The person in charge of our Federal Election Commission says she has pretty much given up hope of regulating the 2016 election. That agency has been unable to reach a conclusion on any key vote, because they are perpetually locked in a 3-to-3 tie along party lines.
In an interview with the New York Times, FEC Chairwoman Ann M. Ravel said, “The likelihood of the laws being enforced is slim.” She's not even talking about dealing with new rules to address the massive level of corruption in our political system. She's saying that they can't even hold anyone accountable for violating the inadequate rules that are already on the books.
According to that recent piece in the Times, “Some commissioners are barely on speaking terms, cross-aisle negotiations are infrequent, and with no consensus on which rules to enforce, the caseload against violators has plummeted.”
So, the FEC recognizes that groups and individuals are violating election laws, but they can't get along long enough to do anything about that, let alone protect the integrity of our elections in 2016. This amounts to telling a thief that you're leaving the front door unlocked, and that you'll be too busy arguing with your neighbors to worry about who might get inside.
Since the earliest days of this great nation, protecting our democratic process has been paramount. Without the right of We, The People to select our representatives and decide on issues, this country would have been no different than the monarchies and dictatorships that came before our democratic republic. And, in the wake of the Supreme Court's disastrous Citizens United ruling, it's more important than ever that we hold people accountable when they violate the law.
It's the FEC's job to protect the integrity of our elections, and it's about time that we put pressure on that agency to make sure that they stop bickering and start doing their job.
-Thom
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Thom Hartmann Program
The caller who suggested that Bernie do a college tour was 'right on.' Free college could get a lot of enthusiastic supporters into the streets and polling places. Just describing Scandinavian socialism can open a lot of minds. A traveling show with Elizabeth Warren, Prof. Wolff, etc. WOW! Remember teach-ins?
Since Bernie will be going up against bails of money; he'll need lots of free labor to win the Presidency and Democratic majorities in Congress.