You Have My Vote, But Not My Money
Slammed by emails, robo calls and wasteful junk mail, everyone running for office is asking for money.
Scammers are jumping on this opportunity to rake in the dough, hoping someone will just send money without checking. Scam artists are really clever, that’s why they accumulate millions of dollars before they are caught … if they are caught. On top of everything else, this economy has reduced the average American’s ability to throw money at ANY campaign. Middle class Americans are swamped with this or that organization begging for just “a dollar”. Political campaigns actually know that average people cannot afford to choose between donations and groceries. This is why campaign managers enlist large corporations to donate millions of dollars or create “Super Pacs”, Political Action Committees. Super Pacs are the ones who finally decide who becomes President, Senator and Congressman. Average Americans are in the child restraint, in the back seat, and seldom can even see where the driver is taking us.
If you really want to make a difference during this election season, volunteer! Volunteer to be a monitor at a polling station. Volunteer to make sure your neighbors have their Voter’s Registration. Volunteer to transport someone who cannot make it to their polling place on their own. Volunteer to help!
Political Scams Targeting Region, Warns the BBB
Better Business: Election-related scams aren’t just the province of politicians
Don’t Let Scammers Count on Your Support This Election
Supreme Court Decision Led to Popularity of Super PACs
A relatively new phenomenon, super PACS proliferated following the January 2010 Supreme Court Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision that said the government cannot restrict the spending of corporations, unions, and other groups for political campaigns, maintaining that it’s their First Amendment right to support candidates as they choose.
In the majority decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, “We now conclude that independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption.”
The Citizens United decision resulted in the proliferation of super PACs that opened the floodgates for unlimited amounts of money to be poured into political campaigns. It also dismantled the McCain–Feingold campaign-finance law that banned issue ads and soft money (funds contributed to the Republican and Democratic National Committees, and to the party committees in each state) in political campaigns.:
…
TOP FIVE SUPER PACS BY SPENDING IN JULY 2012
- AMERICAN CROSSROADS $8,569,152
- RESTORE OUR FUTURE, INC. $8,107,287
- CLUB FOR GROWTH ACTION $3,941,503
- MAJORITY PAC $2,777,573
- PRIORITIES USA ACTION $2,552,327
Super PACs Explained
Here are links to the super PACs associated with the main candidates in the 2012 presidential election:
- Newt Gingrich: Winning Our Future
- Barack Obama: Priorities USA Action
- Mitt Romney: Restore Our Future
- Rick Santorum: Red White and Blue Fund
Tax Super PACs at 99%
The Supreme Court maintains that corporations have the “human” right to “speak” by buying our elections. Until the Supreme Court changes its mind or we amend the Constitution, we would seem to be at an impasse.But there is an immediate fix that RootsAction learned of from our friends at BradBlog. Congress or our states could tax Super PAC donations heavily. When this country was in deep depression in the 1930s, President Roosevelt proposed taxing income above a high level at 100%, and achieved 94%. We propose taxing donations to Super PACs by as much as 99% – in the name of the 99% of us lacking voices in pay-to-play politics.It can’t violate corporations’ “human rights” to tax them. We humans are taxed all the time.Tax Super PAC donations at 99% starting now.
Trackbacks
- Texas Progressive Alliance Round Up September 3rd « Doing My Part for the Left
- TPA Roundup 9/3/2012 | BlueBloggin
- Texas Progressive Alliance Round-Up—The Work Of Freedom Is Up To Each Of Us « Texas Liberal
- Texas Progressive Alliance September 3, 2012 « TruthHugger
- Eye on Williamson » TPA Blog Round Up (September 4, 2012)
Proponents of campaign finance deregulation have frequently downplayed the role of money from profit-making businesses to super PACs, but their presence worries campaign finance reform advocates.