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I posted this in the primaries folder. However, I doubt it will get any traction. It seems people are absolutely sucked in by the very system they claim needs to be changed.
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Quote from the award winning best selling book by Nobel Laureate Al Gore, The Assault On Reason:
Introduction, page 8:
"The inherent value or validity of political propositions put forward by candidates for office is now largely irrelevant compared with the image-based advertising campaigns they use to shape the perceptions of voters. And the high cost of these commercials has radically increased the role of money in American politics- and the influence of those who contribute it. That is why campaign finance reform, however well drafted, often misses the main point: so long as the dominant means of engaging in political dialogue is through purchasing expensive television advertising, money will continue in one way or another to dominate American politics. As a result, ideas will continue to play a diminshed role."
Skip to page 9:
"To the extent that money and the clever use of electronic mass media could be used to manipulate the outcome of elections, the role of reason began to diminish."
End of excerpts.
And make no mistake about it, both parties still do this and Americans who claim that money is the main reason for the ills of politics still perpetuate and defend it. Candidates as well seem to fall into the trap of thinking that it is only money, hype, charisma, a nice suit, white teeth, glossy speeches, and you tube videos with girls shaking their breasts and their bums that is all that is needed to mesmerize enough Americans to win them the prize.
And people wonder why Al Gore has not endorsed anyone in this process? It is no different in this election cycle, and the main Democratic and Republican candidates are all perpetuating it. They are placing the amount of dollars first in importance when it really should have little to no bearing at all.
That was one of the reasons I was drawn to John Edwards besides his stances on poverty and climate change. He did not do it. He made a conscious choice to stand up to it. He did not have celebrity endorsers who used their clout to raise millions of dollars on these ads (that tell us nothing about the candidates) that could be used for other more important endeavors. He federally matched his funds, and he used them to get a message out...a message that needs to continue to be heard... That Americans on the whole are hurting. That we are in need of change, but not change disguised as such brought upon by the same status quo means.
I am very disappointed that Mr. Edwards is no longer involved in this election because the media and other "entities" skewed the perception of voters in this same way by using their money to make people think he could not compete because the corporate media didn't cover him, or because he didn't have the right amount of money to continue on rather than standing with him to fight against it.
As an American I am sick and tired of seeing hype, "Obama girls," and bickering over who has the most money in lieu of who has the best ideas, because in such a system voices that should be heard are not heard and that is not only unDemocratic, it is disenfranchisement.
Some will simply say that this is the way it is and until we have "campaign finance reform" that will be the way of it. I say, wrong. It will be that way as long as voters and candidates WANT it to be that way. And as long as it is that way, we will continue to have election processes where good people are pushed out to make way for the media darlings and the millionaires. And that surely is an assault on reason.
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