Will the billionaires buy another election?
By Thom Hartmann A...
You need to know this…The 2014 midterm elections are officially the most expensive midterm elections in American history. According to the Center for Responsive Politics around $3.67 billion will be spent this election cycle - beating out the previous record of $3.63 billion spent in the 2010 midterms.
To put that number in perspective, CNN estimates that if all the money spent on the midterms was spent on something else - it would be enough to build and operate 100 Ebola treatment centers in Africa.
It would also be enough to fund the K through 12 education of 12,000 American kids - or enough to buy 25 fighter F-18 fighter jets to help in the fight against ISIS. If it wasn’t already obvious before - it should be now.
We have the best democracy money can buy - and if there’s one story about this election cycle that everyone should be talking about - it’s that. Yes - the possibility of a Republican takeover of the Senate gets all the headlines - but the fact that billionaires like the Koch Brothers can now throw money at whatever race they want without any checks on their spending whatsoever is even more important - especially when you look at the big picture of what’s really going on here.
What we’re seeing with all the record-breaking spending in this year’s midterms isn’t an accident - it’s the perfection of the brave new world of money in politics.
The Supreme Court opened the floodgates four years ago with Citizens United - and then it opened them a bit a more with its McCutcheon decision earlier this year. This gave the right-wing money machine power like it never had before - and now - in 2014 - that machine has fine-tuned its strategy - creating a monster.
As the New York Times pointed out this weekend, spending from shadowy outside groups has skyrocketed over the past few weeks - giving a boost to GOP senate candidates all across the country.
Many of these shadowy groups didn’t even exist just a few months ago - and have only popped up in the days and weeks leading up to Election Day. Because of this - we may not know where these groups get their money until long after voters go the polls tomorrow.
In Kentucky - meanwhile - Mitch McConnell - who could be majority leader come January - is stretching what little campaign finance rules we DO have to their limits by openly working with Super PACs that support his reelection.
All this is a sign of a truly broken political system - but the mainstream media - especially mainstream cable news - could care less.
Sure - CNN will run stories on its website about how expensive the 2014 election cycle is - but make no mistake: the network will never - ever take its focus off horse race politics long enough to give campaign finance the coverage it deserves.
After all - where do those billions go? Right into the coffers of TV stations and networks!
So none of the national or local media has any interest in pointing out to us how badly corrupted our political system is now by all that money. And - in the long term - that might be just as damaging for our democracy as Super PACs are right now.
Don't let the billionaires buy another election. Get out and vote, and show the world that We The People have the real power.
Comments
#2
Alice, intellectual elitism is not the only alternative to anti intellectualism, that would be a false dichotomy. The blue collar worker must speak for her or himself and lead their own movement just like women must speak for themselves and lead their own movement and racial minorities and others must do the same. No one can presume to speak for anybody else, - except maybe PETA.
Chauvinism, by intellectuals is reprehensible and is a bourgeuois class exploitation.. They have no superiority and most commonly lack worldly knowledge which makes their putative, theory bound lives suspect. They have as much to learn from the blue collar worker as vice-versa. In a more just world - and there are living examples of this - the blue collar worker would have a developed intellect and the intellectual would get their hands dirty so as for there to be no meaningful distinction between the two.
#3
Mauiman2, only by a great stretch was that fair and square. What you really mean is, "So long suckers!"
#4
Ou812, if Democrat PACs in Maryland outspent the Republicans then, again, that is anomolous. Democrats couldn't outspend Republicans even if they wanted to, in most cases. Unions don't have money like they used to with the process of organizing legally so stacked against them and the rinky dink non for profits depending on either grants or member dues don't have any money.
What you, Ou812, and the rest of you fraudulent righties fail to mention is that the American public is uninformed and willfully disinformed, in large part thanks to a complicit advertizer driven, big business media that never mentions the absolutely unnprecedented, over the top obstructionism by Republicans (What is it by now, 600+ filibusters in the Senate when the usual number is less than 10? Along with an absolute refusal on the part of wild extremist Republicans in the House to consider any legislation that might help the economy or the country in any way just because they know the disinformed public will blame the president for the inaction.) Such a willingness to harm the nation for their own political ends is just wild. Of course, they only care about 1% of the nation and are in a war to enslave the rest of us for the purposes of that one percent.
Did you ever consideer, Ou812, that this isn't a game, that this is serious. The well being of the nation is at stake and you're not supposed to be trying to strike out the president but work with him to govern for the well being of the people?
