[Sample B: Approval/Signature Sheet] - George Mason University

Scott proposed a concept called “Deep Politics,” which he defined as “all those political
practices and arrangements, deliberate or not, which are usually repressed rather than
acknowledged.” 640 Scott claimed that “Deep Politics” offered an answer to the question
of context: What were the structural defects in governance and society that allowed this
huge crime to be so badly investigated (or in other terms, to go unpunished)?” 641 In
practical terms, Scott described an interconnection between the U.S. government,
organized crime, big business, and the drug traffickers. Oswald and especially Ruby,
according to Scott, were part of this deep political system: “Both Ruby and Oswald,
when studied in this broader political context, emerge as operators within the world
where political and criminal activities interface.” 642
Scott used much of the book to detail the criminal and political connections of
Jack Ruby. He claimed that the Warren Commission steadfastly refused to look at
Ruby’s organized crime and political connections, while the House Select Committee on
Assassinations only looked at his mob ties. Scott outlined how Ruby “’knew everybody’
or at least a broad cross-section of Dallas, from its politicians, millionaires, cops, and
judges, to its dope traffickers, thieves, and prostitutes.” 643 He was an informant on the
drug trade while also being heavily involved in the drug trafficking himself. He knew
many mobsters but also the Texas oil men who patronized the gambling establishments
of organized crime. Scott included many of the connections between Ruby and organized
640
Peter Dale Scott, Deep Politics and the Death of JFK, (Berkley: University of
California Press, 1993), 7.
641
Scott, 4.
642
Scott, 19.
643
Scott, 127,
278