Welcome to Buster's Blog

Irregular commentary on whatever's on my mind -- politics, sports, current events, and life in general. After twenty years of writing business and community newsletters, fifteen years of fantasy baseball newsletters, and two years of email "columns", this is, I suppose, the inevitable result: the awful conceit that someone might actually care to read what I have to say. Posts may be added often, rarely, or never again. As always, my mood and motivation are unpredictable.

Buster Gammons















Sunday, April 6, 2014

Unlimited $ = Unlimited Corruption


On the brink of oligarchy:  

The Roberts Court is determined to unwind campaign finance laws.

The Citizens United decision unleashed unlimited dark money campaign contributions via Super PACs and bogus "social welfare" 501 c-4 non-profits like the Kochs' Americans For Prosperity and Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS.

The recent McCutcheon decision raised the individual campaign donation limit from $123,000 per election cycle to $3,600,000.

Justice "Silent" Clarence Thomas has written (because he never speaks) in favor eliminating any and all campaign spending limits.

Progressives howl; Conservatives rejoice.

With a straight face, wealthy Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) pooh-poohed the idea that the super-rich have been given carte blanche to buy elections and control the game, saying "Not a lot of people contributed $123,000" per election.

No shit, Robbie.  But the point is those same few can now pony up $3.6 million a throw, and many of them will do just that.  That's 30 times more per election than before.  And the GOP would have us believe that this won't be a significant change, won't make any difference.  Really?

Ya gotta hand it to the Republicans.  They're a disciplined bunch:  when they tell a lie, they tell it in unison.


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