The recent Supreme Court 5 to 4 ruling undoing hard fought campaign election reforms will have devastating consequences for this country. It has ushered in change, but not the kind of change many Americans imagined only a year ago. The ruling will allow corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money to support or defeat any candidate they choose. From this point on, what politician would ever dare take a controversial stand on anything against big business or unions lest they seal their political doom. The idea that the CEO’s of large banks, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, with their billions of dollars to influence elections have the same right to free speech as individual voters, seems not only foolish but horrific.
At a time when President Obama has declared war on big banks for paying out huge bonuses after being bailed out with taxpayer money, they are probably laughing at their good fortune and lining up their support for those candidates who will do their bidding in the mid-term elections. They now have the money WE gave them… to use on negative attack ads…lots and lots of those obnoxious half-truths and flat out lies. They will use their wealth and good fortune to bury any politician who would dare oppose them. Campaigns are now won and lost by who has the most money. Their number one target will be the one man who dared to call for change. The good ol’ boys hate change unless it is the kind of change that will give them even more wealth and power. With this Supreme Court ruling, we no longer have a nation of we the people. We have now become a nation of we the Corporations.
I see this ruling as one more nail in America’s coffin. Bitter partisan politics have stopped any hope of getting things done in Washington. Both sides have lost sight of the fact that America is made up of people, people who are hurting and out of work. America is made up of people who need health care reform, people who are trying to hold on to their hopes and dreams, but are losing their homes. Our infrastructure is crumbling around us and we are falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to education. We can spend money on war and big bank bailouts, but how dare we spend money on American infrastructure, education and those of us struggling on Main Street, USA. Washington continues to fiddle while our country burns and falls apart.
Only a year ago, I had such hope that both sides might somehow come together after 8 years of poor leadership that got us into two wars and made us one of the most despised nations in the world and a target for terrorists. This Supreme Court ruling was another step backward for Americans. It had nothing to do with freedom of speech. It was just the opposite. Money will more than ever determine who can run for office and what the candidates stand for. God help us all.
Food for THOUGHT…
