In an era when corporate media outlets increasingly shy away from stories that challenge concentrated power, The American Prospect continues to do the work that journalism was meant to do. And few journalists embody that mission more consistently than David Dayen, whose Dayen on TAP newsletters have become essential reading for anyone trying to understand the intersection of political decisions, economic power, and democratic fragility.
Dayen’s December 1st dispatch—issued on the first day of the Prospect’s end-of-year fundraising drive—is a stark reminder of what’s at stake. While many newsrooms remain content to chase horse-race narratives or the latest meme-friendly outrage, Dayen focuses on something far more consequential: the manufacturing of a new U.S. war. And not just any war, but one constructed on false premises, fueled by personal loyalties, and marketed to the public with a cynical, almost nostalgic fervor—an eerie echo of the media-manufactured Spanish-American War more than a century ago.
Dayen’s reporting lays bare just how thin the pretext is for military escalation in Venezuela. Senator Marco Rubio, long aligned with right-wing Venezuelan exile networks in South Florida, has spent years pushing for regime change. Now, with an administration receptive to grandstanding tough-on-drugs rhetoric—however untethered from reality—it appears that the machinery of war is being primed not for the public good, but to satisfy the demands of a small but politically potent constituency.
As Dayen notes, fentanyl production in Venezuela is essentially nonexistent. Yet this fabricated link becomes the hook: a narrative tailored for a president who responds more to television-ready action than to facts. The administration has already initiated lethal maritime strikes—acts that appear to violate international law—and has deployed carrier groups and thousands of troops into position. Airspace has been unilaterally “closed.” Covert operations have reportedly been authorized. The runway for a land invasion is being cleared.
And for what? As Dayen observes, the motivations seem less about drugs, oil, or geopolitical strategy than about appeasing a tight-knit circle of far-right exiles and their stateside allies. The recent judicial approval of selling Citgo to Elliott Investment Management—led by Paul Singer, a longtime Rubio supporter—only underscores the blurred line between policy and patronage.
For readers of HEI, the systemic dynamics on display are grimly familiar. Whether in for-profit higher education, the student loan industry, or the privatized machinery surrounding federal education policy, we see the same pattern: powerful interests constructing narratives that obscure accountability, extract public resources, and leave the vulnerable to bear the consequences. We watch oversight mechanisms crumble while corporate actors and political patrons consolidate influence. We see the press—at least the corporate press—fail to confront these abuses with the rigor and clarity they demand.
This is why outlets like The American Prospect matter. It’s why journalists like Dayen deserve recognition, support, and amplification. When most media organizations soften their edges to avoid offending sponsors or political gatekeepers, the Prospect continues to report with independence and moral clarity. They cover what corporate media ignores: the corrosion of democratic norms, the monetization of public policy, and the creeping normalization of war—sold to the public through marketing rather than debate.
Dayen closes his newsletter with a sobering truth: the United States no longer has an anti-war movement capable of influencing policy. What remains are fragmented groups unable to coalesce even as new conflicts are born from political vanity and elite networking. The prospect of sending young Americans to die for such small, parochial reasons should alarm anyone who still believes in democratic accountability.
At HEI, we recognize the mission that The American Prospect continues to carry. In higher education, in economic justice, in foreign policy, and in democratic governance, the Prospect stands as one of the few institutions resisting the slow slide toward rule by oligarchic narrative. Their work is vital, and Dayen’s reporting is part of the backbone that keeps it standing.
Independent journalism is not a luxury. It is an infrastructure of democracy. And in 2025, with corporate capture spreading across sectors—from colleges to Congress to media itself—we need that infrastructure more than ever.
HEI thanks David Dayen and The American Prospect for refusing to furnish the war, for scrutinizing the machinery of power, and for insisting on journalism that serves people rather than patrons.
Sources:
The American Prospect, Dayen on TAP (December 1, 2025 newsletter).
