Fewer than four hundred families are responsible for almost half the money raised in the 2016 presidential campaign, a concentration of political donors that is unprecedented in the modern era.And then there's the concentrate from which they make concentrate: A mere 130 families provide the real juice behind the clowns who make up the GOP field. Mike Huckabee (for example) is getting much of his money from poultry magnate Ronald Cameron, who has strong ties to the Kochs. Cameron must really love Huck, since he has never given that kind of money before.
This report underscores the need for campaign finance reform. Alas, reform will never be tolerated by this Supreme Court. That's why I feel that you should support the Democrats as strongly as possible in this election cycle, even if you must do so with a clothespin permanently affixed to your nostrils. I'm not saying that a Democratic president will definitely put the right kind of person on the Court; I'm saying that a Republican definitely will not.
If the mega-rich can afford to spend this much on rigging the political system, then they can certainly afford to pay more in taxes.
1 comment:
There can be no reform as long as nothing is done about Buckley v. Valeo, which would probably require a constitutional amendment specifically giving Congress the power to regulate campaign contributions (and preferably expenditures as well). Probably not even then, since most of Congress is now beholden to special interests and would be reluctant to pass any such legislation.
Post a Comment