Who will you vote for this year: Big Oil, Big Casinos, or Wall Street?
By louisehartmann
Billionaire hedge fund manager – and primary contributor to Rick Santorum’s Red, White, and Blue SuperPAC – Foster Friess let the truth slip out about politics in this post-Citizens United age during an interview with Politico. Friess was among several billionaires who attended the Koch brothers secret meeting last month where over a hundred million dollars was pledged to beat President Obama.
Trying to get other oligarchs on the side of Rick Santorum – Friess said, “There isn’t a person at the Koch brothers events who would not get a good return on their investment by investing in [Santorum] as president, because of what they believe about the free enterprise system.” The key word there: investment. These aren’t campaign contributions – these are investments that millionaires and billionaires are making to keep their tax breaks, their subsidies, and their lax regulations in place.
We no longer have actual people running for President – we have a few very, very rich people like Friess and the Kochs investing in stooges to do their bidding – and hoping to see major returns in their bank accounts. So who will you vote for this year? Big Oil, Big Casinos, or Wall Street?
Comments
#2
Since our politics now belong to the rich, I think it's time we cut out the middle man. Instead of investing in campaigns, these rich SOB's should go directly to the voters. So, to get that ball rolling, I am auctioning off my vote for the 2012 election to the highest bidder. I will vote for whomever the highest bidder instructs me to vote for. Bidding ends August 7 (my birthday); payment to be deposited in my account no later than August 31. Minimum opening bid: $50,000,000.00. If every American voter follows my lead we can all retire...comfortably. This is going to be a FUN election 8-))
#3
It will be a year of, not "who to vote for, but who to vote against". We will have to start at the bottom and change the laws to outlaw this nonsense and give the law a mandatory life at hard labor sentence for bribery on both sides, giver and taker.
#4
For President I always vote Green Party. This is to register my refusal to vote for the two-party dictatorship of the Corporate Feudal States of the American Brand of Fascism.
I have voted in every Presidential election since 1972 and have never voted for a Republican or Democrat for President.
For Congress I can usualy vote in my very progressive district for the Democrat without holding my nose. It has been Lynn Woolsey, and I hope Norman Solomon gets the Democratic nomination so I can vote for him.
#5
Obama for alll the reasons Melissa Harris-Perry gives and because I like the family. He can't get elected without prostituting himself and I accept that because he is better than anyone else to help keep the country from total self-destruction. I am angry at the Democratic party bigwigs for being sissies for 20 years. The party leaders are shameful. the only one I liked was Dean. I am 77 and paid attention to the changes over the past 30 years. We have seen the power of a failiing education system in the ignorance of the electorate. I will continue to dream of the country I thought I was born into, knowing that was a dream too.
#6
Ron Pal is the only man qualified to be in office. One could say, Ron Paul is Thomas Jefferson...
#7
To be a Republican today, one must be Rich, Cruel, or Ignorant, and they are not mutually exclusive.
#8
Ron Paul gets it right on foreign policy and some civil liberties. But his "free market" policies will continue our move towards a corporatocracy. He's hardly Thomas Jefferson who wrote: "I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
Ron Paul's philosophy will just continue the corporatization of America. We need democracy, not corporatocracy.
#9
Why of course, I will vote for president Barrack Obama. I am terrified of any Republican they are presenting to the country. It is ugly.
I would love to see our pres get a few more yrs. I believe he is a good person under "Their thumb" and oh well, conspiracies been going on a long, long time. Bless you Thom Hartman,
'love what you and Louise do, Debbie
#10
Yes!!
#11
I look at it this way, it's pretty clear President Obama is an obstacle to the Koch brothers and if they with a few of their accomplices are willing to fork over more than a hundred million dollars to defeat him then he must be doing something right, so he's got my vote. The teabag "house of Norquist" is the real problem that needs to be dealt with in the election. Time for these 1%ers to pack up their pencils and condoms and go back to full time country clubbin!
#12
Quote Berry:Ron Pal is the only manI think it depends a lot on people like Berry, whether they will understand until November.....
We urgently need to get the House back, to prevent more gridlock and more damage like the GOP-caused U.S. credit rating downgrade.
The Republicans really gridlock to keep blaming president Obama he wouldn't do enough. This is like standing on the breaks while blaming the driver for not driving. Barack Obama will go on as president anyway, but he needs a decent basis in Congress too. Otherwise the GOP will go on gridlocking -- for example the president's goal to reduce nuclear weapons.
Ron Paul won't be the GOP nominee anyway. The only question is: Will the Ron Paul freaks not vote at all, because they will be kinda heartbroken in November? I think they should ponder this question today. It is fatal not to vote against the GOP, if you're not a convinced right-winger!
#13
That the Koch brothers and other conservative Corporate Lords hate Obama is about the only good reason to vote for Obama. Sadly there are so many "liberal" Corporate Lords behind Obama that it is just a game of thrones as to which Corporate Lords will rule?
#14
Obama is not president in heaven -- he has to live with the rules on earth. And in an already corporatistic America...... I thank God for any of those "liberals" who donate to not get into an absolutist corporatocracy!
#15
Well George, it seems you are proving my thoughts of what it takes to be a democrat--progressive--liberal. The only requirement is to be a name caller.
#16
I can understand why a rich person would vote Republican because the Republican Party supports the Rich, as evidenced for example, by the low tax rates for the privilaged. But I cannot understand why a poor working person would vote Republican against their own best self interest or against my best interest unless, of course, they fall into being ingnorant or cruel.
#17
Quote George Reiter:...why a poor working person would vote Republican against their own best self interest...Partly it's rather phlegma than ignorance. It's interesting to study my father, who is actually pretty smart. But he always hated to be told this wasn't good for him and it would be healthier to do that. Well at least he doesn't smoke, but smokers are a pretty good example too. They aren't all stupid and many of them know very well that smoking is fatal. There are a lot of people who are used to do crazy and unhealthy things -- like voting vor Republicans.
#18
The Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas is very speaking.
I suppose they rebel against Michelle Obama's health food offensive, serving "Bypass Burgers" under the slogan:
"Taste worth dying for!"
Last week a man suffered a heart attack there, while eating a Triple Bypass Burger. He survived. From now on he hopefully will be one of our First Lady's followers, in November voting for Obama of course.
The rest will go on rebelling against the healthy "nanny state", eat junk food and vote for GOP, until they get their heart attack....
Kind regards,
Nanny Clarissa
#19
Thanks, I agree. There is another ingredient to the Republican agenda. Here is a quote from President Truman’s Sept 18, 1948 address at the Dexter, Iowa National Plowing Match which he said about the Republicans: "If you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em."
#20
Yes George, you can't convince someone like mauiman58; I just try to beat them in a way that proves them wrong in front of the eyes of the rest of the world. To confuse right-wingers is fairly easy, for they have so many thinking barriers. Actually you confuse them automatically if you think very openly, dragging them over their own restriction's limits. If you do that in a joky manner, it's even more confusing. We should always have the last laughs on the national stage of this campaign year -- as I pretty much learned by listening to Stephanie Miller. ;O)
Happy Presidents' Day!
___________________________
P.S.: What a pity mauimann isn't coming back! I actually want to recommend the lyrics of Gershwin's good old song I GOT RHYTHM to him....... To be more precise: I mean the bridge.......
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RE: Who will you vote for this year...
Who ever the Democratic and Republican establishment offer up to us. Either way, it's a win-win for the 1%!