A few months ago, the United States Supreme Court made a grievous mistake. That mistake was to say that corporations have the same right as a person. This was in regard to how much money they could give to a candidate’s political campaign. This means that the average citizen wanting to back his candidate with funding could be square up against the largest corporations in the world. The super PACs, the super political action committees, need not be identified because the political action committee is supposed to be operating without the candidates’ guidance.
What a pile of monkey manure! No matter what your feelings are about this topic, left or right, this is blatantly unfair. This is century number 21 with the Internet and television … and not just your local TV. Most of us are watching satellite communications. If you don’t think money in this time and place gives a particular candidate a huge advantage, then you’re just plain stupid.
This presidential race will have billions of dollars spent on the two men running for that office … the sitting president, and the one-time governor of Massachusetts. I find it absolutely heart-breaking. The governor doesn’t want to be reminded of his record. It was so bad he wouldn’t run for a second term, yet he loudly calls out what he perceives as failures of the President.
Hitler said in “Mein Kompf,” “If you tell a big enough lie and you tell it more often, it will be believed.” What I find frightening is the American electorate being swept up in this “Big Lie” approach to elections. I’m not saying the president is correct in all these things and Gov. Romney is wrong, I’m saying that this amount of money puts a huge tear in what the founding fathers wanted for this country.
A lot of good men have worn the title of President of the United States. I can’t think of one of them from Ronald Reagan back down to George Washington who would think that this avalanche of money is going to help the country. I remember in the original “Godfather” movie the old Don sitting in his garden telling Michael he wanted him to be a governor or a senator. The old man could not see a difference between what he was and what he saw in the men who wore those titles.
I’m sorry to say that he just might be right. Buying the presidency, a term as governor, or any Senate race instead of letting the people know for what you stand, is an absolute, total failure in what was once a democracy.
Ronn Mott, a longtime radio personality in Terre Haute, writes commentaries for the Tribune-Star. His pieces are published online Tuesday and Thursday on Tribstar.com, and in the print and online editions on Saturday.
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RONN MOTT: Money and Politics
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