Matt Bors for April 09, 2014

Over $1 BILLION spent on Hope and Change campaign.

In many letters exchanged between the first several Presidents of this nation, Washington through Adams expressed their concern of what would happen to our Republic if money should become the most important tool in choosing candidates for the legislation and Presidency. These “ends justifies means” candidates are quick to quote the parts of our founders’ ideas that promote “their” side, but turn away quickly from anything in those views, as well as the views of the Bible, that is not part of their partys’ platforms.This is a bipartisan abuse.Another sad aspect of allowing wealthy donors to influence the campaigns of any state they wish is jobs. Billionaires are called “Job Creators”, but when they work to get pet politicians into office, the only jobs created are printing offices, radio advertising, television advertising, and newspaper/magazine advertising. Nothing permanent is created and the paper products go to land fills and biased hirelings go to legislative offices in their states and D.C.It would not be hard to draw comparisons between the French Nobility just prior to the revolution and our own society. Those who have are increasingly self serving and resentful of what the founders and the Jesus the wealthy and politicians allegedly use as role models called their duty to the poor. As our society continues to decline and hopelessness and desperation rises, shootings will increase as will crime. As drought and floods continue to cause havoc with crops, food prices will rise. And the only thing the politicians of both parties seem willing to do is serve their donors, and incite their bases.There are lessons we could learn from history, and lessons to learn from the scientists and professors of society in our present, but as long as we insist on protecting the one to four extreme views we hold, we will never work together to fix the many things on which we agree. Most importantly, as long we allow the politicians and talking heads of the media to divide us and make us hateful, rude, and disrespectful to our neighbors and countrymen, we forfeit the right to call our selves, “the land of the free, and the home of the brave.”We must first have the courage to show each other respect.Respectfully,C.

Walker, walking on the backs of citizens. Yeah, that’s about right.

Where does the money go?Is it to the media’s stockholders?

And, they are going to keep right on doing it until we stop them. We are the 99%—- that means we have the votes to elect people who will actually represent middle class workers and provide a safety net for those who are trying to get into the middle class.We all need to know who is supporting the candidates. That is who they will be working for. They have no choice if they want to stay in office. You have to do the bidding of whoever is paying your way, just the same as we all do in our jobs. So, before going to vote, look it up on the internet. Open Secrets is a good site, but there are plenty.If the candidate is getting their money from small donors or from unions, they are going to be working for middle class working people. If their donations are from corporationsor from 1%ers, don’t figure they are going to go against them and do anything for the middle class.It would be political suicide.

The right wing media orchestrates its’ lies. Limbaugh says something outlandish, and the talking heads on Faux repeat it with “some people are saying” as a reference to prove it’s validity. Repeated often enough to people who watch and believe nothing that isn’t on Faux news, it becomes their reality. Consequently, they “want” what the right wing media manipulates them into wanting.

Then change the process so money isn’t the primary factor. Make elections truly populist. That is, to get elected a candidate needs 50%1 votes (at a minimum) of the entire eligible voting population.This would mean if 45% of the eligible voters showed up at the polls nobody gets elected. You have to have 50%1 minimum.That in turn would mean that individuals and groups would have political power equal to their number of votes not equal to their cash. Politicians would stop looking at small cash rich special interests because they can’t deliver votes in quantity.The nice thing is fringe candidates running in a mainstream party (like Obama) could never get elected. It would be a candidate that had the broadest appeal to voters that would.

Too close to the truth.

The amazing (and sad) thing is that Republicans/Fox “news” viewers are not only perfectly comfortable with this situation, they actually believe this is the way the Founding Fathers wanted it.

This is really for all to read. Below, I paste one paragraph of an article written for the Washington Post some weeks ago, by STEIN RINGEN, author and Professor Emeritus at Oxford University. Definitely relevent to this discussion.

In the age of mega-expensive politics, candidates depend on sponsors to fund permanent campaigns. When money is allowed to transgress from markets, where it belongs, to politics, where it has no business, those who control it gain power to decide who the successful candidates will be — those they wish to fund — and what they can decide once they are in office. Rich supporters get two swings at influencing politics, one as voters and one as donors. Others have only the vote, a power that diminishes as political inflation deflates its value. It is a misunderstanding to think that candidates chase money. It is money that chases candidates

BrassOrchid: Back when unions were not only permitted, but protected by law, the total assets of all the unions, from local to international, combined was 5% that of General Motors, then the largest corporation. Now that anyone can be fired and blacklisted for saying “union” and international corporations get tax-payer money to bribe governments, you say that nonsense. Wasn’t math part of your studies?

The important thing is that shills get paid. What would America be without shills’ sacrifices for our freedom?