This is what HLI had to say about priests. Later he said the Clintons are "Kings"
The major power factions in the world are analogous to dark priests, good priests, kings, and (in theory) meritocracies.
Dark priests - these people believe that beauty emerges from contrast. Evil is necessary for good kind of thing. They are not necessarily pro-evil, but pro-contrast.
Kings - generally less intelligent than dark priests. Much of their code of behavior derives from a belief in the past that you need a slave class to sustain an enlightened class.
Meritocracy - they believe in something similar to democratic rule, but only with votes for the initiated, because the masses are hopeless.
Us - we're more interested in the emperor without clothes effect. The exercise of power has always come with a stifling of dissent and dangerous dips into psychosis. We try to undermine this tendency more than anything else.