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| "Kiss my ring, sonny!" |
Money has always been a part of politics and always will be. But in case you haven't been watching, the formula has been changing over the past few years. The corruption, the perversion, of the democratic process now comes not from money itself but from the really BIG money, the off-the-charts money. We're at the point where just a handful of people with self-serving personal agendas exert ridiculously out-sized influence over politics, public affairs and society as a whole.
Sheldon Adelson spent $100 million in the last presidential election cycle. He's vowed to do more in 2016. He desperately wants to be a king-maker.
Charles and David Koch spent $400 million last time, most via their nefarious network of 501-C-3's, like Americans For Prosperity. They're ready to step it up, too.
So far in the current 2014 mid-term elections cycle, Americans for Prosperity has run 17,000 TV ads across the country. Actual Republican Party groups have run 2,100.
In the 2012 presidential race, both candidates combined took in almost $2 billion in campaign contributions. President Obama took in slightly more than Mitt Romney, but it was fairly evenly split. The average donation to Obama was under $100. The average Romney donation was over $1000.
We're closer to genuine American oligarchy than we've ever been. We're making the "Gilded Age" look like a bunch of five-and-dime pikers. Only an organized, large-scale, grass-roots political movement can stop it. Sooner or later, it'll happen. It always does.
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| Mr. & Mrs. Adelson. You'd think $37 billion could buy a couple decent haircuts, but apparently not. |
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