America Had a Fever; Now it’s on Life Support
I wrote the following in February of 2012 in an attempt to warn of the dangers of unlimited money in our political system. I’m afraid we’ve since lost one of our major parties to intractable corruption. Democrats are next unless we get a handle on this right now.
America’s political system is ill. It has been infected by greed and a lust for power. Maybe this infection is not a new one, but recent events have caused the patient to take a dramatic turn for the worse. The Supreme Court’s 5–4 ruling in the case of Citizens United v. FEC in 2010 unleashed such a massive influx of unregulated money into the electoral system that the survival of the republic is in doubt.
The symptoms of infection are clear and pervasive. One need only look at the field of remaining Republican presidential candidates to see where this disease will lead us. The four men currently vying for the GOP nomination are, to put it mildly, not of the caliber one might expect from a major political party in the wealthiest nation on earth.
Not one of them has the popular support that is normally required to prevail in a national contest. What they have, rather, is access to enough money to fund their campaigns for as long as they feel like running. When such large campaign war chests are built upon widespread popular support, then the interests of the people are protected. It is absolutely every citizen’s right to support his preferred candidate with his voice and to amplify that voice by making monetary contributions as he sees fit. However, when the vast majority of funding originates with a very few, and includes corporations and labor unions, the interests of the people are in peril. Those wealthy few have the ability to effectively drown out the voices of the poor and the middle class to such an extent that it becomes impossible to measure the true will of the majority.
This is not a road any reasonable person wants to travel. The voice of the people must be protected. So far, the Republican Party has felt the most dramatic effects from the Citizens United ruling as GOP voters, pundits and party leaders alike have repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the current field of candidates. However, it is only a matter of time before the Democratic Party begins to suffer as well. Already, President Obama has consented to allow Super PACs to raise and spend unlimited funds in support of his reelection. The power of this unregulated money is such that even those who are opposed to it must accept it for fear of being overwhelmed by opponents who have no such reluctance.
As dire as this situation is, however, it is not too late to find a cure. A few members of Congress have drafted legislation to impose reasonable limits on campaign finance. Candidates around the country have promised to take up the issue if elected. But they cannot win this fight alone. They need our support to overcome the tide of unregulated money working against them.
It is for this purpose that Citizens Benighted was created. We the people must come together to make our voices heard before it is too late. We must stand united and support those candidates who understand the importance of this issue. We may not attract the kind of money that flows from the wealthy few, but we will do everything in our power, with whatever money we receive, to level the playing field and prevent our voices from being lost for good.
— Citizens Benighted PAC, February 24, 2012
