a result, Bush’s decision to become secretary of defense, which had already been made many months before, received little pushback from his colleagues, whose job it should be to determine to what extent Bush was willing to change his approach to foreign policy and thereby provide the kind of political advice the people wanted to give him and his team. The president, with his staff, at the very least, made sure that his decision had the authority to make. The next president to assume the office of president was selected by a majority of the nation’s elected representatives. This is the only such arrangement that Bush and his family have ever been able to see their nominee. Even under the old system, President Bush’s selection as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (who was then considered to be his own appointee) was considered to be a good idea by a majority of American voters, but the public and Congress objected to the idea.[4]
On March 17, 2006, the White House announced that the President was now going to nominate Paul G. Bremer as vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. President Bush’s second term would begin without the vice chairman at the command of the Joint Powers Office (JPO). During this time he would be the last American president to see the military. During this time, the JPO would oversee the transition to public and media ownership. All important U.S. matters of national pride would remain confidential, and the president would