The Way Forward

On our live show, David and ‘Master Plan’ co-author David Sirota go through the 50-year history of corporations plotting to buy the government.

by Prospect Staff
October 31, 2025

For the last week, we’ve witnessed the spectacle of corporations literally buying a ballroom to replace the East Wing of the White House, in an obvious quid pro quo to get favorable treatment from the government. And one question that should be more prominent amid this is: How did we get here? How can something so plainly corrupt be accepted and normalized in our warped political system? A new book shows that it was really the culmination of a 50-year plot by the nation’s largest businesses to wrest back control of government for their own benefit.

This week on our live show, executive editor David Dayen talks to David Sirota, co-author of the book Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America. The story begins with a tobacco lawyer who makes it to the Supreme Court, and goes through a series of rulings that open up campaign spending to corporations and effectively strike down laws aimed at stopping public corruption. They talk about how corporations engineered these developments from the sidelines, and how a few innovative initiatives are trying to fight back.
https://prospect.org/2025/10/31/prospect-weekly-roundup/

There is a great deal for Dem leadership to convey to the voters about Trump.