The huge political mess in the United States is largely a result of the way we finance elections. Special interests run the government. Here's a rant that sums it up:
Don't call it campaign finance any more. It's bribery: Baksheesh, graft, kickbacks, payola, extortion, fraud, slush funds, tribute. The good old USA has taken bribery to institutionalized levels the third world can only dream about.
Individual voters have been shut out of our democracy.
Why? Because money talks and the big money interests now are in a position to contribute far more to politicians than individual registered voters. It is institutionalized bribery,pure and simple.
Want to clean up the electronic voting fraud mess? Try competing with the big companies that funnel huge contributions through 'corporate associates' to parties and politicos, far more than you, Mr or Mrs Registered Voter,can scrape together.
Want to make sure our drugs and food are safe? Try competing with the big companies that produce drugs and food. Under our current system they will get what they want almost every time.
Much ballyhoo was raised over the McCain-Feingold election reform bill as a fixit for this American bribery problem, but it was only a band aid, and still leaves huge loopholes and wide open avenues for special interest groups to contribute dollars to the folks who write the laws of the land, and the Commander-in-Chief.
Think about this for a moment. Why on God's green earth, should multinational corporations, labor unions, the American Medical Association, The Trial Lawyers Association, Goldman Sachs, or the IBEW be allowed to contribute money to candidates and political campaigns? They are not human beings. They can't vote. So why are they allowed to donate money?
Shouldn't only individual voters be allowed to contribute to politicians and political campaigns, with reasonable limits imposed?
Why do our politicians spend millions of dollars getting elected? To raise money for political ads? Why do they have to pay for political ads? Why don't TV and Radio stations donate a reasonable amount of airtime to allow candidates to explain themselves to the voters? This is common in many other countries, but not the U.S. One reason may be the influence of the broadcasters and publishers, who make huge amounts of money (billions) off political ads.
Some have attacked efforts to reduce campaign contributions as an attack on freedom of speech. But since when does money equate with speech? Give me a million dollars to pass around and give him a good speech to deliver, and I will attract more interest with the money than he will with his speech. Money and speech are two different things. The big money interests run this country, not the voters. Our republic has been hijacked.
There has been much hand-wringing over voter apathy in recent years, but not so much honest coverage of the reasons.
First and foremost is the common attitude among citizens that elected politicians do not truly represent them any longer, so voting is a waste of time.
Some way to run a 'democracy' eh?
Want to make a difference? Raise hell. Support election reform initiatives. Exercise your right as a citizen. Look for groups like Common Cause that actually want honest and open government. And by all means, hold your nose, and vote. Every now and then a truly honest, sincere politician gets elected. It is the only alternative we have to tyranny.
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