The death of our Republican Democracy as it becomes a plutocracy

from Wikipedia (a Thomas Nast cartoon of corrupt  political leaders from the Gilded Age)

North Carolina, Meet Citizens United
[Via NYTimes.com ]

The North Carolina Judicial Coalition is a new tax-exempt organization, known as a super PAC, supported by wealthy conservative Republicans who are determined to make this year’s race for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court ideological and expensive.

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Now even races for judges become a place for the wealthy to buy an election. What will happen is that the average American will just stop supporting local candidates because why try and raise money from an $8 a plate spaghetti dinner when the fat cats go and spend millions?

And they will. Billionaires really have nothing else to spend the money on and the return on their  investment will be huge. The demoralization of the American electorate will continue apace. The belief that a single vote matters will disappear under the billions of dollars spent on every sort of campaign.

And every candidate will have to find some really wealthy people to fund their campaign. There will simply be no other way. 

Right now, in this country, if your opponent spends 20 times what you spend, you will lose. There is simply no way to make that up with lots of small donors. Not when the rich can simply write another check. Just like the Gilded Age. Why now?

And not only will these sorts of plutocratic elections drive us in destructive ideological directions. It becomes very difficult for moral, upstanding private citizens to have a chance in a plutocratic election. The cynicism already prevalent in the electorate will become worse as the only people who end up running are the crooks. Just like in the Gilded Age.Why now?

They will stifle innovation. Because those who buy the politicians have the money now and they will make sure that upstarts that might compete  will be prevented from doing so. Just follow what ‘trade’ organizations like the RIAA or MPAA are doing. Look at the existence of patent trolls. It will not be a fair fight in the marketplace at all. Legislative capture by money/corporations will increase. Just like in the Gilded Age. Why?

And corruption will be institutionalized. Just like the Gilded Age. Why now?

The vote of the poorest will no longer be on an equal setting as the richest. Because the richest will be able to easily buy an election. Just like in the Gilded Age. Why?

Citizen’s United will be a huge milestone on the continuing degradation of American politics. John McCain thinks so. “I think it was one of the worst decisions in the history of the United States Supreme Court, certainly in the 20th century.” 

And Russ Feingold. “But the court was so hellbent on bringing corporate money into politics that they went ahead and made what I have called and believe is a lawless decision.” Remember, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court actually changed and enlarged the entire focus of the original case, purposefully making it into a huge deal. I always wondered why.

Usually the Supreme Court  restricts the scope of its decisions. The Supreme Court here purposefully went ot make it bigger so it could overturn legal precedent that went back to Teddy Roosevelt’s attempts to end the Gilded Age of corporate corruption of politics. Why?

The fact that Citizens United may have been fully manufactured from the beginning by fat cats purely for this purpose does offer me an explanation. And it seems McCain and Feingold might agree. That explains why a lawless decision was made. The Supreme Court wishes a return to the Gilded Age also. Why?

Why do we have to return to ALL of the excesses of the Gilded Age? Why now? Because a lot of really rich people want it that way.

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