Sean Hannity must've mentioned the words "The Establishment" a hundred times on his radio show the other day. 

According to the cliché, The Establishment and their lobbyists and special interests are responsible for America's economic, social, cultural, fiscal, and political messes.

Who is The Establishment?  Well, that's a little vague, but it seems to be anyone at the top of society, government, the two political parties, and the media, with the exception of billionaire Donald Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity—all of whom laughably portray themselves as members of the proletariat and not the ruling class.

Curiously, some of the most powerful institutions of the established order also are not seen as members of The Establishment.

Take public K-12 schools and private and public colleges. 

It's difficult to find other institutions that are so entrenched, so inefficient, so resistant to change, so costly to taxpayers and customers, so politically powerful, and so corrupted with government money, self-interest and lobbyists.  Yet there is nary a peep about this from the media, pundits, politicians and the public.  To the contrary, the masses and their masters try to outdo each other in shoveling more money into the education trough.

Scores of education industry lobbyists and "professional" organizations have snookered the public to keep the money coming.  Here's a partial list:

National Education Association (teacher union)

Association of American College Professors

National School Boards Association

School Superintendents Association

National Association of School Nurses

National School Transportation Association

American Association of School Administrators

American School Counselor Association

School Nutrition Association

National School Public Relations Association

Used Textbook Association

National Association of School Resource Officers

School Library Association

National School Plant Management Association

National Association of School Safety & Law Enforcement Officials

International Association of Campus Law Enforcement

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

United States Collegiate Athletic Association

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics

University Athletic Association

Various state-level public school maintenance associations and coaches associations     

Other favored institutions are just as riddled with self-interest and lobbyists, including the favorites of so-called conservatives: police officers and fire fighters.  For example, police officers have carved out special treatment under wage and hour laws, so that positions that would normally be exempt from overtime pay are not exempted.  Officers are also allowed to moonlight at private businesses for extra pay, and of course, their rich pensions and medical plans, as well as the pay and benefits of other public employees, are literally bankrupting some municipalities and states.

Apparently, a uniform automatically keeps the wearer from being seen as a member of The Establishment.  Maybe that's why Benito Mussolini wore a uniform.

Then there are all of the lobbyists and associations that shovel free stuff, subsidies, handouts, and entitlements to the public in general or to favored voting blocs.  They aren't seen as The Establishment, either.   

AARP is an obvious example.  Its unstated mission is to beggar young people in order to enrich older people. 

Taxpayer-subsidized stadiums are another obvious example.  Proponents of the stadiums beggar non-fans in order to enrich team owners and fans.  (Recall that George W. Bush was a team owner who engaged in sports cronyism.)

Not so obvious is the National Association of Realtors.  Out of blatant self-interest, it fights to keep the tax deduction for mortgage interest and the various government subsidies for housing—all of which actually drive up the cost of housing, and as seen, cause massive distortions and bubbles in the housing market.   The public supports the self-interest of the industry, because they think that it benefits them, too.   As such, you won't see make-believe, anti-establishment Donny or Teddy come out in favor of eliminating the tax deduction for mortgage interest.

Or take your kindly personal physician.  Chances are, doc is a member of the American Medical Association, which has a sordid history of cozying up to Uncle Sam in an incestuous relationship, on behalf of its members, to the detriment of the American people.

Enough examples.  Unless you are an establishment reporter or talk-show host, you're smart enough to get the point.

It is said that organizations begin to rot at the head.  That is certainly true for corporations and for authoritarian nations, where the most effective way of changing the established order is to cut off the head and replace it with a new head.

But that's not true for constitutional republics with democratically elected representatives.  They begin to rot in the body politic, not the head, because in a democracy, The Establishment "R" us.