Tomorrow night, we'll see returns from the New Hampshire primary, the second contest in the Republican Presidential nomination. Most people think of this as an election, where voters go to the polls and select their preferred candidate. But I believe, and an increasing number of viewers believe, that our political system has become an auction in which the highest bidder wins.
If something about this election feels wrong to you, you're not alone. Here are ten facts about the political process that show why we need to end the auction by getting money out of politics. (Want to learn even more? I go in depth in my new book Greedy Bastards).
1) The Candidate With More Money Wins: From the 2008 elections: "In 93 percent of House of Representatives races and 94 percent of Senate races that had been decided by mid-day Nov. 5, 2008 the candidate who spent the most money ended up winning."
2) Congress's Main Job Is to Raise Money, Not Govern "Here is a general rule of thumb for US House incumbents. They need to raise roughly $10,000 a week started the day they are elected."
3) 48 Percent Say Most Members of Congress Are Corrupt "A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters believe that most members of Congress are corrupt. Just 28% disagree, and another 24% are not sure."
4) Voters Think That Cash is King "A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday indicates that 86 percent of the public thinks elected officials in the nation's capital are mostly influenced by the pressure they receive from campaign contributors."
5) No Trust in Elected Officials According to Pew Research less than 25% of people believe they can trust our government at all, particularly our elected officials.
6) Outsider Movements Are Quickly Coopted Headline: Tea Party House Members Even Wealthier Than Other GOP Lawmakers.
7) Faith in All Institutions Collapsing
- 83% say of American adults say they have less trust in "politics in general" than they
did 10 or 15 years ago;
- 79% say they have less trust in big business and major corporations;
- 78% say they have less trust in government;
- 72% report declining trust in the media.
- A surprising majority, 54%, "believe that my freedoms are being taken away."
Pew confirms this.
Gallup: Satisfaction with Government at All-time Low
Pew: Public Trust in Government: 1958-2010
8) People don't like horse race coverage. Meanwhile, distrust in media reaches all-time high. (Coincidence?)
9) Cash Determines Voting What shaped the House vote on the proposed Keystone Pipeline? Oil industry lobbying: "As important as the vote total in the House, however, was another number: within minutes of the vote, Oil Change International had calculated that the 234 Congressional representatives who voted aye had received $42 million in campaign contributions from the fossil-fuel industry; the 193 nays, $8 million."
10) The Middle Class Is Collapsing
As we watch our way of life change radically, as we see our great country consumed by corruption and greed, we must have our own debates about what to do.
You won't find these discussions in our presidential debates, dominated as they are by money that separates the voters from their candidates with a wall of cash. That's why those contests feel so empty.
The debates we need are the ones happening around tables all over the country. They're the ones I seek to host on my show. And they're the ones I wrote my book to support, offering a guide to this country's structural problems -- and solutions.
I'm profoundly hopeful about where these debates can take us, because I'm not the only one who wants a better way. We all do. And together, we'll make that better way a reality.
Check out GreedyBastards.com to learn more about why and how we need to get money out of politics to restore our republic.
Follow Dylan Ratigan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DylanRatigan
Fact: People work for those who pay them.
There is only one way for the the people to have representation -
the people and only the people, must pay for it.
Until, our votes have more value than money -
only money will be represented.
The financial profit from public service must be eliminated to return value to our votes.
REAL Americans are Public Servants not , BRIBE SOLICITERS.
.Today right after Public install a legislator the K street lobbyist come filling his/her pockets so that in short time this person is a millionaire and just in time to do Corporations bidding..
Americas jobs are leaving so fast one is not sure who is really left until we go to the store to buy products and realize that it is stamped CHINA or Indonesia or S. Korea...so what does America make these days? not much you see when there are people many thousands miles away who are joining THEIR industrial revolution they are willing to work for eighty eight cents - 6.59 a DAY...American can not compete with that. So we are kicked to the curb once again. We now find that General Electric CEO J. Immelt just sent 245,000 jobs to India and China. He is now packing up his X Ray Plant in Wisconsin bound for CHINA...When our Prez hired Mr. Immelt I believe the THRUST was to get AMERICANS WORKING MR
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php
#1 - The money is used to undermine democracy itself.
This occurs in three primary ways:
1) Contributors of large campaign funds expect reward, either by position with an executive administration or by implementation of the contributor's agenda.
2) Lobbyists are essentially bribing our representatives to represent their interests.
3) The money buy advertisements and talking-points air time. These both obscure and replace objective information, facts and analytical truth. Further, advertisement just plain works...it is very much like the performance of a Jedi Mind Trick on voters...and candidates are elected on false premises.
And this is important: it isn't happening. It has already happened.
It has been happening for forty years.
It is forty years since America was governed by a Representative Democracy. It is forty years since the money enabled a corporate executive bloodless coup...and the establishment of a Plutocracy. It is forty years since voters elected based on truthful information, evaluation of that information and a freely will decision to vote stemming from that evaluation.
Wall Street, for instance, has bought itself a good many congress-critters. We all know this. It's not the least bit confusing and no one is missing the forest for the trees.
The key is making sure our government truly represents us, and our interests. The money in politics has EVERYTHING to do with it.
The way to solve the problem of money in politics is not to pass more laws and regulations. You can't pass enough laws to stop the rich from controlling politicians, and you can't stop politicians from putting a "vote for sale" sign outside their office. The solution is to shrink government so people don't feel the need to spend that much money on politics.
and to let corporations have free reign. That's been tried, it doesn't work. Government is the only thing that can stand up to corporations.You want corporations to be able to burn coke? so they can make a bigger profit? they will if they have no regulation or meaningful enforcement.
It is not the government's job to protect the economy or stop people from losing money. the freedom to do good things comes with the freedom to do bad things. If we grant the government the power to stop people from doing things that you think are bad, what happens when it starts expanding those powers to things you are good? I know its the same question as above, but it deserves asking twice.
much more: http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20100124.htm
When a person is elected to position in American politics that is the day.........................
he / she starts CAMPAIGNING for next election..........what a joke
Remember: the consumer segment represents 70% of the US economy, so if you impoverish people, you wreck the economy.
Do you think any of these people are thinking beyond the next fiscal quarter? Think again! It's like the robbers want to strip the country of all the wealth the remains, and to Heck with everybody else.
Why do you think they want to get rid of SS and Medicare? Because there's a lot of $$$ in those programs and they want to pillage THAT $$ too!
Disgusting, and maybe it's too late to reverse...