The staggering economic inequality that has led Americans across the country to take to the streets in protest is no accident.

It has been fueled to a large extent by the GOP's all-out war on behalf of the rich.

The modern GOP has undergone a radical transformation, reorganizing itself around a grotesque proposition: that the wealthy should grow wealthier still, whatever the consequences for the rest of us.

Modern-day Republicans have become, quite simply, the Party of the One Percent – the Party of the Rich.

"The Republican Party has totally abdicated its job in our democracy, which is to act as the guardian of fiscal discipline and responsibility," says David Stockman, who served as budget director under Reagan.

"They're on an anti-tax jihad – one that benefits the prosperous classes."

READ THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-the-gop-became-the-party-of-the-rich-20111109