With all that is the old, Lee Atwater politics of division to foment hate toward relatively powerless groups of minority - in cowardly bullying racisms, homophobias and other intolerances - so that people then vote against someone else rather than for themselves and cut their own throats in the blindness of hate and animosity.
That and voter suppression, Thom mentioned something interesting today. In a number of states where Republicans won by a close margin the number of votes they won by was exceeded by the number of people (of color, of youth, of poverty or other likely Democratic voters) turned away from the polls for not having I.D. or because of Dick Morris's fraudulent name matching/repeat voter scam that affected 3.5 million voters in North Carolina and two other states or whatever other schemes you disgusting frauds could cook up.
Don't you or Mauiman ever talk to me about winning fair and square, you know damn well you could never win fair and square. You gotta cheat your asses of every time - or you wouldn't win diddly!
#5
Saulys you have no idea what you're talking about. That's OK, cause as long as you think you are smarter than everyone else, you'll continue to lose. You'll continue to do the same thing that doesn't work over and over. 9 months ago I told you Union membership would decrease from what it was in 2013. You have three months left, and Union membership is decreasing. Keep doing the same thing Saulys. How has it worked for you so far?
#6
Ou812, it's you who doesn't know what you're talking about. Of course union membership is decreasing but it's not because people don't want to join unions. That's tantamount to saying they don't want good wages, good working conditions or job security.
It's because in a third of organizing campaigns someone is illegally fired for taking part but the laws against that are not enforced. It's because the proccess of organizing a union shop, as it is currently, allows for a lot of threats and intimidation by the employer and, in general, gives the employer too much in an imbalance of power. That's why the Employee Free Choice Act was proposed - even if it was scuttled by moneyed interests (an imbalance of power is cyclical, if you don't have power you can't get power and if you can't get power you don't have power and so on.).
Read this report http://web.wm.edu/so/tlsc/orgmaterials/Busting.pdf of a study by colleagues of mine. I know something about this, I've done labor organizing since I was 17.
We'll likely continue to lose as long as people vote with dollar bills in this country.
Sorry if I make you feel stupid.
#7
Saulys quite the opposite you make me feel brilliant compared to you. As you and I both know union membership is declining. How do you respond to declining membership. You blame others (like the ballplayer who couldn't get a hit saying he wouldn't give me anything to hit) and use the same old methods that have failed in the past. Really smart Saulys :)).
#8
It seems modern Amercian politics, regardless of political party, is about the rich buyin elections and pushing the opportunity of average Americans to run for office further out of their reach. This simply reinforces control of the corporate elite's control over the government. If we can't get serious campaign finance reform, then we should, at least, get term limits to mimimize the damage.
#9
Ou812, you never can get it. Most people who work for some rich asshole prefer to belong to a union (duh!), they, quite obviously, prefer to have some power to decide what their working life will be like. You right wing pigs only proved that elections can be bought - and the one place that didn't seem to happen, some anomolous case in Maryland, doesn't outweigh the massive bulk of proof of that obvious fact.
You tell me, if you feel so brilliant and are critical of our methods, what methods would work and lead to our success. I am quite critical myself of the methods my own side employs, as I have expressed on this blog. Some of it comes, ultimately, from the corrupting power of money on our own people. I think our side would, in fact, benefit from following my advice. I'm not sure, though, that some of our people want to succeed that much. They might rather have the money. Sold out again.
#10
If Democratic candidates want to win they need to get out their and present solutions. This election was nothing but negative ads. If they want to win they shouldnt be running from the Presidents policies that have been working even with this much opposition. They should be putting out informative commercials showing in laymans terms not only their policies but also educating the public on how jobs are created. These mis informed people that believe tax cuts and deregulation are all that we need will continue to preach that idiotic mantra unless they are shown otherwise.
#11
Saulys,
An awful lot of anomalous cases occurred last Tuesday:)). Three jump to mind. The Democrat states of MD, MA and your home state of Illinois:). There's probably more, but I don't feel like doing the research, because it makes no difference, it was a Republican tsunami.
As far as what would work to increase union membership, there isn't a pancenia. One thought leaps to mind though is clean up the corruption in the unions. Unions are a greater problem to there membership than management. Look at the newest companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft etc. The provide their employees much more than a union ever will. On site daycare, membership in management committees, great pay, great benefits, etc etc. If you really want to increase membership asked the potential members what they like. Get over the blame game you guys like to play. I mean really, who cares who is to blame. I'm going into a rant and I don't like rants, so I'm done.
