Too much money….

A piece today on Politico.com suggests that the uber-wealthy Koch brothers are starting to look and act like a political party. This is uber-dangerous for our democracy.

I'll try to leave aside for the moment the matter of which candidates and political principles the Koch brothers support….I think the Koch brothers support dangerously irrational anti-government ideas and unbelievably transparent attempts to channel more money into the hands of the very wealthy at the expense of most Americans and at the expense of our national economic well-being and at the expense of our environment…and I also understand that some people say "pa-tah-toe" and it's their American right to do so.

But it has never been part of our American democratic heritage to encourage unimaginably wealthy individuals, regardless of their political persuasion, to use their money to buy candidates and buy elections.

It is every American's right to vote for a preferred candidate, and it is every American's right to personally try to influence our political debate….it is not any individual's right to determine the outcome of any election, and that's what very wealthy folks like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson are trying to do. That's wrong.


I'm beating the drum for more sanity in our democratic elections. Just take half a minute to think about the impact of this huge, horribly legal spending of very wealthy Americans who are trying to buy acceptance for their point of view, and trying to buy the election.

When they "put their money where their mouths are," they do it in a big way, much bigger than almost everyone else can manage.

The flood of cash from the rich, the few and the furious doesn't take away your vote. It swamps your vote and drowns out your voice and puts in office too many politicians who aren't inclined to listen to you after they take office.

They hear the sound of money and a drum beat that I don't like to hear. How about you?

Campaign finance reform on the back burner...

More on elections for sale...