Tag: Political Action Committee

Who Speaks For The People?

Here a lobbyist……there a lobbyist….everywhere are lobbyists.  Another group that tries to be a voice of us mortals that no one else will listen to in the political arena…..

We have ex-politicians making millions while acting as the voice of big oil or manufacturing or financial services, etc…….they all have a voice in Congress.  But what about the people that elect these semi-literate thugs we have as representatives?  That means….YOU!

Who speaks for you?  If you think your local politician does then you are sadly mistaken or just outright naive……..under a perfect governance the representatives we send to Washington would be our voices……so much for perfection, huh?

Ever hear of PACMEN?  No not the 80’s electronic game….but rather……..

Turns out a there’s a political action committee that fights against the influence of political action committees and doesn’t rake in the corporate donations.

PACMEN, or “People Against the Corporate Manipulation of Elections and News,” was started earlier this year by Massachusetts residents Jeromie Whalen and Scott Bloomberg, the duo behind the website WhatTheFuckHaveUnionsDoneSoFar.com.

The PACMEN’s websitedescribes the group as run by “regular, everyday, non-billionaire, non-lobbyist, people” who “are fighting against two problems that we consider to be at the root of many other problems in the United States,” the “Corporate Manipulation of Elections” and the “Corporate Manipulation of News.”Citing Karl Rove’s group American Crossroads, the PACMEN write that that “system has created a fundamental shift in who holds the power in our political process. When elections are decided by billionaires and corporations, it is an injustice to the will of the people.”

Unfortunately, I doubt just how effective they can be…..after all they are fighting an uphill battle with little cash and their opponents have an almost unlimited amount of money to throw at politicians and buy lots of friends and influence……but at least they are trying….more than I can say for our Congress!  Maybe if we can get enough of groups like this…..eventually someone in Washington will begin to listen…..I know a dream…..but what the Hell?

Is The Future That Of Corporatism?

This is a question that I had been asking myself for years because of the influence that corporations are exerting on the government….my question was sort of answered last week when the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of limitless funds from corporations in the path of ultimate buying of the government…..

As a student of political philosophy the idea of corporatism has interested me for a long time now…but first let us look at corporatism to see if it would apply in this case…..originally it referred to a system where the corporations remained in private hands but did the bidding of the government…much like that of Italy in the 1930’s under fascism……but in today’s world that definition needs a bit of tweaking to make it more modern….

Today’s corporations have entered into the world of government by influencing the making of laws through the bribery of elected officials, but it is legal bribery, in the forms of campaign donations and such…..they are now writing legislation and giving it to their hired minions in government to be passed into law…..the corporations have been quietly for years taking over the reins of government, with elected officials on their payrolls and in doing so they are shaping the life of the polity…..they do this by letting the politicians on their rolls pass the laws and then tell the electorate what is and how it benefits them….and they believe it!

As I have said, this situation has been developing for years mainly through the use of political action committees (PAC) and now with the newest ruling by the Supreme Court those institutions may not be needed as much as they are today….

These corporations will in effect outright buy their political allies and not have to worry about the inconvenience of the PACs……

A dismal future approaches……the Left has been screaming about this day for decades and now their predictions do not seem so extreme……look for politicians to start wear corporate sponsorship patches like those in NASCAR….

If this holds up then the Dems can kiss their asses good-bye….the GOP will be the only form of political organization left…though there could be some promise for those conservative democrats….many of those already are in the pockets of corporations so they could be safe for awhile….

It is not too late but the door of opportunity to save American democracy is closing slowly…..will YOU let the system that you are so damn proud of die this horrible death…or will you stand up and do something about this political tsunami?

And The List Gets Bigger

Yet another name has been droped into the PAC game, you know those little sites that test the water for a presidential bid.

Poilitics In Minnesota is reporting:

It was only a matter of time until GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty formed a leadership political action committee to explore running for president in 2012 . The more interesting point is what he chose to name the PAC: “Freedom First.”

The naming of leadership PACs — particularly for lesser known candidates like Pawlenty — is not an inconsequential thing. The name connotes something about how the candidate views his or her candidacy, and it says a lot about the shape of the campaign the candidate means to run. Consider the names of the leadership PACs formed by the other Republicans looking to board Air Force One in January 2013. Recent Value Voters poll winner and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has “Huck PAC;” Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, “Sarah PAC;” and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, “Free and Strong America PAC.”

So the list gets longer…..everyone in the GOP is scrambling for the leadership role for the next nomination series.  Is Pawlenty all in or is this just a a ploy to check to see if he is attractive to the people?

Don’t you just love the names they choose for their PACs…”free and strong America” or “Freedom First” like it is some noble endeavor they are preparing for…..there is NO nobility in politics anymore…..scumbags all.

Blue Dogs’ Yellow Streak Turns Green

First of all for all you students of art……if you combine blue and yellow….what color do you get?  Green……..

I have been a critic, a sharp critic, of the Dems that call themselves Blue Dogs, those supposedly fiscal conservatives in th US House of Representatives.  Anyway, the yellow streak of the Blue Dogs has turned to green….meaning……there stance on holding up health care has turned into cash for the coalition.

This is the complete article written for USA Today by Fredreka Schouten of the papers Congress Team:

The conservative House Democrats known as the Blue Dog Coalition have seen their political clout grow dramatically as they work to shape the health care debate.

So have their campaign coffers — and much of the money has come from industries seeking to influence President Obama’s health care overhaul and other key legislative efforts in Congress, according to reports out today.

The Blue Dog’s political action committee has collected $1.1 million in the first six months of the year — more than any other political action committee, according to CQ. (Subscription required.) Nearly 54% came from the energy, financial services and health care industries, according to an analysis by the non-partisan Center for Public Integrity. That’s up from 45% in 2004. The center’s reporting appeared in Politico.

The 52-member coalition has demanded changes to health care legislation to rein in spending and address their concerns about disparities in Medicare reimbursement rates between urban and rural communities — slowing action on legislation that Obama and congressional leaders had sought to put on a fast track.

Who says it does not pay to be a coward?  The Blue Dogs have proven that accusation wrong.

She Is BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

For us bloggers there are some people that just keep giving us material day after day….whether you are left or right there are those who you just cannot turn away when their name is mentioned—–bless their hearts!

Just when you thought it was safe to watch the news…….Joe the Plumber had shot his wad……..Blago had shoved his foot in his mouth one too many times……the Caroline  story has just about made everyone projectile vomit their breakfast across the kitchen…..what more could there be to make it worse?  Dammit!  You just had to ask that question?

SHE’S BAAAAAAACK!

SARAH PAC is up and running.  A PAC?  Oh it is not an exploratory PAC for Sarah, but rather one for raising money for Repubs running in 2010 and 2012.  Believe it or not.  Me?  I believe that not.

The website states:

Dedicated to building America’s future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation.

Let us look at that.  Innovation: n–a process of introducing new methods.  Did anyone see the introduction of new methods or ideas by Palin or McCain in the last election?  If so, please share with the rest of us.  Fresh ideas?  That pretty much goes with the innovation lie–there are no fresh ideas in the GOP, just a regurgitation of  tired old mantras from the past that they cannot let go of and look for new ones.

Hell, she cannot even come up with a new idea for raising money…she is using Obama’s scheme of small donations, so even there  there is no innovation.