I remember reading a book in college, a required reading book, actually, entiltled "Drmocracy for the Few" by Michael Parenti. This book opened many eyes to the ugly realities of American politics. Since then, I have read many more books about the nature of democracy in the US. Over the years I have had many heated battles, especially around elections, with people who hang on so tightly to their illusions, "You gotta vote, man! Or else the other dude will win and we'll be worse off!" "If you don't vote, you have no right to complain!"..and on & on....I have stopped arguing and now just shake my head in pity. Voting is critically important on a level playing field, no doubt. But we don't have a level playing field, so what's the point? George Carlin said it best:
"I have solved this political dilemma in a very direct way: I don't vote. On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, 'If you don't vote, you have no right to complain,' but where's the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain. I, on the other hand, who did not vote -- who did not even leave the house on Election Day -- am in no way responsible for that these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that you created."
The Koch brothers. Citizens United. "Dark money." Billionaire sugardaddies. A Republican takeover of Congress. The McCutcheon decision. We're fucked.
In the above clip, the interviewees talk about the 2014 midterms, which could be the most expensive off-year election cycle in history; the influence of big-money politics on Congress and the White House. This is a great time to be a fired-up millionaire or billionaire. Today, these individuals have the ability to pump unlimited sums of cash into our elections through super-PACs and anonymously funded nonprofit groups. As they do, the center of gravity in our political system shifts from the political parties to these mega-donors spending big on the Democratic and Republican side.
"This is the era of the empowered 'one percenter'....They're taking action and they're becoming the new, headline players in this political system."
OneLove
:::MME:::