#12
Mark -
I know you asked someone else, but I'll butt in my response. What can Progressives do to win? Give up the social agenda, and focus just on the economic one.
Also, most Conservatives aren't anti union. We're anti public-sector unions. Suppose there's a low-wage person making $20K per year. They have kids. Those kids go to a horrible school. Now tell that low-wage parent that their child's teachers make three to five times what the parent makes, and can't get fired even if their product stinks, and (here in IL at least), property taxes have to go up to pay for education. What do you think the parent thinks: "Schools need more money?" or "Fucking union asshole teachers, why are we paying them for a product they aren't delivering?"
#13
I agree with you on the Kochs, but what about other billionares like Bloomberg who did exactly that in Washington?
#14
Reply to #2” Mark, I never suggested blue collar workers shouldn’t have their own movement and speak for themselves. I happen to believe intellectuals have a place in progressive politics. How about some examples of the chauvinism you keep referring to?
However I agree that blue collar workers and intellectuals would have a lot to learn from each other.
On another topic, I don’t know why you or anyone bothers with OU812. But it sure is amusing to read your responses to her inane anti-union BS. I’m sure the outcome of this election has her feeling pretty damn smug. - AIW
#15
In the MA 6th, it was the candidate with the most money from individual contributions that won. The incumbent had just as much or more money, but the challenger received money from many more people.
It was like an accurate poll. People voted for the person they gave the donation to.
#16
Matt, that's just divisive politics that Repugs sow and needs to be resisted. Teachers deserve decent compensation and so do the parents. Their lonely misery shouldn't say, "I want them as bad off as me!" it should say, "where's mine?"
#17
Ou812, the other examples you mentioned are not anomolous. They are standard examples of bought elections.
Yes union corruption is a big problem - part of what I was referring to - but even as they are they are better than nothing. Show me something better. Highly skilled workers like at Apple and Micriosoft are not blue collar workers any more than doctors or lawyers are. They are highly skilled professionals and don't need, so much, combination and unification with their fellows to gain bargaining power. However, in the future they might. Here in Chicago doctors in the Cook County Hospital system are salariedf employees and recently decided to form a labor union to better bargain with their employer.
#18
Matt, that's just divisive politics that Repugs sow and needs to be resisted
The Democrats are the poster children for divisive politics. "War on women", race-bating, class envy, etc...
Teachers deserve decent compensation and so do the parents
How much is good? What's the minimum anyone should make? What's the maximum?
I keep hearing that teachers must be paid more in order to attract better talent. (Keep in mind I am myself a teacher, albeit at a private, non-union school.) The average full-time teaching position, according to my friend who works for CPS, has between 400-600 applicants. That's for one position. I think they're not having any problems attracting talent.
And what about results? Should teachers who get miserable results get compensated just as well as teachers who get great results? Does there ever come a point where, after generations of failure, we quit throwing money at a problem, and start thinking outside the box.
Giving parents the freedom to choose their children's schools is a start. If a parent wants to send their kid to a successful private school, rather than a failing public school, that parent should be able to direct their tax dollars into that school.
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Reply To Saulys:
I will stipulate the election was only partially publicly financed. Hogan the Republican candidate chose to use public funds, Brown the Democrat, chose not to use public funds, because taking them would have limited his spending. The Democrats out spent the Republicans at a 4:1 ratio. PAC funds are still being calibrated, but I guarantee the Democrats received more than the Republicans. Maryland is a one party state (Democrat) and they (Democrats) expect homage to be paid in the former of contributions.
In Maryland we have two large TV (media) markets. The Baltimore market and the DC market are by far the largest. Each has ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC plus several PBS stations. The Baltimore market, in size of audience and ratings, Fox is fourth behind ABC, CBS and NBC. I'm not sure, but I believe the DC market is the same.
The other two much smaller markets are Salisbury on MD's eastern shore, ABC, CBS, PBS, and Hagerstown in Western MD. NBC. So you see Fox doesn't have much presence in MD. (Not that its presence would make a difference)
What you and the rest of the washed up lefties fail to see is this election is a repudiation of Obama and the Democrats inability to govern. For Democrats to blame their failures on Republican obstruction is like a hitter in Baseball saying I didn't get a hit because the pitcher wouldn't throw pitches I could hit. Citizens don't want excuses, they want results.