Senator Bernie Sanders: Democracy vs. Oligarchy

[Purveyor]

In his 1943 painting "Freedom of Speech," Norman Rockwell illustrated American democracy in action by depicting a man speaking up at a town meeting. A framed poster of Rockwell's painting hangs proudly on a wall in my Senate office in Burlington, Vt.

Since 1990, when I was first elected to Congress, I have held hundreds of town meetings in almost every community in Vermont. Just this past Sunday I held a town meeting in Middlebury, Vt., with a video connection to meetings in three other towns. At these town meetings I listen to what my constituents have to say, answer questions and give a rundown of what I'm working on and what's going on in Washington.

This process -- an elected official meeting with ordinary citizens -- is called "democracy."

Ironically, at the same time as I was holding town meetings in Vermont, a handful of prospective 2016 Republican presidential candidates (Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Chris Christie and Scott Walker) trekked to Las Vegas to audition for the support of Sheldon Adelson, the multibillionaire casino tycoon who spent at least $93 million underwriting conservative candidates in the last election cycle. Those candidates were in Las Vegas for the sole purpose of attempting to win hundreds of millions from him for their presidential campaigns.

The disastrous 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United threw out campaign funding laws that limited what wealthy individuals and corporations could spend on elections. Since that ruling, campaign spending by Adelson, the Koch brothers and a handful of other billionaire families has fundamentally undermined American democracy. If present trends continue, elections will not be decided by one-person, one-vote, but by a small number of very wealthy families who spend huge amounts of money supporting right-wing candidates who protect their interests.

more...

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Democracy-vs-Oligarchy-by-Senator-Bernie-San-Billionaires_Democracy_Democracy_Democracy-140401-741.html

[Jefferson23]

1. Senator Sanders, this is music to my ears:

The fact that more than 500 communities and 16 states have expressed support for overturning Citizens United is a good step forward, but much more needs to be done.

Overturning Citizens United, however, is not enough. If we are serious about elections being fought over ideas, we must move toward public funding of elections.


K&R

[Cal33]

2. I agree. And this public funding of elections must also include the prohibition against the

spending of one's own money. Not even one cent should be from any private sources.
Every politician has to run even-steven against every other politician for the same job.

[Jefferson23]

3. I do believe Americans want this and recognize how deadly the money has been

in our election cycles and how it impacts the policies that follow..it is obscene.

[Cal33]

4. Yes, many people want this. The only hurdle that remains is to get Congress to pass this. ;)

[Jefferson23]

5. Organize, and a movement, and it should receive agreement from R's to Independents too. n/t

[Cal33]

6. A movement of boycotting the Koch Brothers Industry products and goods has already

been started. It's a good beginning, and I hope it will spread to other big greedy corporations.
Read post under the "Politics 2014 " forum.

[Jefferson23]

7. Important to generating support for the elimination of money in politics..that is what

concerns me about any movement to encourage American voters to support
public funded elections.

I would hate to see it advertised as only about our political ideology, not that our
progressive agenda is without merit. But I do feel it is important to separate the cause.

Reps go to congress to represent their constituents, allegedly. We know this is not the
case, too often in blue states, we have the influence of Wall Street money. One of
the reps from Ct, in the state I reside, was exposed.

My point is , no matter if you're an R, I, or D, we should join forces to be a voice to
eliminate this intrusion of money due to the fact that we see the reps are not taking
into account the merits of the bills they support...they're bought off.

If you're a conservative, you should think about this influence..obviously there are
a percentage of people who benefit from these policies. That is where we need to
look at the data, which highlights as to who benefits and the long term negative
impact it has on the majority of American citizens. I feel that a campaign that
encourages every American, regardless of party affiliation, is important in order
to push back on the lobby money. As you know, it was frightening before CU,
now with the recent SCOTUS ruling, it is even worse. We need as many people
as possible in this fight.

An example of a blue state congressman:

UPDATE: In response to our action, Himes’ spokesperson argued that H.R. 992 had bi-partisan support. Our response? That’s exactly the problem! If both major parties support a law that was written and paid for by the very same banks that law is supposed to regulate — who is left to represent the people? This is not about partisan politics. It’s about creating an American government that represents us.

This action has raised some eyebrows — but also some much-needed awareness about Himes’ actions and his cozy relationships with big bank special interests. We’ve been covered by…

https://represent.us/action/operation-moneyfumble/

[adirondacker]

8. K&R! nt