As the old saying goes, “Money is the mother’s milk of politics.” Assuming that to be true, , the question then becomes, what does mega money do to politics?, i.e. mega money in the form of undisclosed million dollar donations to SuperPacs, which are supposedly independent of political candidates. Will such an infusion of cash to mega money pacs sour that mother’s milk, and sound the death knell for our American political system as we know it?
The challenge we face involves the kind of money which is rooted in a form of Sorcery, trying to cast magical spells over an unsuspecting electorate. Under the Super pac system, we never really know who is churning and turning the wheels behind the powerful veneer of that great and glorious wizard of mass media, advertising. For all we know, “Citizens for a brighter tomorrow” could be funded by the American Association of Witches, Wizards and Warlocks. Their true identity is inscrutable. They poison the process, and diminish voter participation,. They succeed in denigrating an opponent to such an extent that survival is almost impossible after being “carpet bombed” by their Super Pac ad blitzkreig. Negative campaign ads work. Sadly, but inevitably, this will lead us to government not of , by, and for the people, but government of , by, and for the Oligarchs.
Oligarchy. I know. It sounds a bit queer. Like a mythical word from a bygone era...Oligarchy...a governmental system run by a small group of very rich men who manipulate the electoral process to their own ends, and whose agenda , not the agenda of the American electorate, predominates. We are clearly on the road to Oligarchy, if we aren’t there already.
It is as if we have been taken over by a group of powerful dragons whose mystical monied manipulation of the common folk is undertaken by the fire breathing force of mammon which has become their archer. If a small group of billionaires can buy our elections, our democracy is at an end. We will be left with the illusion of a democratic system which is in fact controlled by the masters of the SuperPac world, whose hegemony will be unbridled, and whose dominance of the political system will be complete.
Wittingly or unwittingly, the USSC has paved the way for this tragic scenario with it's rulings in Citizens United and Buckley v. Valeo, which hold , inter alia, that money is equivalent to free speech and that corporations are people whose political voice cannot be shackled by restraint on the gross expenditure of money to further whatever corporate goals they champion.
It is a sinister and unparalleled perversion of our political system, and it cannot go unchallenged. The highest court in this country is directly responsible for this travesty, and only that court can save us from the fate which they have consigned us to. A constitutional amendment might be the long term solution, but we can't wait that long to face the demons that this decision has unleashed. Immediate action , and intervention by the courts is necessary to stop this dragon like behemoth before it fissures and cracks the very foundation of the Commonweal.
It is pure folly to think that these Super Pacs are independent of the Presidential campaigns. It is clear that their actions are highly connected and any Prosecutor worth half a grain of salt could get to the bottom of this charade with a few subpoenas and a Grand Jury empanelment. Why wait until after the election? Why not act now,? What magic can we summon to slay these demons before their dastardly deeds are done, and we are subservient to their every whim?
How can we unmask them for what they are, and seek to enjoin their expenditures as violative of not only the spirit and intent of the law, but it's actual prohibitions as well? The courts are the answer. If we have to get an expedited hearing before the Supreme Court on the legality of such Mega Money Super Pacs as constituted, prior to the election, so be it. Our system has moved quickly before to decide momentous issues in a matter of weeks , instead of months and years. In support of that argument, I need only cite one case.... Bush v Gore 2000 !
An expedited investigation is not only justified, but duly warranted by the dire straits our democratic system finds itself in. Who will step up to the plate, to save the Republic? Will you answer the call AG Eric Holder, or leave it to one of the state AG's like Bo Biden or Eric Schneiderman? Someone needs to slay this dragon soon before the Oligarchic trolls hold sway and have it entirely their way. It’s just that simple.
What say you Attorneys General? There is precious little time to waste.
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