Henry - Influence of Corporate Cash is Just Insane
Posted
Reg Henry-
Money makes the world go round. Or is it love that makes the world go round? Or is it astrophysical forces unleashed at the creation of the planet that make it go round? It is a bafflement. But one thing for certain is that money is what makes the political world go round and then go haywire. After all, love has got nothing to do with the political world, except perhaps that the love of money is the root of all evil. And the only astrophysical forces involved in politics are the various obsessed lunatics in perpetual but erratic orbit. As if the tide of money wasn't already drowning democracy, the Supreme Court in 2010 further opened up the sluice gates of sewage with the infamous Citizens United case, which junked campaign finance rules limiting corporations (and unions) from making independent political expenditures close to elections. Corporations were held to be like real citizens when it comes to First Amendment rights. So, in November, if you see a corporation or union trying to vote in the next booth, you will know that the logic of the case has come to full flower. We can only hope that poll workers will make corporations show their personal IDs like many of us are now required to do. After all, what is good for the goose is good for Gander Worldwide Inc. Well, perhaps I exaggerate the threat a little because hyperbole is the nudity of the English language -- it gets people's attention. But it is still amazing that the court concluded "that independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption." Oh, perish the very thought. Still, the ripple effect of the ruling has been to encourage infusion of a ton more money into politics, so now every politician looks like Minnie Pearl on the old "Hee Haw" TV show, with price tags on their hats. At least the price of Minnie Pearl's hat was only $1.98; politicians require much more than that to cover their shame and enhance their chances. More and more, the agents of special interests roam the land responding to the general cry, "Get your politicians here. Buy them nice and fresh. We have plump juicy ones for sale." Yes, if naivete were an Olympic sport, Team Supreme Court would have received gold medals for the mental back flips that produced such a ruling. But thank goodness the money-grabbing politicians are neither corrupt nor give the appearance of corruption. And thank goodness the Tea Party folks have risen as one to keep democracy and their beloved Constitution free of the taint of political money, not that it is visible. At this point, some readers may have detected a slight hint of sarcasm entering the text. That is unfortunate. Certainly, I do not mean to blame the Supreme Court for what is our collective predicament, because I feel strongly that it is wrong to pick on anyone who is elderly and/or out of touch.
