Showing posts with label campaign financing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label campaign financing. Show all posts

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Who really won the election? Republicans, Democrats, Obama, or Undocumented.

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First, I think the term undocumented is pathetic.  I cannot think of any descriptive word worse than the cursed terms Democrat, Republican, or Congress, except undocumented worker.  Maybe we should say the "underground" since they are part of the underground economy in America.


So far, the underground are the only winners in the election as they forced the president's hand after his six years of broken promises.  In terms of numerical impact, the GOP were big winners and the Democrats big losers.  Contrary to press reports, that is pretty much what happens every midterm election, the party holding the presidency loses and the minority party wins.


Still, my instinct tells me neither the Republicans nor the Democrats won because it was the Independents, the forgotten Americans, who brought the GOP to power.  There was no interest in the election by Democrats, and enough by Republicans to assure that only about 25% of all eligible voters actually voted.  So I guess that makes apathy the big winner.


I watched the returns even though long ago I had predicted a GOP tidal wave, and was stunned when I kept hearing how state after state saw major reductions in voting by both Democrats and Republicans, but up to a 40% increase in Independent voting.


Other obvious losers were Harry Reid, the war on women nonsense, the Kill the Koch Brothers campaign, liberal media, peaceniks, big brother advocates, and Democratic National Committee leader U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, Obama's handpicked propaganda mouthpiece.


Winners were much harder to find but did include those wanting bigger and better wars, the arms industry, bankers, Wall Street, oil dudes, rich people, and the many GOP candidates for president in 2016.


One group that always wins come election time is the news media who benefited from $3 billion dollars being pumped into the political campaigns.  If congress had the guts to ban paid political commercials for everyone and made the network television, cable, and radio outlets give all candidates free commercials, very few I might add, the media would finally lose out on the big bucks but until then the newest groups of fat cats are the media.


As for the short term future, it does not matter if the Democrats and Republicans get along because in the end there is little difference between the way they govern.  We can only hope the country survives long enough for the growing Independents to throw them all out of office.


Once congress is forced to adopt an Ethics Law that actually works bureaucrats and politicians will be lined up awaiting criminal indictments.


Tax reform is needed, both personal and corporate, but trusting those to fix it that now have us $17.5 trillion in debt while the private sector and stock market have record profits seems a little counter-productive.


Maybe the key to the future is to remember the past and as the founding father of America seemed to realized, perhaps a few prayers to God might help.

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Thursday, February 02, 2012

Can Corporate America Help Defend America? If They Care About America!

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Can the incompetence of Congress, the indifference of the Obama administration and the impotency of the political parties, both Democrat and Republican, open the door for the American capitalist system to do what the others choose to neglect?

Two things are clear this election cycle.  First, politicians have no intention of stopping the influx of millions and millions of corporate and union dollars into the political process through Super Pacs and all the other gimmicks that have been left untouched by our elected representatives in Washington, D.C.


In spite of the universal complaints by leaders of both parties about our broken campaign financing system, nothing is being done about it and nothing will be done about it this year because the same politicians expect to benefit from the Super Pacs.

The second thing clear this election cycle is that the news media, especially network and cable television and the vast Internet, have totally crossed the line between defending the First Amendment right to a free press and using the free press argument to distort the news media reporting.


In other words, our TV and Internet companies have dropped all pretense of being fair and balanced in their coverage and instead have become ideological piranhas whose defense of their particular liberal or conservative philosophy sees no problem in distorting stories, taking any statement out of context, and smearing anyone they don't like in an effort to destroy their career.

Like it or not the media has decided they want to manufacture your news just like the politicians want to manufacture what you should believe about government.


Congress was supposed to be a watchdog for the people to keep an eye on government.

The political parties were supposed to be the watchdog for the people to make sure political partisanship did not dominate fair government.

The news media was supposed to be the watchdog for the people to make sure the politicians and political parties were not manipulating government for their own partisan purposes.

All now have their own agenda, it is not fair and balanced, and it is entirely self-serving.  Who is going to protect the people from all our toothless watchdogs?


The lesson is clear, MONEY now rules in America.  The politicians, political parties and news media are hopelessly addicted to money and live to serve money.  Much of the private sector is a willing partner to this national disgrace and use the politicians and parties to get what they want, that is make more money.

For example, we have all heard the Democrats and ideological news media like NBC or the NBC puppets like MSNBC use an endless stream of liberal reporters and outcast conservatives who have sold out the conservative cause to maul Mitt Romney, the only candidate for president who is neither a professional politician nor dependent on the government or media to make money.

The way every word Romney says is taken out of context and every policy is distorted by the NBC mouthpieces is ludicrous and the various NBC programs proudly interview a select gang of liberal assassins to annihilate the Republican frontrunner.

Yet the very same NBC is owned by General Electric who made $15 billion profit last year and paid not one dollar in taxes.  Romney made $21 million personally and paid 15% in taxes, then gave 15% more to charitable causes.

How can he be a suspicious rich elitist in the eyes of the NBC media and many others like CNN when he pays far more in taxes than the corporate giant that owns NBC, who made $15 billion and paid NO TAXES?


Who is it that most benefits from the Obama administration and their push for "Green" environmental and energy causes while refusing to fix our ridiculous tax code that gives unconscionable tax breaks to corporate America?  President Barack Obama, who made the CEO of General Electric his appointed liaison to the business community.

The statutory federal tax rate for big corporations in America is 35%, among the highest in the world.  GE makes a $15 billion profit so, if the federal tax law was really the law, GE would pay $5.2 billion in taxes, 35%.  Yet thanks to Congress and our benevolent president they pay NOTHING.

What does our president says about this.  NOTHING.  But he does say billionaire Warren Buffett's secretary pays more taxes than her billionaire boss.  To be correct, she pays a higher rate but no where near as much in taxes as Buffett.  If Obama compared what she pays to what his political corporate benefactor GE pays it might be a little more honest.


Now corporate America can change the way business is done in the media.  It can help protect the people from the politicians, political parties and news media.  There is no law that forces corporate America to spend advertising dollars with the very media who are trying to control the national agenda.

America, even the liberal media, are dependent on advertising dollars to keep their stranglehold on the direction of this country.  Corporate America should use the most valuable contribution they have to make, their money, to balance the political playing field.


Stop advertising on media that distort the news.  Stop patronizing networks whose agenda is undermining the principles of freedom in AMERICA.  Stop underwriting the Internet social networks that are stealing every last freedom in America by trampling on citizens rights to privacy.

Corporate America is being painted as a villain by liberals because of their money, so use the money to bring fair and balanced news and reporting back to America.  Stop advertising and you will stop the bitter politics, stop the lies and distortions that now dominate our political debate, and stop the hijacking of America.

Defending freedom is not just the responsibility of the people, or the military on behalf of the people.  It is also the responsibility of corporate America who benefits from the capitalist system empowered by capitalism, which is empowered by our Constitution.
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