Honestly, most people simply dont want to know. The problem with learning dirty truths is that for former "true beleivers", the truths can take a huge toll mentally. Even for a rational and logical person, the cognitive dissonance and compartmentalization that can be generated can be a large burden to work through.
>> "...a massive blackmail operation against elected officials."
This is my pet hypothesis too, and it's rarely mentioned.
Most governments whose inner workings have been exposed to the Western public (Khmer Rouge, Nazis, Soviets to some degree, others) have had many factionalized, competing intelligence organizations, all keeping dossiers on one another's chiefs and on everyone else occupying a position of power. There's no reason to think that our own governments aren't doing the same thing.
It's not too hard to imagine eg. a red state Senator toeing the party line on NSA funding, black budgets, or whistleblower punishment because he knows the pictures of him smooching a guy are one @nsa.gov email away from the front page of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A
my problem is now that pretty much the worst stuff i can think of is being done, what stuff are they doing that is beyond my imagination?