tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post2465023511278526417..comments2024-03-27T11:18:34.222-03:00Comments on Viable Opposition: Big Donors to Big Super PACsA Political Junkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03342345936277964422noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399730406480392183.post-43877004155548369482012-02-05T16:25:55.650-04:002012-02-05T16:25:55.650-04:00As an example of the harm created by special inter...As an example of the harm created by special interest influence, the banking deregulation and other policies that led to our current economic hardships resulted mainly from lobbying of both Democrats and Republicans by corporations involved in finance and housing. And I suspect that our decisions about if (and for how long) we wage wars are influenced by defense contractors. I'm sure there are many more possible examples.<br /><br />People blame the campaign donation money, the two main political parties, the lobbyists, the PACs, the corporate interests, etc.<br /><br />But if you really trace the problem back to its source, those are not the root problem. The voters themselves are.<br /><br />Public discussion about campaign finance usually has the unspoken assumption that voters won't consider a candidate who does not have tons of advertising and endorsements. That does not have to be true, especially because voters can use Google to easily learn about all the available candidates, and give them equal consideration. Granted, this requires people without Internet-connected devices to go find a way to access the Web. It also requires people to figure out what to type into the Google search box (something like "Presidential candidates"?), and how to dig through the results. My opinion is that it's reasonable to demand that effort of anyone who will bother to vote; people who can't be bothered to look at the full range of choices should not vote.<br /><br />There's a saying: "In every democracy, the people get the government they deserve". We're getting abused because we choose the wrong representatives. It's our fault, and it's our responsibility to change that.<br /><br />There's also a saying in business: "Management is always to blame." In a republic, the voters are the topmost level of management, because they choose the politicians.<br /><br />Instead of considering only Romney and one or two other candidates, Republican voters could broaden their choices to consider somebody like this:<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Roemer#2012_presidential_candidacy<br />Notice his $100 donation limit. We must vote for that kind of candidate, to eliminate corruption. And he's a former governor, so it's not like he's an inexperienced oddball.<br /><br />If I were a Republican, maybe I would keep casting protest votes for somebody like that, and hope that other voters also will rebel one of these years.<br /><br />But the Republican Party would spend corporate donations on his behalf, if he won his party's nomination. He might be mindful of that support, and feel pressured to reward it. So we really need a centrist third party (so both Democrats and Republicans might tolerate voting for its candidates) that refuses all special interest money. Until that happens, I'll keep casting protest votes for random minor party candidates.<br /><br />The great problem for that kind of candidate is that he will be thoroughly outspent by candidates who accept influence money and buy lots of mainstream media advertising. Because too many unthinking or lazy voters only consider heavily promoted candidates, most contestants feel compelled to raise as much money as possible, and many media pundits and voters assume that poorly funded candidates cannot win.<br /><br />The mutual fear of the opponent's campaign spending is a terrible trap stopping us from removing the corruption. Democratic and Republican voters must recognize this trap we are in, and then stubbornly refuse to allow that fear to push them into voting for bought politicians who seem "electable" because they are heavily marketed.Eriknoreply@blogger.com